Student Bar Association: Honor Court (the Judicial Branch)

The Appalachian School of Law

Honor Court

The Honor Court serves as the Judicial Branch of the Student Bar Association (SBA).

The Honor Court consists of five members elected from, and by, each class of the law school, including two members from the rising 3-L class, two members from the rising 2-L class, and one member from the 1-L class.

The Chief Justice is the rising 3-L student receiving the most votes for the court.

Duties of the Honor Court

The Honor Court:

• hears and considers all complaints properly brought before it;
• notifies the Dean of the Law School, in writing, of a possible Honor Code violation and requests an investigation by the Dean;
• makes a written determination, based on facts presented at a hearing, of each case brought before it;
• after determining that an infraction of the Honor Code has occurred, makes a written recommendation to the Dean regarding the punishment of the student pursuant to the honor code;
• immediately provides a written finding to the Dean of the Law School and the accused;
• provides a written interpretation of the SBA Constitution upon written request of the President, the Senate, or any member of the SBA; and
• upon finding a basis for a recount in any election pursuant to the Constitution, appoints a disinterested party from the faculty to witness a recount.

Based on my own personal experience, the Dean refers all alleged violations of the school's Honor Code to a 3-member panel of faculty.  Students on the Honor Court are not making any binding findings or recommendations about alleged violations or punishments.

I understand that the Dean has asked the SBA to revise the Honor Code and its enforcement procedures.  

If anyone has additional information about the Honor Court, please pass it along to me.