COLUMN: Witnesses important part of trials

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by Jay Fundling

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MOST OF the columns I've written so far this semester have dealt with the trial process as it affects the person who is accused of an honor code violation.

However, the trial process is often very confusing to witnesses, and many more of you reading this will be called in to be witnesses than will ever be accused.

Before the trial, the chair contacts all of the witnesses and tells them where the trial will be held and when they are expected to show up.

The time the witness is supposed to arrive is an educated guess by the chair. If the council is in the middle of a discussion, the witness may have to wait outside for a few minutes.

When the witness comes in, he introduces himself and a member of the council swears the witness in with an oath.

The two main aspects of this oath deserve close examination.

First, the part about telling the truth.

The witness is compelled by the honor code to tell the truth in this situation. When I say "compelled by the Honor Code," I do not mean that lying will be punished by the honor council. It won't.

The council only has jurisdiction over academic matters.

What I mean is that every student is responsible for preserving Rice's honor system.

The council does not have the power or the right to administer an honor system without the support of the rest of the students.

The other important feature of the oath is confidentiality. Someone else's involvement with the Honor Council is too serious an issue for gossip.

An Honor Council trial is assumed to be no one's business but the accused's. The witnesses, just like the council members, are bound by the honor code to keep the identity of the accused confidential.

This means not discussing any names, which class it was or any other specific details.

After the witness is sworn in, the questioning begins.

Questions are allowed from either the accused or the council at any time.

These may be specific questions, or the witness may be asked to tell his story.

During the questioning of a witness, the council and the accused have two things in mind: to find out the facts and ensure a fair trial.

While the council would like to make witnesses feel comfortable, that is often overlooked.

As a result, questions sometimes seem to come out of nowhere, and people may jump from subject to subject.

Some witnesses find this process confusing or intimidating, and it's OK to ask for clarification.

Also, if you are asked something you don't know, "I don't know" is a perfectly acceptable answer.

In order to make the job of witnesses easier, the council created the new position this year of student liaison, whose job is to help the witnesses understand what the trial will be like and answer any questions they have after the trial.

This liaison will be a person for the witnesses to contact about general procedure but will not know any specifics of the case.

Jay Fundling is a Honor Council senior representative and a Wiess College senior.

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the March 15, 1996 issue.

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