Appreciate the panel members are unpaid volunteers giving their
time as an act of public service. Their objective is to be
fair, unbiased, and impartial; to determine, based on the evidence
and testimony presented to them, what actually occurred; and
then to determine whether the facts as they find them support
a finding that the Article(s) charged have been violated.
•
Hearing Panels cannot
conclude that an Article of the Code has been violated
unless that Article(s) is specifically cited in the complaint.
•
Keep your presentation
concise, factual and to the point. Your task is to demonstrate
what happened (or what should have happened but did not),
and how the facts support a violation of the Article(s)
charged in the complaint.
•
Hearing Panels base their
decisions on the evidence and testimony presented during
the hearing. If you have information relevant to the issue(s)
under consideration, be sure to bring it up during your
presentation.
•
Recognize that different
people can witness the same event and have differing recollections
about what they saw. The fact that a respondent or their
witness recalls things differently does not mean they are
not telling the truth as they recall events. It is up to
the Hearing Panel, in the findings of fact that will be
part of their decision, to determine what actually happened.
•
The Hearing Panel will
pay careful attention to what you say and how you say it.
An implausible account does not become more believable
through repetition or through volume.
You are involved in an
adversarial process that is, to some degree, unavoidable
confrontational. Many violations of the Code of Ethics
result from misunderstanding or lack of awareness of ethical
duties by otherwise well-meaning, responsible real estate
professionals. An ethics complaint has potential to be
viewed as an attack on a respondent’s integrity and
professionalism. For the enforcement process to function
properly, it is imperative for all parties, witnesses,
and panel members to maintain appropriate decorum.
The information herein
is furnished by the property owner in good faith but
is subject to verification by the purchaser. Neither
the MLS, the Broker, nor the Agent guarantee or warranty
the correctness therein. All information is dated and
is subject to change at any time. Copyright 2004 | Privacy Policy
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