JUDICIAL WORDS OF WISDOM FOR COMMITTEES WHO SET OUT ON THAT ROCKY  LEGAL PATH OF DISCIPLINING ERRANT MEMBERS...... ( By McGarry J )

" The path of the law is strewn with examples of open and shut cases which , somehow, were not : of unanswered charges , which , in the event, were completely answered : of inexplicable conduct which was fully explained : of fixed and unalterable determinants that , by discussion , suffered a change . "

Yes , far too many club committees foolishly fall into the trap of treating complaints about members' misconduct as nothing more than simple , open and shut cases. Yet the road they embark upon is a quasi-judicial one with potentially dangerous legal consequences and law suits. This means that each step of the process has to be made with open eyes and minds, exercising extreme caution at all times to find that essential solid ground on which to move confidently and safely forward.