Rules of Impeachment Procedure

--- title: Rules of Impeachment Procedure robots: noindex, nofollow --- # Rules of Impeachment Procedure These Rules should be cited as the Mayfl. R. Imp. P. #(#)(Letter/Number). For example, Mayfl. R. Imp. P. I(1)(1) would properly cite the first clause of the first rule under Part I. --- ### **PART I - IMPEACHMENT** #### **RULE 1 - CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY** 1. The Supreme Court of Mayflower is empowered and mandated by Article IV § 11 of the State Constitution to sit as a Court of Impeachment upon the filing and passage of an impeachment document in the State Senate. 2. The Supreme Court of Mayflower is empowered to establish rules as it sees fit for all judicial and constitutional matters that it shall preside over, in accordance with the Judicial Procedure Act. #### **RULE 2 - POWERS OF THE COURT** 1. The Supreme Court of Mayflower when sitting as a Court of Impeachment shall have the powers to maintain order within the chambers, hold noncompliant individuals with contempt of court under state law, and other duties as determined by the Court upon motion. 2. The Supreme Court of Mayflower when sitting as a Court of Impeachment shall have the powers to maintain order within the chambers, hold noncompliant individuals with contempt of court under state law, and other duties as determined by the Court upon motion. 3. The Supreme Court may invite specific individuals, under the signature of the Clerk of the Court and the Marshal of the Supreme Court to attend impeachment sessions, and bar those without invitation. #### **RULE 3 - SESSIONS AND QUORUM** 1. The Supreme Court shall only have quorum with all justices of the Court Present. 2. Rule 3.1 may be waived upon unanimous vote, but only once a supermajority of the court has voted on waiving said rule. 3. The Supreme Court shall be empowered to hold sessions within their chambers while sitting as a Court of Impeachment and shall establish the procedures of a session within its rules. --- ### **PART II - COUNSELORS OF THE COURT** #### **RULE 4 - BAR ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS** 1. The Supreme Court of Mayflower when sitting as a Court of Impeachment requires all counselors present before the Court, be a member of the Mayflower State Bar. It is recommended that all counselors present be a member of the Supreme Court Bar. 2. Senate Managers are excluded from Rule 4.1. #### **RULE 5 - CONDUCT OF ATTORNEYS** 1. Attorneys shall conduct themselves appropriately before the Court and before each other. 2. Attorneys shall follow the conduct rules as prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court and the Rules of the State Bar. #### **RULE 6 - DISBARMENT FROM APPEARING** 1. The Supreme Court of Mayflower when sitting as a Court of Impeachment may prohibit any person defending the Defendant, or any Senate Manager, upon motion from a Justice of the Court. 2. The Marshal of the Supreme Court shall be responsible and empowered to enforce Rule 6.1. #### **RULE 7 - APPEARANCE OF COUNSEL** 1. Counsel should appear before the Court in appropriate attire, including dress and or suit with neat and well-kept hair. 2. The Marshal of the Supreme Court shall be empowered to determine violations of, and correct, Rule 7.1. #### **RULE 8 - REFERENCES TO THE PARTIES** 1. Any time the Defendant is referenced in these rules, the Defendant has the right to direct his or her counsel to act on behalf of the Defendant. 2. The Senate, upon appointing its Senate Managers through a Senate Resolution, will still be referred to in these rules as the Senate. Any references to Senate Managers will be explicitly said as such. The Senate may designate additional outside counsel to assist the Senate Managers in the presentation of their case. 3. Each party shall transmit a list of all counsel to the Clerk of the Court. Counsel not on said list shall be prohibited from appearing in front of the Court. --- ### **PART III - TRIAL MEMORANDUMS** #### **RULE 9 - BRIEFING FORMAT AND TIMING** 1. The Format required by the Court when sitting as a Court of Impeachment shall be the same as the briefing formats required by the *Rules of Appellate Procedure*. 2. The Case title of any brief submitted shall be “*In re Impeachment of [Rank of Defendant] [Username of Defendant]*” 3. The Clerk will establish a schedule for the receiving of the list of counsel, an answer to the impeachment, a replication to said answer, brief of merits/trial memorandum and reply briefs. While the Clerk will be expected to schedule the trial, the trial will not be scheduled until the day after the reply briefs are due. The Clerk is required to work with all parties in order to establish a fair time for a trial. #### **RULE 10 - BRIEFS OF THE DEFENDANT** 1. The Defendant will be delivered a writ of summons by theMarshal of the Court. This writ of summons will be issued by the Chief Justice and shall direct the Defendant to file an official answer to the Articles of Impeachment, along with the date and exact time the answer is due. The Articles of Impeachment should be provided in their entirety in the writ of summons. Should an answer fail to be submitted by the deadline, the defendant will be immediately found in contempt of court. 