About the Undergraduate Judiciary Cabinet

What is the Undergraduate Judiciary Cabinet?
The Undergraduate Judiciary Cabinet (UJC) is a board composed of twelve students: eleven Justices, one Chief Justice and three alternates. Hearing cases involving non-academic disciplinary charges, the UJC is the highest judiciary board of the Georgia Tech Student Government.

What is the role of the Chief Justice?
The main role of the UJC Chief Justice is to ensure that the rights of the accused and the accuser are observed throughout the hearing process. When a case is forwarded to the UJC, the Chief Justice contacts the individuals involved, informs them of their rights, and describes the hearing procedures. The Chief Justice presides over hearings and votes only in the case of a tie. The Chief Justice will rule on matters of relevance and may limit the accused, accuser, or witness testimony. Due to the fact that the UJC is an investigatory panel, the Chief Justice determines the order of the hearing and subsequent testimony. The admissibility of testimony and evidence can be limited at the discretion of the Chief Justice and the Cabinet.

What do the Justices know about my case?
The day before a hearing (or earlier if deemed necessary for the Cabinet to adequately review the allegations), the hearing packet will be made available to the Justices. This packet contains factual, official exhibits such as police reports, witness statements, and other pertinent evidence. At no time prior to the hearing do the Justices receive the opinion of anyone who may have previously reviewed the evidence. The do not discuss the report with anyone, even other justices. This method allows the Justices to remain impartial while still having a basic understanding of the facts of the case. No person's past disciplinary history is considered unless responsibility for current charges is determined; Justices will not see disciplinary files unless sanctioning is necessary.

What does a decision of the UJC mean?
A decision of the UJC is a recommendation to the Senior Associate Dean of Students.

What is the role of the Senior Associate Dean of Students during my hearing?
A representative of the Dean of Students, typically a member of the Office of Student Integrity staff serves as the advisor to the hearing process with their primary duty being to assist the Chair in having the hearing process abide by all Institute procedures and general college hearing due process requirements. If the advisor is present for a hearing, they will merely observe and will not assume a decision-making role in the proceedings. At most, the advisor's involvement is limited to answering procedural questions and assisting the Chief Justice in maintaining Institute judicial procedure and student rights.

Purpose of a UJC Hearing

The spirit of a UJC hearing is one of utmost respect for all involved. This includes the accused, the accuser, witnesses, and the Justices.

The purpose of a UJC hearing is for a panel of impartial peers to hear the perspectives of those involved in an incident of alleged non-academic misconduct and determine the Institute's assessment of the truth. The Justices decide whether or not any wrongdoing took place; if necessary, they then decide who is responsible for the wrongdoing and what sanction should result. The UJC will only review the charge(s) listed in the official charge notification letter.

Preparing for a Hearing

Bring any and all evidence to support your case
It is critical that you bring all supporting evidence to a hearing. If for some reason evidence cannot be recovered, you can contact the Office of Student Integrity for assistance.

Witnesses
Accuser: The Office of Student Integrity will provide the Chief Justice with a list of witnesses obtained from the case investigation. You may request the presence of any other witness whose statement you feel is relevant. Please advise the Chief Justice of any additional witnesses prior to your hearing.

Accused: The accused is responsible for arranging for his or her witnesses to be present at a hearing. If a witness is reluctant to attend, please notify the Chief Justice.

Each party is entitled to have present as many witnesses as desired; however, each witness should offer a unique perspective and be relevant to the issues before the Cabinet. This is particularly important regarding character witnesses. Character witnesses will be called during the hearing.

Each witness may offer testimony of which he or she has direct knowledge. This means that only statements containing first-hand experience will be allowed. Witnesses are cautioned to offer only information that is relevant to the issue under consideration. The admissibility of evidence on the grounds of relevance is left to the discretion of the Chief Justice; challenges to a relevance-related exclusion may be decided by a private discussion of the Justices, at the option of the Chief Justice.

Direct testimony is defined as testimony from an individual that physically experienced the incident in question or had a direct conversation with an individual who experienced the incident.

Each witness will be allowed 10 minutes to offer his or her statement. The 10 minute limit is not intended to limit questioning.

Each witness statement, if the witness is not present, can be challenged due to the witnesses' abescence.

