Practices and Procedures for Appeals of Board of Ethics Decisions

Ethics

About this Document: Latest revision published October 2017.

This statement is a revision of Statement of Practices and Procedures for Appeals of Board of Ethics Decisions (2008).   

Pursuant to Article VIII of the Bylaws, the Board of Directors hereby adopts this procedure governing an appeal from a Further Consideration decision of the Board of Ethics. 

A written request for appeal to the Ethics Appeal Panel (hereinafter “Appeal Panel”) is accepted if received by the Board of Ethics within 30 days following a Board of Ethics Further Consideration decision. Appeals can be heard by the Appeal Panel only if the appellant specifically asserts that the Board of Ethics did not adhere to appropriate procedural requirements or that the decision of the Board of Ethics was arbitrary, capricious, and without any evidentiary basis. The director of ethics shall evaluate the request for appeal to ensure that it meets the above requirements and does not introduce new evidence. The Appeal Panel may not receive or consider any evidentiary matters not included in the official record of the Further Consideration Hearing. Any appeal that does not on its face meet that legal standard or that offers new evidence will be returned to the appellant, but can be re-submitted after being revised to comply with these procedures.

The Appeal Panel consists of one current member of the Board of Directors, appointed by the President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; one former member of the Board of Ethics, appointed by the Chair of the Board of Ethics; and one current member of the Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CFCC), appointed by the Chair of the CFCC. The Appeal Panel shall select its chair.

The ASHA National Office staff shall create a list of potential Appeal Panel members. This list, maintained by the director of ethics, shall include volunteers who have completed service on the Board of Ethics in the last seven (7) years as well as current members of the CFCC and Board of Directors.

ASHA Ethics shall give written notice to the appellant and to the Appeal Panel of the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be given to the appellant at least 30 days in advance of the hearing (certified mail, return receipt requested) and shall advise of the right to counsel, of the right to submit a written brief no later than 15 days in advance of the hearing, and of the right to oral argument at the hearing—either in person or by conference call. The notice shall also advise that the Appeal Panel will not consider any evidence except that which was presented at the Further Consideration Hearing before the Board of Ethics.

The Appeal Panel will be provided an advance copy of the full official record and the transcript of the Further Consideration Hearing for the purpose of preparing for the appeal hearing and for making its decision. The appellant may request a copy of the Further Consideration Hearing transcript. Such request must be received by the Board of Ethics within 45 days of the date of the Further Consideration decision.

The decision of the Appeal Panel shall be based solely on the appeal hearing testimony and the previous evidence submitted to the Board of Ethics at the Further Consideration level. The Appeal Panel shall not substitute its judgment for the judgment made by the Board of Ethics. The Appeal Panel Chair has the authority to make rulings relating to the conduct of the appeal hearing. The Appeal Panel shall render its decision in writing within 15 days of the hearing.

All costs incurred by the appellant and/or the appellant's counsel in connection with the appeal shall be appellant's sole responsibility (e.g., travel and lodging costs, copies of transcript of the Further Consideration Hearing, and other fees).

If the Appeal Panel affirms the Board of Ethics Further Consideration decision, the Board of Ethics will issue a final decision to that effect. If the Appeal Panel decides in favor of the appellant, the matter shall be remanded to the Board of Ethics for Further Consideration, consistent with the findings of the Appeal Panel. Any subsequent decision of the Board of Ethics thereafter shall be final and shall be subject to normal publication pursuant to Board of Ethics protocols.

Amendments: This statement of Practices and Procedures may be amended upon a majority vote of the members of the Board and upon approval of the ASHA Board of Directors.