2. The Defendant shall submit a brief of merits/trial memorandum, only after they have filed an official answer to the Articles of Impeachment. 3. The Defendant, should they deem it necessary, may file a reply brief/reply memorandum to the Senate Managers brief of merits/trial memorandum. #### **RULE 11 - BRIEFS OF THE SENATE** 1. The Senate, upon impeaching the Defendant, will supply the Clerk of the Court and the Chief Justice with the Articles of Impeachment, which will be delivered to the Defendant by the Court through a writ of summons. 2. The Senate Managers shall submit a brief of merits/trial memorandum. However, they must wait until the Defendant’s answer in Rule 10.1 is filed to file any briefs. 3. The Senate Managers, should they deem it necessary, may file a reply brief/reply memorandum to the Defendants brief of merits/trial memorandum. The Senate Managers may also file a replication to the Defendant’s answer to the Articles of Impeachment, should they deem it necessary. #### **RULE 12 - CONTENTS OF BRIEF** 1. The contents of briefs submitted by both parties should establish their case, witnesses, and evidence intended for presentation before the Court in Session. 2. The contents of briefs submitted by both parties must be properly catalogued and formatted. 3. Any reply briefs must follow the same rules as required by the *Rules of Appellate Procedure*. 4. The Defendant’s answer may be formatted in any way the Defendant likes, as long as it’s legible and understandable to the average person. 5. The Clerk of the Court shall have the power to enforce these rules. #### **RULE 13 - PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS** 1. The Defendant and the Senate Managers will have until the Court initially convenes to hear the impeachment trial to make any motions. This excludes motions to subpoena witnesses, or documents, or any other evidentiary motions, which may be made at any time before closing statements begin. 2. Any and all motions will be filed with the Clerk of the Court. 3. Should any party wish to bring the argument of a pre-trial motion to a hearing, a 1/2 simple majority of all Justices is required to approve such a hearing. Said hearing will follow the rules as governed in Rule 16.2 --- ### **PART IV - TRIAL RULES** #### **RULE 14 - PROCEDURE** 1. When the Court is sitting as a Court of Impeachment, the following procedure will be used to hear the case. 2. The Court will be called to order by the Chief Justice. When the Chief Justice announces that the Court is now sitting as a Court of Impeachment, the Marshal of the Supreme Court, upon this announcement, will swear in the Chief Justice and his Justices, as per Rule 14.3. 3. The Marshal of the Supreme Court will swear in the Chief Justice and his Justices using this oath: > “Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of [username of the defendant], [rank of the defendant] now pending, you will do impartial justice, according to the Constitution and laws?” 5. After swearing in the Justices, the articles shall be exhibited to the Supreme Court, once the Marshal of the Supreme Court makes the following proclamation: > “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons are commanded to keep silent, under pain of imprisonment, while the Senate is exhibiting to the Supreme Court of Mayflower Articles of Impeachment against [username of the defendant], [rank of the defendant].” 7. The Senate Managers shall make its presentation in support of the articles of impeachment for a period of time not to exceed 30 minutes. Following Senates’ presentation, the Defendant shall make his presentation for a period not to exceed 30 minutes. Each side may determine the number of persons to make its presentation. 8. Upon the conclusion of the Defendant’s presentation, Justices may question the parties for a period of time not to exceed 30 minutes. 9. Following the questioning brought by the justices, if a motion to subpoena witnesses and/or documents has been made, each side will be given no longer than 15 minutes to argue for or against the motion. At the conclusion of the debate, the Justices will vote on the motion at hand. As per Rule 15.2, witness testimony will only be heard via a 2/3 supermajority vote in favor of hearing witnesses by the Court. 10. Should an evidentiary phase be approved, the Senate Managers will have 30 minutes to present any and all evidence, call witnesses, and examine evidence, in line with the evidentiary motion(s) made. Following the Senate’s presentation of evidence, the Defendant will be given 30 minutes to cross examine. Should the Court deem it necessary by a 1/2 simple majority vote, the Senate Managers may be given 15 minutes to re-examine. Then, the Defendant will have 30 minutes to present any and all evidence, call witnesses, and examine evidence, in line with the evidentiary motion(s) made. Following the Defendant’s presentation of evidence, the Defendant will be given 30 minutes to cross examine. Should the Court deem it necessary by a 1/2 simple majority vote, the Defendant may be given 15 minutes to re-examine. 