Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1983 · 55th Convention › Page 208
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 208

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

208

STRUCTURE AND CONSTITUTION

and resolutions, and also that of the Commission on
Theology and Church Relations on questions of
interpretation of theological issues.

g. The commission or board need not be bound by
legal rules of evidence in every respect but shall
require that evidence be relevant.

h. Any party to any proceeding may select not
more than two advisers.

i. Each party to a proceeding shall assume his
respective expenses, including the expenses of his
adviser(s). The Synod or the District, as the case may
be, shall pay the expenses of its Commission on
Adjudication, including the cost of furnishing tran-
scripts of the evidence to the parties to the proceeding.

j. While a case is still undecided or while appeals
are contemplated or pending, there shall be no public-
ity of the case by any party to the proceeding.

k. All files of cases in which a final decision has
been rendered by a commission on the synodical level
shall be preserved in locked files in the custody of the
Concordia Historical Institute. Any such files shall
be opened only with the approval and for the use of
the Commission on Appeals during the first 25 years
from the date of closing.

1. The rules shall provide for petitions for rehear-
ing by a Commission on Adjudication and the Com-
mission on Appeals of its decisions.

m. A Commission on Adjudication shall decide
within three months except for good cause from the
effective date of suspension any case involving
expulsion from membership in the Synod of amember
who is under suspension.

8.51 Case Panel

Each case coming before a Commission on Adjudi-
cation or Commission on Appeals shall be heard and
decided by a panel of at least five members, at least
two of whom shall be clergymen and at least two of
whom shall be laymen, including at least one lawyer.

8.33 Quorum

No decision of a Commission on Adjudication or
the Commission on Appeals shall be valid or binding
unless at least a majority of the case panel thereof, as
hereinafter provided, shall have been involved in all
stages of the decision-making process.

8.35 Majority Vote

A Commission on Adjudication shall decide each
case by the vote of a majority of the case panel
qualified to decide the case; provided, however, that
in case of excommunication a tie vote will be deemed
in favor of the individual under excommunication.
The Commission on Appeals shall decide each case

i. The commission need not be bound by legal
rules of evidence in every respect but shall require
that evidence be relevant.

j. Any party to a case may select not more than
two advisers. An adviser who is not a member of a
congregation of the Synod shal] be limited in any
discussion to procedural issues only and shall not
participate in any discussions of doctrinal matters.

k. A Commission on Adjudication or the Com-
mission on Appeals shall have the right to call upon
any member of the Synod or officer of a congregation
or any organization owned and controlled by the
Synod to testify in a case.

]. Each party to acase shall assume his respective
expenses, including the expenses of his adviser(s).
The Synod or the District, as the case may be, shall
pay the expenses of its Commission on Adjudication,
including the cost of furnishing transcripts of the
evidence to the parties to the case. The expenses of the
Commission on Appeals shall be borne by the Synod.

m. While a case is still undecided or while an
appeal is contemplated or pending, publicity shall
not be given to the issues in the case by any party to
the case. A violation by a party may place the party's
standing in jeopardy. At the request of either party
the status of the process and periodic progress reports
on the process may be properly disclosed by the
chairman of the commission to parties on a need-to-
know basis.

n. All records of cases in which a final decision
has been rendered by the synodical Commission on
Adjudication or the Commission on Appeals shall be
placed in the custody of the Concordia Historical
Institute. Any such records shall be sealed and
opened only with the approval of the Commission on
Appeals during the first 25 years from the date of
closing.

o. The Rules of Procedure shall provide for a
motion for rehearing before a Commission on
Adjudication or the Commission on Appeals of its
decisionis).

p. Except as permitted by Bylaw 8.43 b, a Commis-
sion on Adjudication shall render its decision within
three months from the effective date of suspension in
any case involving expulsion from membership in
the Synod.

q. Any questions concerning Rules of Procedure
shall be addressed to the chairman of the Commission
on Appeals.

F. DECISIONS
8.61 Case Panel

Fach case coming before a Commission on Adjudi-
cation or the Commission on Appeals shall be heard
and decided by a panel of at least five members, at
least two of whom shall be clergymen and at least two
of whom shall be laymen, including at least one
lawyer.

8.63 Quorum

No decision of a Commission on Adjudication or
the Commission on Appeals shall be valid or binding
unless at least a majority of the case panel thereof
shall have been involved in all stages of the decision-
making process.

8.65 Majority Vote

A Commission on Adjudication shall decide each
case by the vote of a majority of the case panel
qualified to decide the case; provided, however, that
in the case of excommunication a tie vote will be
deemed a decision in favor of the individual under
excommunication. The Commission on Appeals shall