A PCUSA court primer
By John H. Adams, The Presbyterian Layman, May 13, 1999
Suppose your minister announced from the pulpit that Jesus Christ never rose from the dead and that New Testament writers perpetuated a hoax. Further, suppose that your session supported your pastor’s assertion. Any recourse?
Yes, but be prepared to develop some legal skills and master the Book of Order. It’s not easy to press a case through the denomination’s courts, and it’s tougher to win. For instance, more than 100 years have gone by since the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its predecessors convicted a pastor of heresy.
Consider the hypothetical case in which a pastor denies the resurrection of Christ. Obviously, that conflicts with the entire New Testament. But before you start compiling scripture and citations from confessional standards, keep in mind that the Book of Order is the legal code that governs conduct by individuals and church bodies.
Book of Order is the key resource
Thus, what you draw from the Book of Order will largely determine the validity of your complaint. And that does require that ministers be “in demonstrable conformity with the mission of God’s people in the world as set forth in Holy Scripture, the Book of Confessions and the Book of Order of this church.” (G-11.0403a)
There are two kinds of cases: Remedial and disciplinary. Remedial cases are filed against governing bodies (sessions, presbyteries, synods and the General Assembly). Disciplinary cases are filed against individuals.
Accusing a minister of preaching unsound doctrine would be a disciplinary action. However, if the session gave the pastor a vote of confidence after he declared that the resurrection was a hoax, a remedial action could be pursued against the session.
Disciplinary cases can result in one of three outcomes: a settlement without a verdict, a dismissal, or a trial with either a guilty or not guilty verdict. With a guilty verdict, a sentencing trial would determine the degree of censure, ranging from reprimand to excommunication.
Cases work their way up
Most cases work their way up a ladder of ascending courts called permanent judicial commissions. Members of permanent judicial commissions are elected for six-year terms. All permanent judicial commissions must be comprised of ministers and lay elders as nearly equal in number as possible.
Most complaints, particularly against church members, are resolved by the local session. Percentage-wise, very few cases require the formal judicial process outlined in the Book of Order.
A disciplinary complaint against a minister, as well as a complaint accusing a session of violating its worship oversight responsibilities, would be filed at the next level: the presbytery. However, a case against a presbytery official or the entire presbytery because of an action it took would be filed with the synod’s permanent judicial commission, etc.
The permanent judicial commission in which the case is filed sets out the procedure for pre-trial work, hears the case and renders a decision. Appeals can be made to the next higher permanent judicial commission, the synod or General Assembly. The permanent judicial commission of the General Assembly is the final court of the PCUSA. Its decision is final and cannot be appealed, but may be legislatively overturned by a subsequent GA action.
Filing a complaint
In filing a complaint, all the jots and tittles must be in place. A single oversight, for instance failing to state clearly the nature of the alleged violation or missing by a single day the 90-day deadline for filing the complaint, is a fast exit from pursuing the case.
But even if all the rules of procedure are met, the process can be slow and expensive. For instance, the rules allow the defendant in a disciplinary action to recover travel expenses from the accuser. And the accusers often have to pay their own expenses. Trial costs themselves are paid by the presbytery, synod or General Assembly.
Peggy Hedden Presbyterians only in court
Lawyers can be retained for cases, but they, like all other participants, must be members of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Trials are open to observers unless permanent judicial commissions vote by a two-thirds majority to go into closed session. A two-thirds majority is also required for conviction.
Although the pre-trial, trial and appellate procedures laid out in the 49-page Rules of Discipline do not require trial lawyers to represent complainants or defendants, the rules are not easily mastered by lay people, says Peggy Hedden of Columbus, Ohio, who pursued one case to the General Assembly permanent judicial commission.
Hedden, an attorney, is a member of the board of directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and a member of the task force on discipline of the Presbyterian Coalition. She says the coalition’s task force is considering recommendations that would make it easier for Presbyterians to understand and work within the denomination’s judicial system. She said the task force may also develop a list of Presbyterian attorneys who might provide pro-bono services for people involved in cases.