Serving on a disciplinary committee is a most difficult (and important) responsibility. For most cases, committee members need not be expert players. However, it is important that each member of the committee have a reputation for integrity, honesty and unimpeachable ethics to avoid any claim of a prejudiced decision. Generally, the chairperson should have considerable experience in disciplinary matters and be sensitive to the due process considerations affecting the disciplinary process. An odd number (usually 5) is best to avoid the possibility of deadlock on any single issue.

B. BIAS

Every committee member must be completely unbiased as to the personalities and issues involved. Common sense should prevent most incorrect appointments. No committee member should be a regular partner, close friend, spouse, significant other or known enemy of any party, or have a business or financial association. Any committee member who has dealings with a party that might give even the appearance of impropriety should excuse him or herself from further service. Committee members should conduct themselves appropriately, and avoid social contact with any party either before or immediately after the hearing.

A complaint concerning a single incident must be filed within 60 days of that incident. A complaint concerning a pattern of actions must be filed within five years of the earliest action referenced in the complaint. A complaint involving the conveying of information by unauthorized means, pursuant to Law 73.B.2 is not subject to any period of limitations.

Each unit and district should have a committee whose purpose is to hear disciplinary matters. Where such a standing committee does not exist, it must be formed on a case by case basis. All members of the committee should be well-respected members of the bridge-playing community.  The committee as a whole should represent diverse areas.

If a Disciplinary Committee member feels unable to act impartially at a hearing, he or she should ask to be excused. If there is an appearance of possible partiality (See I.B), the committee should either excuse the member from the hearing or discuss the matter with the parties involved, to determine if they object to the presence of that person on the committee. The committee as a whole is the sole determiner of the eligibility of committee members.

The person delegated to bring charges must  not be the Disciplinary Committee Chair or other member of the disciplinary committee.

C. Presenter

A presenter is an individual who makes or assists with an impartial presentation of evidence to a disciplinary committee.  A presenter may be the recorder, tournament director or other party.  The presenter may act as an aide to the disciplinary committee to insure a fair and complete presentation of the evidence for the committee to consider.

There are occasions when the person delegated to bring charges (or the committee chair) will determine that, in the interests of a full and fair hearing, it will be appropriate to have an impartial party help organize and present evidence. In these instances, the committee chair should request that a presenter be selected if the person responsible for charging has not previously selected a presenter.

Except for simple, straightforward cases, it is suggested that consideration be given to selection of a presenter.

D. Advocate

A person selected by the Unit, District or ACBL Management to represent the organization by prosecuting the complaint.  An advocated is a representative of the complainant.  As such, the advocate is not neutral or unbiased.  The advocate is free to aggressively prosecute a complaint.

Subsequent to the scheduling of a disciplinary hearing or an appeal, it is mandatory that the parties involved receive timely written notice of the date, time and place of the hearing, are furnished with written charges, and are advised of their right to be represented by counsel (who need not be an attorney), to produce evidence on their behalf and to be present during the entire hearing. Suggested forms are available at the ACBL web page at www.acbl.org under Governance. The chairperson of the committee must verify that appropriate notices have been sent.

Since discussions and considerations at hearings of appeals of disciplinary sanctions are based primarily on the facts determined by the committee imposing the sanction(s), it is extremely important that detailed records be kept of all proceedings and testimony given at disciplinary hearings. While tape recording is not mandatory, it is most desirable. The chairperson should attempt to provide for the best record keeping permitted by circumstances. At the very least, one or more members of the committee should be charged with the task of keeping good written records. The Chairperson should ensure that any such records are sent to ACBL Headquarters, along witht the written report of the hearing, for safekeeping in the event of future need. 

The Disciplinary Committee may hold a pre-hearing conference to narrow or frame procedural questions that relate to the matter before it. At this conference the committee also may direct the disclosure of evidence, permit the taking of depositions, and permit the presentation of affidavits for use at the hearing. In addition, when more than one party is charged in the same situation, or when one party is charged in several situations, the proceedings may be consolidated.

The complainants and the people charged and/or their counsels are entitled to be present while all evidence is given. Other individuals may remain at the hearing only at the discretion of the chairperson.

After calling the hearing to order, the chairperson should clarify to all parties that the chair is in charge and that no one is to speak unless recognized by the chair. After introducing all individuals present to each other, the chairperson then explains how the hearing will proceed.

The chairperson should begin the hearing by reading the complaint. At a tournament, a tournament director, who might also be a witness in the case, presents most cases to the committee. At a Unit or District hearing, the case will usually have been referred to the committee after review by the President or a designee, who may be the recorder. In the absence of a person to officially present the case (such as the recorder), the chair will provide an opportunity for each side to present its case. The committee should hear the evidence, first in support of the complaint and then on behalf of those charged, followed by rebuttal by either side, as necessary. (See discussions on evidence in the Appeals Committee Handbook.)

Next, witnesses may be questioned by the party (or counsel) who calls them, by the other party (or counsel), the presenter, and by the committee members. At his or her discretion, the chair may sequester one or more witnesses; that is, allow them to attend the hearing only while giving testimony and caution them against discussing the case until the hearing is completed.

After hearing all testimony the committee considers the case in a closed session; these deliberations are privileged. The standard for determining guilt is that the evidence must be clear and convincing (See VII). A simple majority decision prevails, unless the unit or district bylaws specify otherwise.

If the committee arrives at a decision of guilt, the next step is the determination of what discipline to impose. The CDR should be consulted, along with the list of ACBL Sanction Guidelines(See CDR Appendix C).  The committee should examine the previous record of the guilty party before determining discipline. This information may be obtained by having the guilty person fill out the provided form listing previous disciplines and/or consulting with ACBL Headquarters prior to or after the determination of guilt.

Before a disciplinary committee at a tournament can refer a matter to a higher disciplinary body for further discipline (when  it feels such additional discipline is warranted), the referring committee must impose a maximum discipline permitted by a tournament disciplinary committee (90 days suspension or 90 days probation or both).

When the disciplinary body imposes sanctions, it is mandatory that such disciplinary body furnish the person(s) against whom the sanctions were imposed with written notice of the sanction, stating its effective date. The disciplined party or parties and the complainant, if any, are to be notified of the right to appeal the ruling to the District Appellate Committee (providing the name and address of the Chairman)  if the disciplinary body is a unit, district or tournament disciplinary committee. (Note: Other disciplinary bodies should check the CDR to properly advise the disciplined party or parties.)

It is also mandatory that the disciplinary body send a full report of the hearing (See Hearing Report Form at www.acbl.org ) along with a copy of the letter sent to the disciplined party or parties to ACBL Headquarters at the same time.

To find a person guilty requires a simple majority of the committee. Each committee member in deciding which way to vote, uses as a standard that the evidence be clear and convincing. It is not necessary that the evidence be beyond a reasonable doubt. If a reasonable person has a firm conviction that the evidence favoring guilt is more likely to be true than the evidence favoring innocence, then that committee member should find the charged person guilty as this meets the standard of clear and convincing.

In assessing any of the following sanctions, the committee should consider the definition of member in good standing which is: an ACBL member shall be deemed to be in "good standing" when such member is not currently on suspension, indefinite probation or serving probation that resulted from a suspension, the initial term of which was in excess of ninety days.