The procedure of a cadet being brought before the Honor Court
is taxing on everyone involved, thus the accused has the right to a
fair and prompt trial. The process begins with the reporting of a violation.
Paragraph 17 b, Rights of an Accused.
Any cadet who knows, or believes they know of a breach of the
honor code are obliged to report this immediately to their company honor representative.
Also, any cadet who unintentionally violates the code must report themselves upon discovery
of the violation. Paragraph 24. Reporting a Violation.
The representative will then go over the evidence presented by the accuser to
make sure the accusation is complete. The representative will then
have the accuser sign a formal report including the name and class of
the accused, the date and time, the nature, and any witnesses to the
violation. Then the accuser will sign the report thus making
it an official statement. Paragraph 25. Action by the Honor
Representative.
After a formal accusation has been made the report goes straight to the
vice-chairman for investigations. He then makes a determination on
whether or not the accusation is solid enough to warrant an investigation.
If he feels the case is substantial he will
take the accusation to the President’s Executive Assistant who authorizes the committee
to act on the investigation. He then appoints
a three-person investigating committee from members of the Honor Committee and shall
designate one of the appointees as Chair of the investigating subcommittee. Paragraph 26. Action by the Vice-Chair.
The investigation team then notifies the accused that he or she is charged
and advises the accused of their rights as stated in The Rights
of an Accused, paragraph 17. It is then up to the investigation
team to make a thorough and impartial investigation and report their findings to
the vice-chairman for investigations. The investigation serves as
a fact-finding process. If at any time information comes up that will
exonerate the accused, then the Investigation Committee will talk to the Vice Chairman
for Investigations about dropping the case. After the investigation, the investigation committee then
makes a recommendation and presents the information to the Vice Chair for Investigations.
The Vice Chairman for Investigations will then carefully look over every
aspect of the investigation and make the decision to send to trial or
not. The Vice Chairman for Investigations makes the final and only decision to
send an investigation to trial or not. If the case goes to trial,
the Investigation Committee becomes the Trial Counsel, which will prosecute the accused in
trial. If the case is sent to trial, the Vice
Chairman for Investigations will advise and aid the Trial Counsel through the trial.
The accused then has a minimum of five working days to prepare a
defense. Paragraph 27. Action by the Investigating Committee.
When the case comes before the honor court the chair of the investigation
team will prosecute the case as counsel representing the South Carolina Corps of
Cadets. The other two members of the investigation team serve
as assistant council. Paragraph 28. Investigating committee to be Trial
Counsel.
