Section 1. Any Delegate or Officer may prefer charges against an Officer or Trustee by filing two copies of the charges with the Council Executive Board. These Charges must be signed by the person preferring the charges and must set forth the specific violation or wrong charged and the date on which it allegedly occurred. Any charges must contain a brief statement of the facts upon which the charges are based and must be sufficiently specific to permit the charged party to prepare a proper defense.

Section 2. Any charges must be filed within sixty (60) days of the time the complainant becomes aware, or reasonably should have become aware, of the alleged offense.

Section 3. A written copy of the charges must be forwarded to the charged party, to his/her last known address, by Certified Mail within seventy-two (72) hours after the charges have been filed.

Section 4. The charges will be read, but not discussed, at the next Regular or Special Council Meeting. Five (5) members then will be chosen from the Delegates to serve as a Trial Committee. The presiding Officer will first ask for volunteers from the Delegates. The names of the volunteers will be written on slips of paper and placed in a container. A Trustee or member of the Constitution Committee shall select five (5) of the names from the container who shall serve as the Trial Committee, provided that there shall not be more than one member of the Trial Committee from a Local Union. If there are not five (5) volunteers, the presiding Officer will appoint enough Delegates to the Trial Committee to total five (5). One alternate will be picked and will be used to fill any committee vacancy at any time prior to the commencement of formal hearings but not after. If the charges are made against the presiding Officer, he will step down and the Executive Vice President will handle these proceedings. If the Executive Vice President and/or other Officers or Trustees are charged, the next senior Officer will handle the proceedings. If all Officers and/or Trustees are charged, the Constitution Committee will pick a Delegate to handle the proceedings. Neither the complainant, nor the charged party, nor Delegate of the complainant's or charged party's local may be a member of the Trial Committee.

Section 5. The complainant and the charged party shall promptly be notified of the members appointed to the Trial Committee. The complainant also shall be notified to forward immediately to the Trial Committee any evidence, including written statements and exhibits, that they have supporting the charges. Before the convening of the first meeting of the Trial Committee, either side may ask that a particular Trial Committee member be disqualified if a side believes that they cannot receive a fair trial before that Trial Committee member. The Trial Committee shall decide the question by majority vote at its first meeting with the member whose disqualification is sought not voting. The decision of the Trial Committee on this issue shall be final.

Section 6. The Trial Committee shall convene and shall choose its own chairman, who shall have full voting rights. It first shall review the charges. If the Trial Committee determines that the charges, in whole or in part, have not been properly or timely filed, do not state an offense for which an Officer or Trustee may be charged, or have not been supported by the evidence provided by the complainant, it shall render a report dismissing those portions of the charges, which shall be submitted to a Special Council Meeting in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 17 of this Article.

Section 7. If the Trial Committee, upon examining the evidence provided by the complainant concerning the remaining portion of the charges, finds there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial, the complainant and charged party shall be notified by Certified Mail when a formal hearing will take place before the Trial Committee. The charged party shall be given a minimum of thirty (30) days to respond to the Trial Committee. The Trial Committee may in its sole discretion grant a reasonable delay to the charged party or complainant when it feels the facts or circumstances warrant such action.

Section 8. With the exception of the charged party, only members of the Utility Workers Union of America may attend the proceedings of the Trial Committee.

Section 9. The formal hearings of the Trial Committee shall be tape-recorded and a copy of the tape shall be available, upon payment of the cost of duplication, to the complainant or to the charged party.

Section 10. The charged party may defend theirself or may choose to be represented by one (1) member in good standing of the Utility Workers Union of America. Private counsel may be present outside of the hearing room. The Trial Committee may, at the Union's expense, be represented by the General Counsel of the Union, who may also be present outside of the hearing room.

Section 11. If the charged party deliberately absents himself/herself from a scheduled hearing without being excused by the Trial Committee, the Trial Committee may proceed as if they were present. If the Complainant deliberately absents himself/herself from a scheduled hearing without being excused by the Trial Committee, the Trial Committee shall forthwith dismiss the charges.

Section 12. The complainant and the charged party shall have a fair and impartial hearing and shall have the right to make an opening statement, to be present throughout the hearing, to offer testimony and evidence, to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and to make a closing statement. The complainant shall proceed first and shall have the burden of proving the charges by a preponderance of the evidence. There shall be a presumption of innocence in favor of the charged party.

Section 13. All questions of order, procedure, and admissibility of evidence shall be decided by the Trial Committee and shall be final.

Section 14. All Trial Committee members are expected to be present at all hearings. Notwithstanding the above, the Trial Committee may meet and conduct hearings and other business, deliberate, and issue its final report, if a majority of its members are present.

Section 15. Any properly selected member of the Trial Committee may continue to serve as a member of that Committee until the conclusion of its proceedings, so long as they remain a member in good standing of the Utility Workers Union of America.

Section 16. If a member of the Trial Committee resigns from the Committee, retires, or otherwise ceases to be a member of the Utility Workers Union of America, they shall not be replaced after the commencement of formal hearings and the remaining members of the Committee shall continue any proceedings on the pending charges so long as at least three (3) members remain on the Trial Committee.

Section 17. Within thirty (30) days of the conclusion of the hearings, the Trial Committee shall prepare a written report and submit it to a Special Council Meeting with its recommendations on the guilt or innocence of the accused on each charge and its recommendations for penalties, if any. At the meeting, Delegates shall be permitted to speak first and thereafter all other members will be permitted to speak in accordance with Article XVII, Rule 8. The charged party and complainant shall be accorded full opportunity to present their position on all matters bearing upon the trial and the report and recommendations of the Trial Committee.

Section 18. The report and recommendations of the Trial Committee on each charge shall become effective only upon approval by a majority vote of the Delegates present and voting at the Special Council Meeting. If the report and recommendation of the Trial Committee on a charge is rejected, no further action will be taken on that charge. There can be no per capita or referendum vote on the report and recommendations, under Article IV, Section 6.

Section 19. A report of the Delegates' decision shall be forwarded immediately by Certified Mail to the charged party, the National Office, and the complainant.