11. Following the evidentiary phase (or lack thereof if no evidentiary motion is adopted), the Senate Managers, for a period not to exceed 30 minutes, shall make closing statements. Following Senates’ closing statements, the Defendant shall make their closing statements for a period not to exceed 30 minutes. Each side may determine the number of persons to make their closing statements. 12. Once closing statements have concluded, the Justices will retire to deliberate on a verdict, and will vote as outlined in rule Rule 16.1 and Rule 17.1. The verdict will then be announced by the Chief Justice, who will list each charge brought by the Senate individually, and the vote totals on each charge, individually. The Clerk of the Court will then compile the verdict into a report, to be delivered to the Senate, the Governor, and to the public. 13. Should the Chief Justice deem it necessary, the impeachment trial may span over the course of several days, until judgment is rendered. The Court is required to attempt to meet at least once every three days when it is considering articles of impeachment. 14. Should the Court be returning from recess, adjournment, or is otherwise resuming session, the Marshal of the Court will make the following proclamation: > “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons are commanded to keep silent, under pain of imprisonment, while the Supreme Court of Mayflower is sitting for the trial of Articles of Impeachment exhibited by the Senate against [username], [rank of the defendant].” #### **RULE 15 - WITNESSES** 1. Witness testimony will only be accepted should a motion be made to hear witness testimony. This motion must include all witnesses said party plans to call should the motion be adopted. 2. A motion to hear witness testimony will require a 2/3 supermajority vote in favor of hearing the witnesses from the justice. 3. Should a motion to hear witness testimony pass, the Clerk will establish a date by which parties must list any and all witnesses they may call. This date will be no longer than 5 days after the motion was accepted. 4. Depositions and/or affidavits will always be accepted as evidence from either side, if said evidence is admissible. 5. During an impeachment trial, the *Rules of Evidence* laid out in the *Mayflower District Court of New Haven’s Local Rules* will be used alongside these rules. #### **RULE 16 - PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS** 1. Should any party wish to bring the argument of a pre-trial motion to a hearing, a 1/2 simple majority of all Justices is required to approve such a hearing. 2. A pre-trial hearing will be exclusively on motions brought by either party. Each party will be given 15 minutes to present arguments at the motion(s) at hand. At the end of this hearing, the Justices will retire to deliberate and then vote on the motions at hand. #### **RULE 17 - REHEARING** 1. There will be no rehearing’s in any impeachment trial, unless a motion is made by the Defendant for a rehearing. The entirety of the Court must unanimously votes to rehear the impeachment trial. 2. There will be no rehearing’s in any pre-trial hearings. 3. The Senate Managers may not motion to rehear an impeachment trial, unless there is proven act of judicial misconduct, and/or unethical/criminal acts by a Justice. The vote requirements in Rule 17.1 still applies to this rule. --- ### **PART V - DISPOSITION** #### **RULE 18 - REQUIREMENTS FOR A CONVICTION** 1. Once a trial has been held in full, the Court will render its judgment. Should 3/4 or more of the Justices vote to convict the Defendant, the Defendant will be convicted and subsequently removed from office. 2. A vote to convict will not result in any criminal conviction, though a conviction in an impeachment trial does not prevent criminal charges being presented on the Defendant. #### **RULE 19 - REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ACQUITTAL** 1. Once a trial has been held in full, the Court will render its judgment. Should the 3/4 majority requirement *not* be met by the Court, the Defendant shall be acquitted. #### **RULE 20 - TIES** 1. There is no possibility for ties under the 3/4 majority requirement, thus, no conviction vote will ever tie. 2. Any motion vote that ties will be considered failed, but only once all Justices have voted on the motion. #### **RULE 21 - MISTRIALS** 1. Should either side motion for a mistrial during the trial, it will halt proceedings and the motion for mistrial will be debated for no longer than 30 minutes, with each side receiving 15 minutes to debate. 2. When the debate ends, the Court will vote on the motion. Should 3/4 of the court find the trial is in fact a mistrial, it will be declared as such and the proceedings will be immediately adjourned, and the Chief Justice will determine the procedure for a re-trial. If 3/4 of the court does not find that the trial is in fact a mistrial, proceedings will continue. 3. Should the Chief Justice feel that a motion for mistrial lacks grounds, then the motion will not be recognized. The other Justices, if in full agreement, may vote to overrule the Chief Justice and start debate on the motion, which will proceed according to Rule 21.1.