The Covenant provides that the Chamber of Justice may issue a Letter of Reprimand ("LoR") to a member as a judicial penalty for infractions of the Brotherhood's code of conduct. A Letter of Reprimand signifies that the member has violated the rules of the Brotherhood to such a degree that his record should be marred. The Justicar may, upon application of the member and for good cause shown, expunge a Letter of Reprimand from a member’s dossier if the following criteria are met:
- the Justicar determines that the member has been completely rehabilitated;
- at least two years have passed; and
- the Justicar and the Grand Master agree that there is no future benefit to having a public reference on the member’s dossier.
The purpose of this policy is to provide additional information as to what is required to request that a LoR be removed, and detail additional considerations taken into account by the Justicar and Grand Master in their decisions.
How to Request Removal of LoR
In order to request removal of a LoR, an email application must be sent to the Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, and Justicar. The contents of the application must consist of statements from the applicants as follows:
- A statement of facts related to the case, including a basic overview of what happened, the charges, the plea, and any potential issues the applicant had with the ruling. Do not just repeat the case report from the wiki.
- A statement, in the applicant's own words, as to whether they have been "rehabilitated" as required by the Covenant. The applicant should describe what rehabilitation means for him, how he has been impacted by the case, and how he has been otherwise changed or rehabilitated.
- Keeping in mind that the Covenant provides that a "Letter of Reprimand signifies that the member has violated the rules of the Brotherhood to such a degree that his record should be marred[,]" the applicant should describe why there is no further need to have an LoR on his dossier such that the prior conviction may be difficult to immediately see in the future.
- A statement as to whether the applicant accepts the ultimate verdict, is sorry, and has attempted to make amends with any parties involved in the case.
Applications do not need to be long dissertation but should provide what the applicant believes is appropriate to explain the request. The burden is on the member to convince the Grand Master and Justicar. Failure to provide the appropriate information will result in a denial of the request.
Frequency of Requests for Removal of LoR
If an application is properly made and denied, no further application will be accepted from that member for a period of six months from the date of the denial.
Interpretation of Requirements for Removal of LoR
The Grand Master and Justicar have provided the following interpretations of the criteria set forth in the Covenant:
- The decision on whether a member is rehabilitated falls to the Justicar. To find rehabilitation, it is not necessary for a member to become a completely different person, nor is it necessary that the member must be liked by all and welcomed by past adversaries. Those items are taken under consideration, but the main focus of the rehabilitation question is "will this happen again?"
- A LoR on a dossier serves two purposes: to protect members from those convicted by giving notice of the conviction, and to inflict harm to the record of the member.
See News Post: Wuntila Arconae's Letter of Reprimand, January 24, 2017
Other Notes
- The removal of a LoR does not effect the ability of club leaders to restrict hiring for positions based on prior CoJ convictions. The removal is a factor that should be taken into account by leaders, however.
- The removal of a LoR does not effect the eligibility of someone to serve on the Star Chamber. Section 3.02(c) of the Covenant specifically refers to "convictions" in the CoJ, and does not reference LoRs specifically.
Removed Letters of Reprimand
Policy History