A point system for tracking appeals without merit was adopted for use at NABCs beginning with the 1998 Summer NABC in Chicago. This system is modeled after point systems used by state Motor Vehicle Bureaus. It will enable league officials to deal more effectively with players having a history of multiple convictions for filing appeals lacking merit. Under this system the string of offenses can be dealt with as a pattern of abuse of the appeal process. Until now each incident has been treated as an isolated infraction.
Appeal Without Merit Points may be issued to players (and their team captain, if the appeal was filed in a team event) by an appeals committee whenever it is judged that the appeal lacks substantial merit and it is deemed that the player(s) involved possess the experience to have known better than to file the appeal. The accumulated points will form a record of the frequency of such offenses so that, should the players commit infractions of a similar nature in the future, a Conduct and Ethics committee will be in a position to take appropriate disciplinary action. An official record of all Appeal Without Merit Points will be kept by the ACBL Office of Recorder and will be readily available and accessible at all NABCs in the future. Points may be assessed for appeals filed in any event held at an NABC.
Players should be aware that filing an appeal requires the concurrence of both members of the pair, or the team captain in a team event. Players or team captains who fail to exercise their right to prevent an appeal which they believe to be non-meritorious from being filed are considered to have concurred with the appeal. They are subject to the same point assessments as the player who actively pursued the appeal.
The level of the player(s) involved in an appeal will always be considered before Appeal Without Merit Points are assessed. Novices or inexperienced players will almost never be assessed such points while those with more duplicate experience will be held to a higher standard. Experts will be held especially responsible for not abusing the appeal process.
A written description of the offense, suitable for use in a future disciplinary hearing, must accompany each point assessment. The appeals committee chairman’s case report will be used for this purpose.
If a player accumulates three (3) or more Appeal Without Merit Points within a three-year period, a disciplinary hearing may be scheduled by a National Appeals Committee Co-Chair, the Director of Appeals, or the ACBL Recorder. This hearing should be held at the NABC at which the third “precipitating” point was assessed if possible, or at the next NABC which the player attends otherwise. Where a hearing at an NABC is impractical or would involve an unacceptable delay, the charges may be referred to the player’s home Unit or District judicial body for possible disciplinary action. At the hearing the player must show reason why they should NOT be sanctioned for exhibiting a pattern of abuse of the appeal process. A charged player is entitled to all of the rights due any defendant in a C&E proceeding including (but not limited to): representation by counsel, receipt of written notice of the charges, and the right to call witnesses in his own defense. He should also be provided with documentation for all of the points accumulated and included in the charges.
Disciplines which may be imposed by C&E committees in Appeal Without Merit cases shall include those specified in section 5 of the ACBL Code of Disciplinary Regulations. These include: reprimands, probation, suspension, exclusion from events, and reduction or forfeiture of masterpoints or tournament rank or disqualification. Only points assessed within the most recent three years shall count toward “triggering” a disciplinary hearing. However, all Appeal Without Merit Points on a player’s record will be considered by the committee in deciding on an appropriate discipline. This will take into account the number, nature, severity, and time frame of the accumulated points.
Source: Reno Casebook 1998, Page 7.
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