Hi DB: I recall the 7 day waiting period. It seems that if the person said they wanted to appeal, then we waited 7 days to here from them in writing. I recall one situaton where the DF was announced and then rescinded when the request for appeal was submitted. But, the Boys in Legal may have modified and tightened up this rule since I left the Big-O.
There are exceptions, however. And I was going to write about one in a future Justice series. But, if a JW is arrested for a crime, and it is notorious, being reported in the newspapers, and it looks damning, they are DF'd immediately, no waiting period. [I suspect this is done for political PR purposes, so the WTS can claiom that the person is not really a JW, in case the papers said they were.] If the JW is found not guilty and released then they can seek reinstatement. The Boys in Legal may have changed this, but thgat is how it was, or at least practiced.
The other exception, and the Society was very specific with us on this, is in cases like that of the girl above, she already sent two letters, one being "certified," indicating that she wanted to be DA. Under their newer rules we would never that taken DF action, just simply announce the DA latter. No 7 day waiting required. However, she had sent two letters, and the first letter was over two weeks old, so technically, if the 7 days was required and I forgot about it, then it had elapsed since the first letter, followed by a second 'certified' letter reinforcing the first letter were in our hands for at least 7 or more days.
But, I hope she is still out of the Big-O. We may have done her a favor without realizing it. Thanks. - Amazing