in this day and age of tightening watchtower policy, it is good to reflect on spiritual food at the proper time.
here is your meal.
eat in in good health.
in all seriousness, please read carefully this few paragraphs on judicial committies.
quite different from what happens in the "real" world huh?
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"Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock "
UNIT 5 (b)
Sharing
on a Judicial Committee
Handling Judicial Cases
Do not send an individual any kind of correspondence that directly accuses him of specific wrongdoing.
It is best for two elders to speak with the individual and
invite him to meet with the Judicial committee.
Suitable arrangements should be made as to the time
and place of the hearing.
State what the person's course of action is supposed to
have been.
If it is necessary to send a written invitation, you should
simply state what the individual's course is alleged to have
been, the time and place of the hearing, and how the
person can contact the chairman if the arrangements are
inconvenient for him.
If the accused wishes to bring witnesses who can speak in his defense regarding the matter, he may do so.
However, observers are not permitted.
No tape-recording devices are allowed.
If the accused repeatedly fails to come to the hearing, the committee will proceed with the hearing but will not
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make a decision until evidence and any testimony by witnesses are considered.
The committee should not take action against a person
unless the evidence clearly proves this necessary.
Failure to appear before the committee is not in itself
proof of guilt.
What kind of evidence is acceptable?
There must be two or three eyewitnesses, not just persons
repeating what they have heard; no action can be taken if
there is only one witness. (Deut. 19:15;John 8:17)
Confession (admission of wrongdoing), either written or
oral, may be accepted as conclusive proof without other
corroborating evidence. (Josh. 7:19)
Strong circumstantial evidence, such as pregnancy or evi-
dence (testified to by at least two witnesses) that the
accused stayed all night in the same house with a person of
the opposite sex (or in the same house with a known
homosexual) under improper circumstances, is acceptable.
The testimony of youths may be considered; it is up to
the elders to determine if the testimony has the ring of
truth.
The testimony of unbelievers may also be considered, but
it must be carefully weighed.
If there are two or three witnesses to the same kind of
wrongdoing but each one is witness to a separate incident,
their testimony can be considered.
Such evidence may be used to establish guilt, but it is
preferable to have two witnesses to the same occurrence
of wrongdoing.
Edited by - zev on 22 November 2002 17:23:42