Is ejection legal?

   Can he really kick us out of the delegates assembly?

            There is a lot of controversy in the village about Mr Israels threats from the chair to remove members from the Delegates Assemblies who he deems to be objectionable.

            Roberts Rules of Order are the rules adopted by Century Village and enshrined in the bylaws to conduct the meetings.

            A review of Roberts Rules reveals the procedures for removal of anyone from the meeting hall.

It is apparent that the President, or any member has no authority to order the removal of anyone without voting on a motion to remove them. However the Little man abrogates this rule on his whim and tries to the ejection initiative anyway!- Editor

            Robert's Rules. Article XIII .73. Right of an Assembly to Eject any one from its Place of Meeting.

            Every deliberative assembly has the right to decide who may be present during its session; and when the assembly, either by a rule or by a vote, decides that a certain person shall not remain in the room, it is the duty of the chairman to enforce the rule of order, using whatever force is necessary to eject the party. The chairman can detail members to remove the person, without calling upon the police. If, however, in enforcing the order, any one uses harsher measures than is necessary to remove the person, the courts have held that he, and he alone, is liable for damages, just the same as a policeman would be under similar circumstances. However badly the man may be abused while being removed from the room, neither the chairman nor the society is liable for damages, as, in ordering his removal, they did not exceed their legal rights.

            That's the rule, that's what the assembly and the executive are compelled to obey. It does not give the authority to remove to any one person. It is determined by the assembly, not unilaterally by the President or any other person.

             Proper procedure means there has to be a vote on a motion before any action is taken.

            If there is some disruptive behavior taking place at an assembly there are specific procedures to deal with it. When any person is engaging in bad behavior  it's appropriate for any member to make a point of order and ask that the member's behavior be addressed by the chair. Then, the chair can turn to the members and ask what they want done. Notice that the chair does not have the right to levy punishment, but the assembly does. Any member may make a motion to ask the offending member to stop speaking and be seated. If the offending member won't do as requested, a motion may be made to direct that the member be asked to leave the meeting. By a majority vote, the membership can effectively order the member out.

            Caution should be practiced in removing anyone from the delegates assemblies. If proper procedure is not followed it could be cause for legal action. If physical force is employed without following procedure  it could be construed as an assault.

            There are some contraventions and abuse of the rules taking place by the Chairman . On many occasions, the  chair has insisted on making unilateral decisions on issues entirely outside of his power and completely within the power of the delegates or members. For example: by cutting off debate; by ignoring Requests for Information or Points of Order; by refusing a motion properly moved and seconded without allowing the delegates to decide for themselves.

Neil