The
following letter was mailed to each Camp Commander in the
Confederation regarding proposed Amendments to the Standing Orders of
the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Please review and share with your
Camp members.
You can also find a link to the credentials forms for the Reunion at the following link.
May 10, 2012
Dear Compatriot,
The
annual Reunion of the Sons of Confederate Veterans will soon be upon
us, and I and the other members of the General Executive Council hope
we will see you and members of your Camp there. This year we are
meeting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, July 11-14 and it promises to be a
memorable Reunion.
Attached
you will find two proposed amendments for the Standing Orders of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans. These are being provided to your Camp per
the requirements of Article 16 of the Constitution of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans which requires that any proposed amendments to the
Constitution or the Standing Orders be "sent to each Camp in good
standing at least thirty (30) days and not more than ninety (90) days
in advance to the address on record at General Headquarters". Please
share these amendments when the camp next meets so your camp can be
prepared to vote on these amendments at Murfreesboro.
These
proposed amendments to the Standing Orders, and the previously
published amendments for the Constitution, can also be found on the
scroll on the front page of
scv.org, on the SCV Blog and have also been distributed via the Telegraph.
Deo Vindice!
Charles Rand
Adjutant In Chief
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE STANDING ORDERS
OF THE SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
FOR CONSIDERATON AT THE 2012 REUNION
PROPOSED STANDING ORDER AMENDMENT NO 1:
This
amendment would add a section to Article 3 of the Standing Orders. This
amendment is proposed by the General Executive Council. The new
proposed section is:
3.6:
Each Camp of the Confederation shall establish and maintain an official
Camp email address with the General Headquarters of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans. This email address may be used by General
Headquarters, if directed by the General Executive Council, for sending
the Camps official correspondence and notices.
Reasoning:
If each Camp has an email address it will enable the Sons of
Confederate Veterans to more easily communicate information to the Camps
in a timely matter. While we currently have electronic distribution of
information on the Telegraph, only a limited number of members
(approximately 25%) are subscribed to this service. This amendment will
allow for official distribution of required notices directly to the
Camps by use of their unique email address. It is intended that email
distribution of notices to the Camps will be purposefully limited to
items such as official notices and information and important Heritage
Defense information so as to keep the number of notices distributed to a
low level. Given the advances in technology and communication it is
imperative the Sons of Confederate Veterans adopt modern methods of
communication in order to be effective in fulfilling our mission in the
21st Century.
PROPOSED STANDING ORDER AMENDMENT NO 2:
This
amendment will replace the existing language of section 9.5 in its
entirety with new language. This amendment is proposed by the National
Disciplinary Committee.
The following is the existing language of section 9.5 of the Standing Orders:
9.5
No legal action against or on behalf of the general organization Sons
of Confederate Veterans, its officers and/or members shall be
undertaken or entered into by any member or group of members of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans in which that member or group of members
proposes to act as (a) representative(s) or agent(s) of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans without prior approval of the General Executive
Council. If a proposed legal action is presented to the General
Executive Council for approval, the petition shall be distributed in
writing to all members of the Council prior to the filing of the same.
The petition shall state the name(s) and address(es) of the party
(parties) against whom the petition is proposed to be filed. The
affirmative vote of the members of the Council shall be necessary for
Council approval of such legal action. If any legal action is filed
without the approval of the Council, the member(s) filing such action
shall be subject to expulsion from the Sons of Confederate Veterans in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and Standing Orders
which relate to expulsion of members.
Below is the proposed language which would replace the existing section 9.5 in its entirety:
9.5
No member, group of members, camp, division or any other subdivision of
the Sons of Confederate Veterans may initiate any civil litigation
wherein they act, or attempt to act, with standing and name (directly
or indirectly) any member (in their capacity as member or officer of
the Sons of Confederate Veterans), any subdivision or the Sons of
Confederate Veterans as a whole as defendant or plaintiff without the
prior express consent of the General Executive Council (GEC). The same
shall apply to naming any member (in his capacity as a member of
officer of the Sons of Confederate Veterans), subdivision or the Sons
of Confederate Veterans as a whole as a third party in an already
initiated civil litigation.
Petition
for said approval shall be distributed in writing to all members of
the GEC, stating the name(s) and address(es) of all parties in the
proposed litigation, and a brief description of the nature and
necessity of the proposed litigation. All reasonable administrative
remedies (petitions, motions, hearings etc. before camp/division
executive councils, division conventions, etc.) available shall be
attempted by petitioner(s) prior to submitting such petition to the
GEC, or the GEC may refuse consideration of the petition. A majority
vote of the GEC shall be required for approval of the petition.
The
GEC shall not delay consideration (other than for failure to attempt
all available administrative remedies) on the petition to the point it
would jeopardize the proposed litigation (such as past filing
deadlines), and no later than the next regular meeting of the GEC.
Failure to abide by this section is a serious offense and subject to
discipline, including expulsion, in accordance with the Constitution
and Standing Orders.
Reasoning:
This section of the Standing Orders results in more disciplinary cases
(and more acrimonious ones) than any other section. Because of its
nature (a prohibition on civil lawsuits) this section is subject to
more technical attacks and arguments by those accused of violating it,
and misunderstandings by many members beyond those accused, than any
other section. As a result, the Disciplinary Committee has attempted to
both strengthen and clarify the language.
For
example, accused members have attempted to claim the "general"
organization is only the national organization, and that their suit
wasn't "against or on behalf" of the organization because they were
suing a single officer. This invokes the legal concept (theory) of
"standing" without using the word, so the language here has been
changed to reflect in more precise legal language what exactly is being
prohibited.
Further,
in the old language "no legal action" could be interpreted broadly.
For example if a camp filing a police report when something is stolen
considered a "legal action", or is someone who is arrested for
displaying a Battle Flag at a convention hotel and offers a legal
defense in the case taking "legal action"? So again, the more precise
"initiate any civil litigation" is used in the proposed wording.
The
proposed language also emphasizes the common legal requirement of
"exhausting administrative remedies". This means that a member or group
of members do not go straight from a disagreement to a lawsuit, but
they must attempt all other remedies, such as making a motion at their
division convention. Courts routinely dismiss cases which have not
attempted all administrative remedies.
Finally,
language preventing the GEC from withholding consideration on a
petition is added as a safeguard. Finding language which contemplates
all possible circumstances which might invoke section 9.5 is difficult,
but the Disciplinary Committee feels these revisions help in many
circumstances.
Officers
and members need to keep in mind that both the existing and proposed
language is broad, and would include lawsuits initiated by camps or
divisions in circumstances such as suits over car tags, etc. If a camp
or division is going to initiate a suit, the procedures in 9.5 must be
observed.
