Article II: Judicial Authority and Organization
Pomona College’s disciplinary authority originates in the Board of Trustees and the President of the College. It has been delegated through the faculty to the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) of the faculty. The Student Code derives its authority from the Student Affairs Committee and changes in the Code require the Committee’s approval. The Student Affairs Committee and the President of the College have delegated responsibility for administration of the Student Code to the Vice President and Dean of Students, but SAC reserves the right to hear cases as described below.
College jurisdiction and discipline extend to conduct which occurs on the Claremont Colleges premises or at an activity sponsored by any of the colleges (e.g., study abroad, Orientation Adventure, ASPC-funded trips), and conduct which occurs off campus but constitutes grave misconduct or flagrant disregard for the college community. When an activity occurs off-campus, it is the responsibility of the Vice President and Dean of Students, in consultation with the Associate Deans who serve as advisors to the Judicial Council, to determine whether College jurisdiction will be asserted. When a student is charged with a violation of federal, state, or local law, and college disciplinary action is also taken, campus proceedings may be carried out prior to, simultaneously with, or following civil or criminal proceedings. The College’s proceedings are not bound by determinations made by civil or criminal proceedings.
The full Judicial Council shall consist of one student Chair, two student Associate Chairs, one student Appeals Board Chair, and up to forty-seven additional student members who serve as panelists. The Judicial Council shall be a standing body which meets at a time and place established by the Chair. Participation in Full Hearings, Penalty Board Hearings, and Appeals Board Hearings shall rotate among the forty-seven members of the Judicial Council. The Chair and Associate Chairs shall rotate serving as the chair of hearing panels. Any Judicial or Associate Chair not serving as chair of a hearing may sit as a regular panel member.
Advisors
Students have the right to an advisor who will help guide them throughout the judicial process. It is the role of the advisor 1) to help the student understand the student judicial process, 2) to help the student navigate and understand appropriate use of the case history file, and 3) to advise and support the student during the hearing process. Advising the student during the hearing involves helping the student to remain calm and confident, reminding the student if a key point has not been stated or received enough emphasis, and being attentive to whether the respondent has adequately responded to all questions and concerns raised by or implied in the alleged policy violations or the hearing.
The advisor speaks to and advises the student but does not address the Student Code Administrator, Representative of the College, hearing panel, or witnesses. During the hearing phase, the respondent or their advisor may request a recess to confer with the Judicial Council chair or with each other outside the hearing.
At the earliest point of contact between the Student Code Administrator and the respondent, the Code Administrator shall inform the student of their right to an advisor during the investigative process and that having an advisor is strongly recommended. The Student Code Administrator shall further inform the student that a Judicial Council member is available to act as the student’s advisor immediately upon request. This request may be made at any point throughout the process.
Should the matter be referred to the Judicial Council, the student shall be, by default, offered by a member of the Judicial Council a list of 3-4 qualified advisors. Students may select an advisor from this group or seek the assistance of any other faculty, staff, or student member of the College Community (excluding witnesses in the case, panelists in the case, Judicial Council chairs, and, except when given written permission by the Vice President and Dean of Students, attorneys). Students will also be able to opt-out of having an advisor if they so wish but will be informed that having an advisor is strongly recommended. If they choose to opt-out, they retain the right to request an advisor at any point. The chair of any hearing panel shall ensure that there are Judicial Council members present at the hearing who are not serving as panelists in the hearing and who are willing and able to act as advisors to the respondent, complainant, or victim should they request such an advisor. The respondent, complainant, and victim shall have at most one advisor, except as allowed by Article VI, Section E, Subsection 1.
Types of Cases:
Cases are addressed through Full Hearings, Penalty Board Hearings, and Appeals Board Hearings, depending on the nature of the case. A Full Hearing shall be convened when the facts of the case or the role and responsibility of the respondent are in dispute. A Penalty Board shall be convened when the respondent agrees to the facts of the case and signs a SAPV indicating responsibility for violating the Student Code. An Appeals Board shall be convened when the respondent alleges that new evidence has been found, inappropriate sanctions have been applied, or improper judicial procedure occurred in the Full Hearing or Penalty Board Hearing. Panelists chosen to serve on the Appeals Board shall be Judicial Council members who did not participate in the Full Hearing or Penalty Board Hearing of the case.
All three kinds of cases are heard by four members of the Judicial Council, plus a non-voting chair, which constitutes a quorum. A dean from Student Affairs shall attend each hearing as an advisor on process and to represent the views of the College. The presiding chair or a staff member from Student Affairs will record the proceedings on a recording device belonging to the College.
Hearings by the Student Affairs Committee
The Student Affairs Committee shall consider any case which the Judicial Council has refused or over which it is unable to accept jurisdiction or which, after accepting jurisdiction, it declares impossible to adjudicate. Decisions necessary to determine jurisdiction shall be made by the Vice President and Dean of Students.
The Student Affairs Committee consists of ten voting members—three faculty members, the Vice President and Dean of Students, the Dean of Campus Life, and five students. Five members, including at least three students and at least two faculty members, shall constitute a quorum for hearing a discipline case. When meeting as a judicial body, the Dean of Students shall sit as a voting member of the hearing panel only if the dean has had no involvement with the case prior to the hearing. If the dean has had prior involvement with the case, a dean from Student Affairs shall sit with SAC as a voting member. The Judicial Council chair shall be present to advise the SAC chair on process while a second dean from Student Affairs shall present the view of the College regarding the alleged violation.