Witnesses may testify before the UJC through electronic means if they are unable to be physically present.

Organize your perspective
It is very helpful to organize your thoughts prior to a UJC hearing. Preparing an outline of important questions and points for each witness for your reference is helpful.

Attire
All Justices will be dressed in business attire. However, there is no attire requirement for any student involved in a hearing. In no way will your attire affect the decision of the UJC.

Hearsay Testimony
In the spirit of a truth-seeking hearing, hearsay testimony is admissible. However, double hearsay testimony is not permitted. The original source of hearsay evidence presented by the accused may be called by the Cabinet at the time of the hearing without additional notice. The accused's knowledge of the evidence provides sufficient notice of the possible witness. However, the Cabinet may decide to postpone the case if needed.

Standard of Proof
The UJC adheres to the standard of preponderance of the evidence. This means the Justices are seeking what "more likely that not" occurred. This standard should not be confused with "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Role of Your Advisor
Any student accused of non-academic misconduct may be accompanied in the hearing by an advisor of his or her choice. This advisor may not directly address any witness or Justice, and may not make any statement to the UJC.

Timelines
The UJC reserves the right to adjourn if the investigation is lengthy. Therefore, presentation of evidence will be heard until midnight the initial night of the hearing. If additional presentation of evidence remains, the hearing will adjourn and continue at 9pm the next evening. This guide serves as notification.
Example: The hearing starts Tuesday 6pm. Presentation of evidence is heard until midnight Tuesday. If needed, the process will be continued Wednesday 9pm.

The sanctioning process including statements from accused and accuser are not subject to the above timelines.

Deliberations for determinations of facts and responsibility and sanctioning will end at 3am the morning following the hearing day and continue later that day at 9pm if needed.

Example: Hearing starts Tuesday 6pm. Deliberations end 3am Wednesday. If needed, deliberations continued Wednesday 9pm.

The Cabinet can decide to vary from these times after consultation with the accused and accuser.

Quorum
Quorum is 7 justices - the chief and 6 additional justices. Alternate justices may serve as a sitting justice to permit the Cabinet to fulfill the quorum requirement per the guidelines proscribed by the Constitution of the Undergraduate Student Government. (See the SGA Website for the most current constitution.)

Rights of the Accused

Students accused of an act of non-academic misconduct and summoned before the UJC have the right to:

1. be informed of the charge(s) and alleged misconduct upon which the charge is based;
2. be informed of the evidence upon which a charge is based and accorded an opportunity to offer a relevant response;
3. be accompanied by an advisor of their choice;
4. remain silent with no inference of guilt drawn therefrom;
5. call and question relevant Witnesses; (A witness is permitted to testify via electronic means (telephone, video conferencing etc.) and permitted to be questioned through the Chief Justice/Chairperson);
6. present evidence on their behalf;
7. be considered innocent of the charges until proven responsible by a preponderance of the evidence;
8. appeal, if requested; and
9. waive any of the above rights.

The accused will be notified of the time, date, and location of a hearing in writing by the Chief Justice. No later than three calendar days prior to a hearing, this written notification will be mailed to the accused student's campus e-mail address if the student is currently registered for classes and mailed to the last address in Banner if the student is not currently registered for classes. The Chief Justice may also contact the accused by telephone to notify him or her about the hearing and answer questions. A student's failure to respond to official UJC correspondence does not constitute a violation of due process if the process moves forward. However failure to respond may be determined to violate the Code of Conduct and charges may result from such action. A hearing may be conducted in the absence of the accused if proper notification was provided and the student chooses not to attend. Requests to reschedule a hearing for a valid reason should be submitted by e-mail to the Chief Justice at the earliest possible opportunity.

Challenge a Justice
The accused may challenge the impartiality of a justice (the Chief may not be struck and a quorum must remain) by informing the Chief Justice of a possible conflict with a sitting Justice. The accused will then be given the opportunity to address the Cabinet on the record as to the nature of this conflict. The Justices will then deliberate the issue in private and render a decision to the accused. Students do not have a right to all new justices if they have appeared before the Cabinet in the past.

Hearing Process

Introduction
Everyone present for the hearing will be introduced for the record. The hearing process will be explained and any last-minute questions will be addressed. You will be reminded of the Institute Honor Code and your responsibility for honesty. The UJC seeks the truth.

