Honor Court

COMPOSITION
The Honor Court (Court) is comprised of three seniors, two juniors, two faculty members, the discipline administrator (Dean), and the Honor Court Chair (Chair). The student members of the Honor Court are nominated and endorsed by both faculty and other students and appointed by the Head of School. The faculty members are nominated by the Honor Court Chair and appointed by the Dean. Student member elections are held at the beginning of each school year, and once elected, the student will serve in this capacity until his/her graduation and/or reason is presented for him/her to no longer maintain this role. Faculty members are selected at the beginning of each school year with their term running until the conclusion of the school year. Both the Honor Court Chair and the Dean are roles appointed directly by the Headmaster.

ROLES
Each student and faculty member of the Honor Court is responsible for hearing and rendering a verdict of guilt or innocence in cases concerning alleged Honor Code violations. The Honor Court Chair has the primary role of ensuring that the court proceedings are fair and just, but has no vote regarding innocence or guilt. The primary role of the Dean lies in the prosecution of the case, and upon the rendering of a guilty verdict, will present the recommendation to the Head of School for the final consequences. Due to the "assumed guilt" in prosecuting a case, the Dean must not have a vote in the final verdict. Additionally, all members of the Honor Court are bound by the strictest of confidentiality in all matters concerning the proceedings of an Honor Court case.

PURPOSE
The purpose of the Honor Court is to hear and adjudicate accusations of any violation of the Honor Code when called by the Dean when no resolution can be reached between the Dean and the accused.

PROCEDURE
All persons accused of alleged violations of the Honor Code are to be presumed innocent by the Court. The Court is only called into session if the Dean has requested a trial due to evidence that indicates an Honor Code violation, but the student has maintained a standing of innocence. Once the Court has been initiated, the following procedures will be adhered to:

With all members of the Court present, the Honor Court Chair will present the charges to the Court. The accused may choose to have a faculty representative/advisor present. However, this adult cannot be a parent of the accused and will not be allowed to participate in the proceedings in any way. It is at this stage that a member of the Honor Court must recuse him/herself if there is any personal knowledge or relation that would serve to damage the credibility of the proceedings and potential decision and/or undermine the authority of the Honor Court.
Upon completion of the presentation of the charge, the accused will have the opportunity to present a plea of guilty or innocent.
If the accused enters a plea of guilty, the Court will be immediately dismissed and the student will again meet with the Dean for rendering of consequences. If the accused enters of plea of innocent, then the Dean will begin a presentation of the investigative process and relative facts concerning the case. It is at this juncture that witnesses, evidence, and other relevant details may be presented to the Court.
After the presentation of the evidence by the Dean, the accused will have the opportunity to speak on his/her own behalf with the purpose of rebutting the evidence and witnesses that were presented against the accused. The accused will be afforded the same amenities as the prosecution, with the ability being maintained to call witnesses, demonstrate evidence, and provide other related details for the purposes of defense.
After the rebuttal presentation by the accused, there will be a final summation by the Dean to the Court followed by a final summation to the Court by the accused.
At the completion of the summations, the Court will then retire to deliberate the verdict. The Chair will accompany the Court to such retirement, but will have no say or vote in the proceedings. The deliberation process will consist of the members of the Court weighing all testimony and evidences presented to the Court in the case; nothing outside of such presentations should be considered. The conclusion of the deliberation will occur when the members of the Court cast a final vote of guilt or innocence that will determine the status of the accused. It is essential that the vote is not cast until all possible avenues of deliberation have been taken to their logical conclusion. The vote will be by secret ballot and a unanimous vote for decision is not required, only a majority of votes is required for conviction or acquittal. The Chair will be responsible for the collection and final tallying of the votes.
The Court will once again be called to order by the Chair for the purpose of declaration of the verdict. The Chair will read the verdict with the accused, the faculty representative/advisor, and the Dean all present. If the accused is indeed found guilty, he/she will have a final opportunity to address the Court and all present. The convicted student and the faculty representative/advisor will then be excused from the proceedings.
After the departure of the student and faculty representative/advisor, the Court will then have the opportunity to address the Dean in a recommendation of consequences. This is only a consideration, as the Dean will make his/her final recommendation to the Head of School, who is ultimately responsible for any final decision. Additionally, as an informed observer of the proceedings, the Honor Court Chair will also be consulted by the Dean for any recommendation to the Head of School. The Dean and Head of School may consider many factors, including prior offenses, when considering the recommendations and final consequences for the convicted student.
The process will be concluded with the Chair writing a brief review of the deliberation process and decision of the Court. This document will then be placed within the student's official file to accompany other official documents that are affiliated with this case. Finally, it is the role of the Chair to inform the members of the Honor Court of the final decision regarding the outcome of the proceedings.


