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American Contract Bridge League
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CONAPP.033 (PAGE 1)
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CONDUCT - PROCEDURES FOR TDS
ASSISTING CONDUCT COMMITTEES
TDs must provide a copy of the ACBL Code of
Disciplinary Regulations,
Handbook for Disciplinary Committees, Handbook
for Bridge Appeals
Committees and the list of sanctions to the
committee.
(Board of
Directors - July, 1997)
EJECTING PLAYER FROM GAME
It is standard procedure for an assistant to
review the situation with
the DIC before ejecting a player from the
game. When an assistant
thinks a player's conduct is such that it may
warrant suspension for
the balance of the session, he should require
the offender to leave
the table and accompany him to see the Director
in Charge.
Directors are instructed to take rapid and firm
corrective measures
whenever a player has violated ACBL
Proprieties.
ILLEGAL ACTIONS AT TOURNAMENTS
The Appeals and Charges Committee of the ACBL
Board of Directors has
ruled that a person who commits an illegal act
at a bridge tournament
has also violated the ACBL disciplinary Code.
They may be brought up
on charges of conduct unbecoming an ACBL
member. (7 October 1988)
PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS
Private conversations (which do not include
accusations of third party
unethical conduct) are not within the ACBL's
jurisdiction even if they
take place at a tournament site. (Board of
Directors - Nov. 1986)
REPORTING DISCIPLINARY ACTION TAKEN BY A
COMMITTEE
DIC's at Sectional and Regional tournaments
must have a report on any
disciplinary action taken by a committee at
their tournament in the
mail to the office the day after the committee
action.
When a C&E committee imposes discipline
exceeding the tournament, a
report must either be sent in a separate,
letter-style envelope (NOT
WITH THE TOURNAMENT REPORT) attention Chief
Tournament Director or
faxed (901-398-7754) to the CTD.
According to our legal counsel, the office
cannot take action without
written (or faxed) notification of the
committee's findings.
(Office
Policy - November, 1993)
WITNESS STATEMENTS FOR FUTURE USE
If, for one reason or another, it is impossible
to convene a Conduct
Committee soon after an incident occurs, the
DIC or the Judiciary
Chairman should ask each witness to submit a
written statement. When
a hearing is not held immediately, some
witnesses may tend to forget
what they actually observed. They are also
likely to discuss the
incident with others which may distort their
memory. In addition, if
the witness is unable to attend some future
hearing, the deposition
can be submitted to the Conduct Committee as
testimony.
(Directions
- January/April 1993)
CONAPP.033 (PAGE 2)
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APPEALS - PROCEDURES FOR TDS
APPEARING AS A WITNESS
If a director appears at a hearing as a
witness, that shall be his/her
only role. (Board of Directors - Mar, 1994)
COMMITTEE DELIBERATIONS
TDs should not be present during committee
deliberations. If asked to
return TDs should make an effort to have a
member of each side return.
(Board of
Directors - Mar, 1994)
Directors should use the following general
approach:
1. The Director will present the facts,
decision, and reason for the
decision.
2. Prior to deliberations, the Director will
present the applicable
Laws and options of the committee under the
Law.
3. Only committee members will be present
during the deliberations.
Should the committee require further
information regarding the
facts or the Law, the Director AND other
parties involved should
be present.
4. Once the committee has come to a decision,
the Director must note
whether the committee has decided contrary
to Law or Regulation.
If so, the Director should tell them and
explain the reasoning.
The committee should be given the
opportunity to modify their
decision or convince the Director of his/her
error on the point
of law. The Director should reject any
decision which is
contrary to Law or Regulation.
(Office
Clarification - April, 1994)
HANDLING AN APPEAL
The handling of an appeal is one of the DIC's
(or his designee's) most
important duties. It is complicated by the
fact that, in many cases,
one or more of the principles is extremely
upset. For this reason it
is mandatory for the director reviewing the
case to keep his cool. If
possible, he should do the reviewing with the
players in a quiet
place. It is preferable that the reviewer be a
director other than
the one who gave the original ruling.
