Student Handbook - Sweet Briar College

iv. At their discretion, the Chair and/or Dean may excuse a student juror or
faculty juror from service for sufficient cause or conflict of interest.
v. Recusal notification must be made in writing and submitted to the Judicial
Chair immediately upon receipt of the jury summons.
C. Presiding Officer
1. The Presiding Officer of an Academic Conduct Trial will be the Academic
Judicial Chair. The Presiding Officer of a Non-Academic Conduct Trial will be
the Non-Academic Judicial Chair.
a. If the Presiding Officer is suspected to have any biases against or for the
case, or if she is unable to preside over the Conduct Trial, the other Chair
will lead the Trial. In the event both Chairwomen are unable to serve as
the Presiding Officer, one of the SGA Executive Officers may be asked to
act in this role. In the event that no SGA Executive Officer is able to
serve, the Dean of Co-Curricular life, in consultation with such persons as
she deems appropriate, will determine a method for selecting a temporary
Chairwoman to lead the Trial.
b. The Presiding Officer’s authority on the resolution of questions and
adjudication of the process during the Trial is absolute and final.
c. The Presiding Officer has the power to recess and recall a Trial as she
determines necessary.
d. Admission of any person to the Conduct Trial shall be at the discretion of
the Presiding Officer and her respective Administrative Representative.
e. In Trials involving more than one accused student, the Presiding Officer,
at her discretion, may permit the Trials concerning each student to be
conducted separately.
f. The respective Administrative Representative will make best efforts to
ensure that the privacy rights of all students under Federal and Virginia
law will be preserved and observed; this paramount legal obligation
outweighs the authority of the presiding officer in issues of the propriety
of evidence and questions.
D. Evidentiary Phase
1. After being called to order, the Conduct Trial begins with the presentation of
the evidence and witnesses by the Student Investigator.
a. The admissibility of evidence is at the discretion of the Presiding Officer
based on “relevance.”
b. Student witnesses are presumed to adhere to the Honor Principle and may
only give testimony to that which they have direct knowledge.
2. The Presiding Officer, the Administrative Representative, and the jurors may
ask questions; admissibility is at the discretion of the Presiding Officer.
3. If new evidence is presented during a Trial, the Presiding Officer has the
prerogative to recess and reschedule the case so that the accused has the
opportunity to review the information.
4. The Student Investigator has the right to question any witnesses or evidence
presented by the student in question.
E. Deliberation Phase
1. At the conclusion of the student in question’s presentation, the evidentiary
phase of the Conduct Trial ends. Only the jurors, the Presiding Officer, and the
______________________________________________________
58