General Procedure
Judicial Council proceedings follow a basic trial procedure with an
opening statement, witness examinations and a closing statement. The Claimant always presents his side of the case first since he/she is
the one making the case to the Council. The Claimant makes the first
opening statement and conducts his/her direct examinations first. After
each direct examination the Respondent has the chance to cross examine
the witness. Once all the Claimant’s witnesses have been called the Respondent begins the direct examinations of his/her witnesses, who are
cross examined by the Claimant. Once all the witnesses have been
called and all the evidence has been entered into the record the Claimant makes his closing statement, followed by the respondent. Once
the respondent is done with his statement the Council will move into
executive session and dismiss all participants. A decision will be
reached and an opinion issued no later then one week after the hearing.
Opening Statements
An opening statement is a basic summary of the argument that you will
make throughout the proceedings. This is, by no means, your full and
complete argument, but it’s a helpful road map of what you will show
through your evidence and witnesses.
Direct Examinations
This is the technical term for asking questions of your own witnesses.
The object here is to weave a story through the witnesses’ testimony.
The key part to this portion of the hearing is to ask open ended
questions. Don’t lead your witness and try to ask them questions and
allow them to explain themselves. That being said it is also important
to have foundation for their testimony (which might require a yes or no
question, but if it does, make sure that it ISN’T leading!)
Cross Examinations
This is where the opposing attorney gets to ask questions of your
witness. (or you get to ask questions of their witness) The point of a
cross examination is two fold, the first is to try and discredit the
testimony of a witness. The second point is to get a witness to concede
to (at least) the possibility that your argument is true. Having said
this you must also keep in mind that the witness will probably not be
willing to cooperate. It is vital that you keep your cool. The good
cross examiner asks only leading questions and knows what he needs to
ask to prove his point. The rule of thumb is that you never ask a
question that you don’t already know the answer too (but this might not
be the case in this setting!)
Closing Statements
The closing statement resembles an opening statement in most respects,
except that it involves more of the testimony that was heard during the
hearing. Testimony and evidence not admitted in the hearing CANNOT be
used in a closing statement. Any evidence addressed during a closing
that was not brought up during the regular course of the hearing will be
disregarded by the council. Objections
The following is a list and explanation of objections that will be
entertained by the Judges of the Judicial Council. Be familiar with these
objections as you may be asked to explain why you are making it. Also
if an objection is made by the opposing party you may ask to be heard,
allowing you to make an argument as to why that particular objection
should be overruled. A final note, don’t overuse the objections, there
is a line between making valid points and just making objections to slow
things down.
Relevance
This is a simple enough objection to make. You use this objection when a
question is not relevant to the issue at hand. Asking what a witness
had for breakfast on Oct 1st has no relevance in a case dealing
with alleged matter tampering (unless the breakfast cereal as a
partner in this case…..)
Opinion/Speculation
Opinions the witness’s thoughts on an event or person, generally derived
from their observations. Because of the nature of Judicial Council and Students' Associations some opinions might be allowed into evidence, but
this is determined by the issue at hand and the circumstances
surrounding the issue. The difference between Opinion and Speculation is
that an opinion is someone’s feelings and thoughts while speculation is
deriving a fact from someone’s observation. Examples:
Compound Question
Don’t ask a question with an “and” or an “or” in it. These questions
force the witness to confirm or deny two statements when there is a
possibility that one may be true and one may be false. The easiest way
to avoid this objection is to not use and/or in your questioning. If you
need a witness to confirm two facts, ask two questions.
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Evidence
As much as we all would like, the Judicial Council can’t go out and
find everything. We have the legal Code to work with, but outside of
that our decisions are based on the evidence that is provided to us
(whether in the form of actually evidence or witness testimony) Judicial
Council cannot consider anything that was not entered into evidence. An
important note about witnesses: If a witness cannot attend a hearing
for any reason that witness may submit a typed and signed statement to
the Judicial Council. These statements must be handed by the witness to a
member of the Judicial Council or their designate. This is to establish
a chain of evidence for the testimony as well as to establish the
veracity of the written statements. Failure to follow this procedure
will result in the exclusion of the statement from the hearing, thus
preventing it from being entered into evidence. A final note, even if
evidence is attached to a Petition to hear a case, the evidence must
formally be admitted into evidence during the hearing. To do this simply
label the evidence, Identify it to the Council and ask that it be
entered into evidence. Petitioners should label their evidence with
letters (such as Exhibit A, Exhibit B, etc…) and respondents should
label their evidence with numbers (Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, etc…)
Motions
Below is an
explanation of the different motions and how they are used.
Motion to Dismiss
The Motion to Dismiss is, in essence, asking the council to dismiss the
case due to a lack of evidence or to the absence of an infraction of the
Legal Code. The Motion to Dismiss is entered before either side beings
presenting their case.
Motions in Lieu of Either Witnesses or Other Evidence
This is used when either evidence or witnesses cannot be preset at the
hearing. If evidence is to be submitted, or witnesses on either the
petitioner or respondent’s side cannot be present for the hearing the
council will evidence or a signed witnesses statement to be submitted at
least 24 hours before the hearing AND attached to the case brief. If a
witness statement is to be submitted, it must bear the signature of the
witness and be submitted by the witness to a member of the council. The
council will rule on the motion and show the evidence to both parties
during the hearing. Any witness statements that are submitted and
accepted will be read aloud during the hearing. There will be no
cross-examination of the statement. The council can ask clarifying
questions as needed.
Motion of Summary Judgments
A Motion of Summary Judgment basically asks the Council to render a
judgment based on the evidence presented in the petition and the case
briefs submitted. The Council will issue a tentative ruling if the
motion is accepted, and then allow for comment before the final decision
is rendered.
Motion of Continuances
The Motion of Continuances is basically asking the Council to postpone
or continue the proceedings at a later time. Generally this motion is
used to postpone a case for a period longer then a day. The most common
reason for using this motion would be insufficient time to prepare. This
motion must be filed in writing at least 24 hours before the hearing.
If you require a recess during the proceedings (of a time not exceeding
20 minutes) then you may ask for a recess during the proceedings at an
appropriate time (after a witness has been dismissed, or an argument has
been concluded)
Motions to Substitute
With submitting your briefs, the Claimant and Respondent are
establishing who and what will represent their case. A motion to
substitute allows either party to charge, with council approval,
representatives,, witnesses, or paperwork that the party believes would
clarify and further the case. Credentials of the person substituting
must be established to the court and there is no limit to how many times
you can substitute information as long as there is consent from the
council.
Demurrers
This allows the opportunity to respond to a complaint filed, dropping
the case altogether on the grounds that the complaint has no legal
basis. The complaint itself can be true, and the court will decide
whether the complaint has legal standing and should go to a hearing.
Normally, even with a sustained demure, the council will give a period
of revision, allowing the party to amend their statements and take the
complaint to the council. Failure to amend the complaint to provide a
legal basis, in a timely fashion (within 48 hours), will cause the court
to dismiss the case entirely.
Yes, it’s a lot of information, but it’s nothing too hard to
remember. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and take a moment to
think. Good luck!
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