University of Virginia Library

Colloquium

New Deal Outlined For Academic Village

(The following is a
statement by the Judiciary
Committee made in
conjunction with the
announcement of positions to
be filled by December
elections. –Ed.)

Time was when "justice" on
the Grounds was whatever the
Dean said it was. The
University disciplinary system
was one run entirely by the
administration and depended
upon the succession of fair and
wise men who occupied the
seats of Dean of Students and
Vice President for Student
Affairs.

At a school where the
student-run Honor System had
enjoyed a long and successful
existence, this dichotomy that
saw grave offenses tried by the
students themselves while less
serious matters were referred
to the Dean was unusual and
probably not desirable.

The "student power"
revolution of the late 1960's
together with some important
federal court decisions have
resulted in many changes in
college disciplinary systems
throughout the nation. In some
respects, U.Va. has taken a lead
in turning responsibility for
enforcing the rules over to the
students themselves.

The continuing emphasis in
having students write the code
of conduct and assume the
burden of enforcing that code
once written has resulted in a
dramatic expansion in the
responsibilities of the Judiciary
Committee. Nest semester will
see the fruition of a number of
programs that aim to
consolidate and rationalize the
procedural aspects of the
present system.

The aim will be to insure
fairness by seeing that uniform
methods for handling cases are
established and that all persons
accused of violations are
afforded the opportunity for a
fair hearing and a decision
made by a duly constituted
and impartial body. Following
the trend of federal court
rulings, the system will
guarantee that wherever there
is a sanction there will be full
procedural due process
afforded to the accused.

Most importantly, the
coming term will see an
alternation of the powers
presently given to the Judiciary
Committee. The University
Committee on Judicial Reform
is studying the present system
that splits responsibility
between the Deans and several
student judicial councils.

The aim will be to
restructure the entire system to
provide more centralized
control and to give all parties a
better idea of who handles
what.

Such centralization will
hopefully result in a more
responsive system that will at
the same time do a better job
of enforcing the Standards of
Conduct while insuring greater
fairness to the students
brought up for violations.
Obviously, such restructuring
and centralization will focus on
the Judiciary Committee and it
can be expected that the
revisions will see a substantial
increase in the Committee's
responsibilities.

The recent decision by
Commonwealth's Attorney
John Camblos to refer many
cases involving University
students directly to the
Judiciary Committee instead of
the Municipal Court has
already resulted in some
substantial changes in how the
Committee conducts its affairs.
A similar policy by the
University Department of
Security will also result in
expanded duties.

Indeed, the evolution is such
that it appears that members
elected to the Judiciary
Committee this fall will see the
beginnings of some untried and
potentially very exciting
methods for dealing with
student violations of local laws.

The idea of integrating a
student "court" into the
present system of county and
municipal courts is potentially
better for all concerned but its
success will depend upon the
Judiciary Committee's ability
to provide prompt and
even-handed treatment of
violations.

Thus one consequence of
the Committee's vastly
increased responsibilities is a
number of changes in how the
Committee operates. Already a
system of Law School defense
counsel has been established.
Counselors in the dormitories
have been appointed and will
be able to handle many of the
questions about bringing cases
or defending against
accusations that now go
unanswered.

Overall, the Committee is
going to tighten its procedures
and develop new methods for
administering the Standards of
Conduct in a firm, impartial
manner. The persons elected to
the Judiciary Committee will