Chapter 38: Cases Without Process

38-1. When any person shall come forward and make his offense known to
the court, a full statement of the facts shall be recorded and judgment rendered
without process. In handling a confession of guilt, it is essential that the person
intends to confess and permit the court to render judgment without process.
Statements made by him in the presence of the court must not be taken as a
basis of a judgment without process except by his consent. In the event a
confession is intended, a written Confession (i.e., a sufficient summary of the
facts, the person’s specific confession, and any expression or evidence of
repentance) must be approved by the accused, and by the court, before the
court proceeds to a judgment, and the co-signed document shall be appended
to the minutes (regular or executive session). No other information may be
presented without written consent from the accused and the court, and this
prohibition includes individuals, prosecutors, committees, and commissions.
A censured person has the right to appeal (BCO 42). The person has the right to
be assisted by counsel at any point, in accord with the stipulations of BCO

38-2. A minister of the Gospel against whom there are no charges, if fully
satisfied in his own conscience that God has not called him to the ministry, or
if he has satisfactory evidence of his inability to serve the Church with
acceptance, may report these facts at a stated meeting of Presbytery. At the
next stated meeting, if after full deliberation the Presbytery shall concur with
him in judgment, it may divest him of his office without censure. This
provision shall in like manner apply with any necessary changes to the case of
ruling elders and deacons; but in all such cases the Session of the church to
which the ruling elder or the deacon who seeks demission belongs shall act as
the Presbytery acts in similar cases where a minister is concerned.

38-3. a. When a member or officer in the Presbyterian Church in America
shall attempt to withdraw from the communion of this branch of the visible
Church by affiliating with some other branch (BCO 2-2), if at the time of the
attempt to withdraw he is in good standing, the irregularity shall be recorded,
his new membership acknowledged, and his name removed from the roll. But
if at the time of the attempt to withdraw there is a record of an investigation in
process (BCO 31-2), or there are charges (BCO 32-3) concerning the member
or minister, the court of original jurisdiction may retain his name on the roll
and conduct the case, communicating the outcome upon completion of the
proceedings to that member or minister. If the court does not conduct the case,
his new membership shall be acknowledged, his name removed from the roll,
and, at the request of the receiving branch, the matters under investigation or
the charges shall be communicated to them.
b. When a member or minister of the Presbyterian Church in America
shall attempt to withdraw from the communion of this branch of the visible
Church by affiliating with a body judged by the court of original jurisdiction
as failing to maintain the Word and Sacraments in their fundamental integrity
(BCO 2-2), that member or minister shall be warned of his danger, and if he
persists, his name shall be erased from the roll, thereby, so far as the
Presbyterian Church in America is concerned, he is deemed no longer to be a
member in any body which rightly maintains the Word and Sacraments in their
fundamental integrity, and if an officer, thereby withdrawing from him all
authority to exercise his office as derived from this Church. When so acting
the court shall make full record of the matter and shall notify the offender of
its action.