The Student Affairs Committee may, at any time, request and receive a report on any judicial action, including a full report on any case or a summary of violations and penalties assigned. Such a report shall be prepared by the Dean of Students.
Student Affairs
For purposes of this code, Student Affairs consists of the Vice President and Dean of Students, the Associate Deans of Students, Dean of Campus Life, and members of the on-call staff. They investigate reports of Student Code violations, prepare statements of alleged policy violations (SAPVs), and refer cases to the Judicial Council. Student Affairs may only determine responsibility and impose sanctions for alcohol and drug related violations, as outlined in Article VII, Section E. The sanctions of suspension or expulsion from the College may only be assessed by the Judicial Council, the Student Affairs Committee, or the President.
Student Affairs may, at any time, require that a case be given a hearing by a Full Judicial Council Hearing, Penalty Board Hearing, or by the Student Affairs Committee. If the Judicial Council chair believes that a case warrants further consideration, it shall be brought before a Penalty Board or Judicial Board or the Student Affairs Committee for hearing.
When a case is referred to the Judicial Council, Student Affairs may impose preliminary sanctions on the respondent(s), prior to the conclusion of a full investigation and Penalty Board, Full Hearing, or Student Affairs Committee hearing. Student Affairs shall inform the respondent of the Preliminary Sanction Review Board when imposing a preliminary sanction.
Preliminary Sanction Review Board (PSRB)
If Student Affairs imposes a preliminary sanction, the respondent may submit a petition to have the preliminary sanction reviewed by a Preliminary Sanction Review Board (PSRB). The petition to review the preliminary sanction must be submitted within 36 hours after the respondent has been notified of the preliminary sanction. They may ask the Dean of Students or their representative to contact the Judicial Council advisors to notify them of their interest in appealing the preliminary sanction. The PSRB must arrive at a decision within 36 hours after the petition has been received by the Judicial Council Chair. The PSRB is comprised of the two Judicial Council Advisors from the Dean of Students office and one or two Judicial Council Chairs that will not chair the respondent’s Penalty Board or Full Hearing. If one of the Judicial Council Advisors is not available for participation on the PSRB, a dean with investigatory powers who is not involved with investigating the respondent can serve in the stead of a Judicial Council Advisor on the PSRB.
The PSRB has jurisdiction over the respondent’s petition to lift the preliminary sanction until a final decision and sanction, if necessary, has been assigned by a Penalty Board, Judicial Board, or Student Affairs Committee hearing. A vote of three out of four members of the PSRB is necessary to lift or alter an interim sanction. If only one chair can sit on the PSRB Panel due to conflicts of interest or extenuating circumstances, a vote of two out of three members is necessary to lift or alter a preliminary sanction.
Factors that the PSRB shall consider include, but are not limited to:
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Context and factual uncertainty of the alleged Student Code violation
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Proportionality of the sanction relative to the alleged violation
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Well-being of the respondent and well-being of the entire college community
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Case history files
If a student, the Dean of Students, or their representative, notifies the Judicial Council of the student’s interest in appealing the preliminary sanction, the Judicial Council is notified of the interest in appealing a preliminary sanction, a respondent may petition the Judicial Council (all four student chairs and three Student Affairs advisors) for a 7-day extension, and the time the student has to submit their petition is extended by the time between the request’s submission and the Judicial Council notifying the respondent of their decision.
The PSRB’s decision shall be presented during the judicial body hearing. Panelists shall be advised that the decision of the PRSB does not constitute a finding of responsibility. Likewise, the judicial body hearing the case may reinstate a preliminary sanction even if the sanction was lifted by the PSRB. The PSRB’s decision shall not be used to influence the outcome of panel deliberations. The PSRB simply reviews the relevance and propriety of the sanction in relation to the potential violations in light of the information available immediately after the incident.
Student Affairs shall maintain judicial records including:
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A public, permanent case history file, which consists of case abstracts specifying alleged policy violations, facts, case dispositions and rationales for dispositions. Identification of participants in cases shall be omitted. This case history file shall be furnished to judicial bodies when they are hearing cases in accordance with procedures outlined in Article VI to provide context for past sanctioning decisions regarding similar policy violations. This information is in no way meant to determine future sanctioning decisions, but is rather meant to maintain an institutional memory within which to contextualize ongoing and evolving Judicial Council practices. Current information from the case history file shall be published each semester as a report to the community on alleged policy violations, case dispositions, penalties, and rationales.
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A confidential case file that is part of the record of each student found by the judicial bodies to have violated the Student Code. The confidential file is maintained permanently for students whose sanctions include residence hall suspension or change, residence hall expulsion, college suspension, or college expulsion. In all other cases, the confidential file will be maintained for five years from the date of the violation.
The President of the College
By action of the Board of Trustees, the President of the College is empowered to order interim summary suspension of any student from the College if it is deemed necessary for the well-being of the College community and until such time as the case can be referred to a hearing or the circumstances necessitating such action are remedied. In cases when the respondent has been suspended or expelled from the College by action of the Judicial Council or the Student Affairs Committee, the respondent may request that the President review the case following review by the appeals board. In addition, the President may, under extraordinary circumstances, review and if necessary, remand or alter the decision of the judicial bodies.
Mediation
Pomona College does not have pathways for mediating formal disciplinary issues but includes restorative practices in judicial procedure. Students wishing to pursue informal mediation for community, club, or organization disputes may contact the Associate Dean of Campus Life and Director of the Smith Campus Center. For housing disputes, the Housing and Residence Life Office provides roommate mediations.
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