LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — January 25–26, 2013, Page 14

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Dispute Resolution Panel and was not the fault of the party requesting the reopening of the
case, and unless it is clear that the absence of such evidence resulted in a gross miscarriage
of justice.
(d) The standards of review, which define the parameters for the panel’s consideration of an
appeal, limit the panel’s review to three (3) basic areas:
(1) Factual findings: The Appeal Panel shall review factual findings of the Dispute
Resolution Panel only to determine if they are supported by evidence. The Appeal
Panel shall not ordinarily sit in judgment of the Dispute Resolution Panel’s conclusions
regarding evidence, since that panel was in the best position to judge factual issues. The
Appeal Panel must be convinced that a mistake has been committed, that is, that the
evidence is such that reasonable minds could not disagree.
(2) Conclusions on authority: The Appeal Panel may approve an appeal if the Dispute
Resolution Panel was clearly outside its authority, e.g., a decision that the panel had no
authority to make under the Constitution and Bylaws, or a decision on an issue not
identified by the Dispute Resolution Panel, or a decision on a theological question that
the panel had no authority to make.
(3) Discretionary acts: The Appeal Panel may approve an appeal if there was a clear
abuse of discretion impacting the decision of the Dispute Resolution Panel, resulting in
a gross miscarriage of justice, or that involves an obvious and inappropriate bias or
prejudice.

(I) Responsibilities of the Review Panel
(Bylaw 1.10.8.4)
Rationale
If an Appeal Panel grants a request for reconsideration of the decision of a Dispute Resolution Panel and
the matter goes before a Review Panel, current bylaws advocate that the panel “shall generally decide the
issue on the record without further formal hearing,” though they also allow the panel to “follow the
procedure used by a Dispute Resolution Panel if deemed necessary.” In practice, this bylaw has been
found to be less than realistic in its advocacy of deciding disputed matters solely on the record of the
Dispute Resolution Panel. In most cases, a serious error by the earlier panel is the reason for granting a
request for reconsideration by Review Panel. In addition, the written record cannot convey the oral
testimony and conversation that necessarily takes place during a hearing. For these reasons, the
Commission on Handbook advocates the following bylaw changes.
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Procedure of a Review Panel
1.10.8.4 If an appeal is granted, the Secretary of the Synod, or his representative, shall, within 21 days,
select a Review Panel in the prescribed manner (Bylaws 1.10.15ff.). The Review Panel shall
generally decide the issue by following the procedure used by a Dispute Resolution Panel
(Bylaws 1.10.7ff.)on the record without further formal hearing but may follow the procedure
used by a Dispute Resolution Panel decide the issue on the record without further formal
hearing if deemed necessary sufficient and appropriate.

(J) Special Three-Member Panel
(Bylaw 1.10.16.1–1.10.16.2)
Page 41 – 01.25 to 01.26.13 – COH Minutes