Severe Gray area!
They are supposed to let you face your accussers according to scriptute but they will weasel out of it if they can.
Here is what happened to me:
During a CO visit my wife was out in service and the PO (who is a good friend of ours and still the only one who calls to see how we are doing) Told her that someone had made an accusation against me. It seems that I was going out to clubs and getting drunk(Now I will say that I did go out to clubs and drink but nowhere near as much and often as was represented.) Naturally my wife told me about this. Me being the direct no nonsense person I am, I went to the elder and asked him who made such accusations? This is where what little faith I had in the organization or the people in it crumbled. I was told that it was someone from another hall, that said they saw me. Now I'm the type of guy who doesn't hang with many people. It is very few who I term, in my heart and by my actions, a friend. So hearing this and being able to count on one hand the number of people I hang out with, let alone drink with...I am now puzzled. SO, I go to my 'friend' and tell him whats going on (at this point we are in the same congo.) He says he will try to find out what the deal is. This goes on for about 2 months with the elders knowing that they have to talk to me cause the allegation was made but scared( and I do mean afraid, they are all aware that I will turn the bible scripture's that allow me to face my accuser against them.)
So during the public talk one sunday they say they want to talk to me. I am ready armed with all of the pertinent scriptures and righteous indignation. At the song between the talk and WT, I tell my 'friend' that the bro's want to talk to me and I will force them to reveal my accuser. Sadly for some reason I dont take notice that he left the meeting right after my telling him this.
So we go to the back room me and 2 elders. I dont think I let them say the first words. I hit them with the scriptures from deut. and acts that say you have a right to face your accuser and plead your case. They acknowledge that I am right and they will tell me who made the accusations. They then proceed for the next 15 minutes to get me to make a promise. For 15 minutes they asked me to not seek retaliation and to not get mad and how the accuser really only sought my best interest. After they felt and I assured them, that I would not do anything, they told me it was my 'friend' who had made the charge against me.
Needless to say my mouth dropped. They then reminded me of my promise not to hurt him. Y'no the funny thing is...they did not counsel me at all. They just spent all that time trying to make sure I dont do anything to harm him.