Reading of Charges
The charge(s) against the accused will be read aloud; the accused will be asked if he or she accepts responsibility for the charge(s).

Opening Summary
The accuser may deliver, in three to four sentences, a brief summary of the main points and evidence to be provided in the hearing. However, no evidence or argument may be presented during this summary. The accused's summary will follow next, and should include similar information subject to the same limitations.

Witness and Evidence
The accuser will offer testimony and present evidence. Witnesses in support of the charges will be called into the room, one by one, to offer testimony. The accuser may ask questions of each witness, and the accused may ask questions of and respond to each witness. The Justices may interject with questions at any time. Next, the accused will offer testimony and present evidence. The witnesses in support of the accused will be called into the room, one by one, to offer testimony. The accused may ask questions of each witness, and the accuser ask questions of and respond to each witness. Again, the Justices may interject with questions. All witness statements will be strictly limited to 10 minutes. Any variations will be at the discretion of the Chief Justice. The Cabinet may consider extending timelines for the purpose of the investigation and a complete question and answer process. Witness testimony should be limited to evidence of which the witness has direct knowledge or experience; witnesses are not permitted to discuss any evidence about which they have no direct knowledge or with which they are not immediately involved. The relevance and admissibility of witness testimony rests at the discretion of the Chief Justice; challenges to a relevance-related exclusion may be decided by a private discussion of the Justices, at the option of the Chief Justice. Witnesses are encouraged to prepare and present visual aids if such materials would assist in the explanation of complicated information. If a witness brings a prepared statement, the witness will be asked to present the statement to the Justices; the Justices will read the statement and recall the witness for questioning if necessary. Critical to remember is that this segment of the hearing is only to determine the responsibility of the accused for the current charges. All testimony and questions should focus solely on this objective. The Cabinet may ask for additional resources or evidence if deemed relevant. The Cabinet may decide to provide additional preparation time for the accused or the accuser if determined reasonable by the Cabinet.

Closing Summary
The accused and accuser will each be given ten minutes to offer a final summary of the case. The accuser will go first and will be followed by the accused. Each summary should remind the Justices of the testimony offered during the hearing and how the evidence presented backs up that testimony. This summary is optional.

Deliberations
All parties present except for the Justices and Chief Justice will exit the room to allow the UJC to deliberate whether or not the accused is responsible for the violation. When a decision is reached, the accused and accuser will be called back into the room for the announcement of the Cabinet's recommendation. If the accused is found not responsible, the hearing will conclude and the decision will be forwarded to the Senior Associate Dean of Students. If the accused is found responsible for one or more charges, the hearing will move into the sanctioning process.

Sanctioning
Before the UJC enters deliberations to determine appropriate sanctioning, the Justices will read the accused's disciplinary file. The accused and the accuser will each be allowed three minutes to suggest a rationale for the severity of the sanctioning. The accuser will go first, followed by the accused. Justices will question after each statement. After the questioning, everyone except the Justices and the Chief Justice will exit the room again, and the UJC will deliberate sanctioning. When a decision is reached, the accused and accuser will be called back into the room for the announcement. The decision will be forwarded to the Senior Associate Dean of Students.
The sanctioning phase is not the time to present new evidence unless the student pleads responsible to all charges. If the student has accepted responsibility for the allegations, enough evidence is reviewed at the sanctioning phase, including witness statements, for the Cabinet to understand the scope of the violation. The UJC will not consider any proposed administrative resolutions.

Possible Sanctions

Below is a list of the sanctions available to the UJC:

1. Expulsion
2. Recommendation for Removal from Housing or Room/Building Changes
3. Disciplinary Suspension
4. Suspension Held in Abeyance
5. Reprimand
6. Disciplinary Warning
7. Disciplinary Restriction
8. Disciplinary Probation
9. Restrictions
10. Fines
11. Restitution
12. Community Service
13. Other Educational Activities

The UJC is not limited to sanctions listed above. Further descriptions can be found in the 2003-2004 Georgia Tech General Catalogue.

Appeals Procedure

The appeals procedure can be found in the 2003 - 2005 Georgia Tech General Catalogue.