It is every player's right to have any ruling
made by a director
reviewed by a committee. In a matter of bridge
judgement the
committee's decision is final -- it overrides
the director's, should
they be different. There is no stigma attached
to a director's bridge
judgement being overturned by a committee -- in
fact, the director's
being right or wrong is about the least
important facet of a committee
hearing.
Of far greater importance is the appellant's
feeling after the appeal.
Even the most obtuse appellant will usually see
the light after his
case has been reviewed by several directors and
three of his peers in
a committee. The director is in a no-lose
position if he has promptly
furnished a player with a committee. If the
player feels he had to
fight tooth and nail to get a committee, the
director is in a no-win
position. If the player "wins" the appeal he
will have a "gotcha"
attitude toward the director. If he "loses" he
may well leave
(possibly never to return) with feelings of
resentment and unfair
treatment.
CONAPP.033 (PAGE 3)
___________________
Having a prospective appellant fill out the
appeal form (especially
the section devoted to why the player thinks
the director's ruling
should be changed) as soon as he states he
wishes to appeal has
beneficial value. It gives you something, in
writing, to review and a
starting position.
Next, it does not give the appellant a feeling
of resistance -- he
does not have to fight for what he knows to be
his right. Too much
resistance on the part of the director will
have the appellant
fighting more for his right to a hearing than
for his case. It may
well develop into a situation where the
appellant feels he is an
adversary of the director -- a situation we
certainly do not want.
A director should spend about ten minutes in
the screening process --
five minutes to gather the facts and assure the
proper ruling was made
and, if it seems the initial ruling was
correct, five minutes to try
to convince the appellant. Actually, unless
the case is very
complicated, two minutes should be enough to
establish whether or not
you are going to change the person's mind
without getting him so upset
that he will have to "win" the appeal or go
home a loser.
If, after a couple of minutes, it becomes
obvious the appellant does
not understand what you are telling him, you
might try the following
device. Say to the appellant, "You will have
your committee, but
first I would appreciate your going over the
case once again with one
of my senior directors,. . . " Another
director may be able to
enlighten and pacify the appellant.
(Management Comments - 8/81)
SELECTION OF A COMMITTEE
Players still active in an event should not
serve, if possible, on a
bridge-related committee involving a player in
that event.
(Board of
Directors - Mar, 1994)
CONAPP.033 (PAGE 4)
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ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY - BE NICE!
To establish an atmosphere which promotes the
enjoyment of bridge as
both a competitive and social game, the ACBL
has adopted a policy of
courteous behavior. The ACBL stands for
American Contract Bridge
League and Always Courteous Behavior League.
For tournaments to be
fun, cooperation from all (players, organizers,
officials, staff,
volunteers) is necessary. Please report
Conduct that is unacceptable
while keeping in mind that we must be tolerant
of other people in
general and bridge players in particular.
Also, conduct that is
especially outstanding or refreshing should be
reported also.
COMMENDABLE
UNACCEPTABLE
Being a good "host" or "guest" Badgering,
rudeness,
at the table.
insinuations, intimidation,
profanity,
threats or violence
Greeting others in a friendly Negative
comments concerning
manner. opponents'
or partner's play
or bidding.
Praising the bidding and/or play Gloating
over good results.
of an opponent. Constant
and gratuitous lessons
and
analyses at the table. Loud
and
disruptive arguing with a
tournament
director.
Having two clearly completed Constant
and gratuitous
convention cards readily available lessons and
analyses at the
to the opponents (This is a table
regulation not a nicety)
If you experience someone exhibiting
discourteous behavior or being
other than civil, please call a tournament
director immediately. If
you feel that there was a very serious breech
of discipline, in
addition to the resolution by the tournament
director at the table,
please discuss the problem directly with the
Director-in-Charge of the
tournament.
Should it become necessary to call a tournament
director, you may
simply state: "This player is interfering with
my enjoyment of the
game."
Courteous behavior creates an atmosphere which
tends to encourage
others to be courteous. It is contagious.
Starting each round with a
pleasant greeting facilitates a pleasant bridge
experience and
atmosphere.
BE NICE!
GUIDELINES FOR DISCIPLINARY
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