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Homework Forms Facebook TCS Today Job Opportunities CONTACT US Athletics Admissions Headmaster Business Office		Honor Court COMPOSITION The Honor Court (Court) is comprised of three seniors, two juniors, two faculty members, the discipline administrator (Dean), and the Honor Court Chair (Chair). The student members of the Honor Court are nominated and endorsed by both faculty and other students and appointed by the Head of School. The faculty members are nominated by the Honor Court Chair and appointed by the Dean. Student member elections are held at the beginning of each school year, and once elected, the student will serve in this capacity until his/her graduation and/or reason is presented for him/her to no longer maintain this role. Faculty members are selected at the beginning of each school year with their term running until the conclusion of the school year. Both the Honor Court Chair and the Dean are roles appointed directly by the Headmaster. ROLES Each student and faculty member of the Honor Court is responsible for hearing and rendering a verdict of guilt or innocence in cases concerning alleged Honor Code violations. The Honor Court Chair has the primary role of ensuring that the court proceedings are fair and just, but has no vote regarding innocence or guilt. The primary role of the Dean lies in the prosecution of the case, and upon the rendering of a guilty verdict, will present the recommendation to the Head of School for the final consequences. Due to the "assumed guilt" in prosecuting a case, the Dean must not have a vote in the final verdict. Additionally, all members of the Honor Court are bound by the strictest of confidentiality in all matters concerning the proceedings of an Honor Court case. PURPOSE The purpose of the Honor Court is to hear and adjudicate accusations of any violation of the Honor Code when called by the Dean when no resolution can be reached between the Dean and the accused. PROCEDURE All persons accused of alleged violations of the Honor Code are to be presumed innocent by the Court. The Court is only called into session if the Dean has requested a trial due to evidence that indicates an Honor Code violation, but the student has maintained a standing of innocence. Once the Court has been initiated, the following procedures will be adhered to: With all members of the Court present, the Honor Court Chair will present the charges to the Court. The accused may choose to have a faculty representative/advisor present. However, this adult cannot be a parent of the accused and will not be allowed to participate in the proceedings in any way. It is at this stage that a member of the Honor Court must recuse him/herself if there is any personal knowledge or relation that would serve to damage the credibility of the proceedings and potential decision and/or undermine the authority of the Honor Court. Upon completion of the presentation of the charge, the accused will have the opportunity to present a plea of guilty or innocent. If the accused enters a plea of guilty, the Court will be immediately dismissed and the student will again meet with the Dean for rendering of consequences. If the accused enters of plea of innocent, then the Dean will begin a presentation of the investigative process and relative facts concerning the case. It is at this juncture that witnesses, evidence, and other relevant details may be presented to the Court. After the presentation of the evidence by the Dean, the accused will have the opportunity to speak on his/her own behalf with the purpose of rebutting the evidence and witnesses that were presented against the accused. The accused will be afforded the same amenities as the prosecution, with the ability being maintained to call witnesses, demonstrate evidence, and provide other related details for the purposes of defense. After the rebuttal presentation by the accused, there will be a final summation by the Dean to the Court followed by a final summation to the Court by the accused. At the completion of the summations, the Court will then retire to deliberate the verdict. The Chair will accompany the Court to such retirement, but will have no say or vote in the proceedings. The deliberation process will consist of the members of the Court weighing all testimony and evidences presented to the Court in the case; nothing outside of such presentations should be considered. The conclusion of the deliberation will occur when the members of the Court cast a final vote of guilt or innocence that will determine the status of the accused. It is essential that the vote is not cast until all possible avenues of deliberation have been taken to their logical conclusion. The vote will be by secret ballot and a unanimous vote for decision is not required, only a majority of votes is required for conviction or acquittal. The Chair will be responsible for the collection and final tallying of the votes. The Court will once again be called to order by the Chair for the purpose of declaration of the verdict. The Chair will read the verdict with the accused, the faculty representative/advisor, and the Dean all present. If the accused is indeed found guilty, he/she will have a final opportunity to address the Court and all present. The convicted student and the faculty representative/advisor will then be excused from the proceedings. After the departure of the student and faculty representative/advisor, the Court will then have the opportunity to address the Dean in a recommendation of consequences. This is only a consideration, as the Dean will make his/her final recommendation to the Head of School, who is ultimately responsible for any final decision. Additionally, as an informed observer of the proceedings, the Honor Court Chair will also be consulted by the Dean for any recommendation to the Head of School. The Dean and Head of School may consider many factors, including prior offenses, when considering the recommendations and final consequences for the convicted student. The process will be concluded with the Chair writing a brief review of the deliberation process and decision of the Court. This document will then be placed within the student's official file to accompany other official documents that are affiliated with this case. Finally, it is the role of the Chair to inform the members of the Honor Court of the final decision regarding the outcome of the proceedings.