LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 226

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(k) Hearing Panel: Two district presidents, and a
two lay reconcilers, and one ordained reconciler,
assisted by a hearing facilitator, selected according to these bylaws to hear the matter and render
a final decision unless appealed.
…
(n) Panel decisions: The Hearing Panel and Final
Hearing Panel shall issue decisions by majority vote of the panel. All panel members must
be involved in all stages of the decision-making
process, with the hearing facilitator serving as an
advisor to the panel on the form but not the substance of the decision.
(o) Party to the matter: A “party to the matter”
is the accused and the suspending ecclesiastical
supervisor. accuser and the accused. Carrying
out the responsibility of ecclesiastical supervision does not make the ecclesiastical supervisor a
party to the matter, even if the accuser is the ecclesiastical supervisor.

2.14.7.3

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Hearing Panel
2.14.7
If the request for hearing as granted in Bylaw 2.14.6
(c) is made, the president of the district (the district
president of the suspended/accused member) shall
inform the Secretary of the Synod who shall initiate the formation of a Hearing Panel, such formation
to be accomplished within 30 days of the request in
accordance with the provisions in this bylaw.
2.14.7.1

At the time that the request for hearing is made, the
district president shall forward to the Secretary of
the Synod the statement of the matter and a written memorandum describing the manner in which
there was compliance with the guidelines provided
in Matthew 18:15–16, “previous futile admonition”
(Constitution Art. XIII 1), as well as all of the provisions of Bylaws 2.14.3–2.14.6.1.

2.14.7.2

A Hearing Panel consisting of two district presidents
(excluding the involved district president[s]), two lay
reconcilers, and one ordained reconciler who is a layperson, selected as follows, shall conduct the hearing:
(a) One district president shall be selected by the
accused.
(b) One district president shall be selected by the
district president who imposed the suspended status (a district president may not choose himself).
(c) One reconciler who is a lay person Two lay
reconcilers and one ordained reconciler shall be
chosen by blind draw from the Synod’s roster of
reconcilers, with the blind draw administered by
the Secretary of the Synod and audited by witnesses.

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U P O N T H I S R O C K • Resolutions

2.14.7.4

(d) Each Hearing Panel shall be assisted by a nonvoting hearing facilitator selected according to
Bylaw 2.14.2 (j).
(e) No two members of the panel nor the hearing
facilitator shall be from the same district.
(f) The hearing facilitator shall chair the proceedings administrate the hearing and may draw
upon persons and resources that he/she deems
necessary for conducting a hearing in a fair and
equitable manner.
(g) The hearing facilitator shall serve as an advisor to the panel on the form but not the substance
of the decision.
Upon receipt of a request for hearing, the Secretary of
the Synod shall promptly notify the accused and the
district president who imposed the suspended status
of their respective right to choose one Hearing Panel
member and direct that the identity of their selection
be transmitted to the Secretary of the Synod within
15 days from the date of such notice. If either party
declines to make a selection within 15 days, the Secretary of the Synod shall then make such selection
within five days.
The Secretary of the Synod shall also promptly select
a two lay reconcilers and one ordained reconciler to
serve as a third the remaining three members of the
Hearing Panel and a hearing facilitator to assist the
panel.

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2.14.8

The decision of the Hearing Panel may be appealed
by the accused (if an active participant in the hearing
before the Hearing Panel), the suspending ecclesiastical supervisor, or by the President of the Synod if a
question of doctrine or practice is involved (Constitution Art. XI B 1–3) within 15 days after receiving
the decision. Such request for a final hearing shall be
submitted to the Secretary of the Synod with copies
provided to the district president(s) of the accuser
and the accused, the chairman of the Hearing Panel,
the accuser, and the President of the Synod, and shall
be accompanied by a written memorandum stating
the basis for the request.

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Final Hearing Panel
2.14.9
Within 30 days after the receipt of the decision of the
Appeal Panel granting the request for reconsideration
of the decision of the Hearing Panel, a Final Hearing
Panel shall be selected.
(a) The panel shall be constituted in the same
prescribed manner as described in Bylaws
2.14.7.2–2.14.7.6, except that the two district
presidents, the three reconcilers on the panel, the
hearing facilitator that provided assistance to the
Hearing Panel, and the involved district presidents
“12. Ecclesiastical Supervision and Dispute Resolution”