Jonathan LeMaster-Smith

(An earlier version of this appeared on my Facebook page on July 13, 2023)

In United Methodist News in the past week, a Trial Date has been set for Bishop Carcaño, who has been under suspension for over a year.
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This trial is a church trial, not a US court trial. It has similarities, but is not the same.

The charges against the bishop have not been disclosed. In general, the church trials have open sessions but closed deliberations (as most trials do), however a session of a church trial court can be closed if the presiding officer (the equivalent to a judge) feels it necessary.
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In the case of the trial of a bishop, the presiding officer is usually president of the college of bishops of that Jurisdiction, and that is Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank of the California-Pacific Annual Conference. However, likely due to wanting a fair trial, the current President of the College of the Western Jurisdiction being so new (elected last November), and perhaps needing someone with experience in church trial court, Bishop Alfred Gwinn, a retired Bishop from the Southeast Jurisdiction, will preside over the trial. The location will be First UMC, Pasadena.
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There is counsel for the church and the Bishop, they are either bishops or other clergy in full connection. This is a jury, which is a group of 13 people named as members of the trial court (we use different words, but you’ll get it eventually), and it takes 9 of 13 votes to convict on each charge. There are five charges this current Bishop faces. If convicted, the penalty for the conviction must be voted on by the trial court and 7 of the 13 votes must approve that.

This is the first time in our history that a bishop has been brought to trial, so this will be interesting to follow.

Again, the complaints of secrecy and a protracted process are due to us operating under essentially 18th century guidelines in 2023. There is concern about discrimination based on her gender and race. This will be monitored, I am sure.

One final note, if at any time a just resolution is reached between the complainant and the respondent in conjunction with the committee on investigation, the trial can stop.

I’ll post more as we know more and provide explanation.

I am not here to assume the status of the bishop’s guilt or innocence, I am here to provide Methodist interpretations for y’all.