[BudH]

For accidentally dropped card(s) during clarification period:

Law 16D applies for accidentally dropped card before the start of the auction. Dropped card(s) do NOT become penalty cards.

Law 24 applies during auction (from first call to final pass). Dropped card(s) become penalty cards if offender becomes a defender.

Does Law 16D apply during the clarification period? If the opening leader accidentally drops a card(s) as he is making his face down lead, will the dropped cards not become penalty cards?

If they do become penalty cards, which law specifies that?

[mycroft]

Legally? I don't know. Probably a good issue to send to 2027 Laws Review. [Edit: see below, for Official WBF Commentary. Some of what I write here is therefore incorrect, even if the ruling is correct.]

Practically? I would read 24 as s/auction/auction period/g, and apply the same requirements. I'm pretty certain everyone else would as well. "auction period" vs "auction" is a fairly new concept, and this one probably just was missed.

Having said that, what makes the card a penalty card is Law 49 and 50. If it's exposed, and/or if partner could have seen its face, when (presumed) declarer is determined*, the conditions apply. Law 24 simply states that the exposed card is "placed face up until the auction ends" (which is another reason why I would read 24 as "auction period" throughout - the auction ends, the card gets picked up? for the Clarification period, and then becomes a PC again on the opening lead? Apart from the fact that has never happened, it makes no sense.)

Note on 16D: just because the card gets picked up doesn't mean nothing is done. 16D2b, c, and d are all options available to the director (assuming more than one person saw the exposed card, 16D2a doesn't really work).

* definition of Defender: an opponent of (presumed) declarer.
We don't really define "presumed declarer" except for OLooTs, but arguably it is determined (but not irrevocably) at the end of the auction (not auction period).

[BudH]

I included some key definitions and laws below. (I did paraphrase in some cases and didn't include every word.)

Note that Law 24, applicable during the auction, is not applicable between the final pass and the facing of the opening lead.

Law 50B (DISPOSITION OF PENALTY CARD, Major or Minor Penalty Card) presumably applies only during the play of the hand (following facing of the opening lead). Nor does Law 49 (EXPOSURE OF A DEFENDER’S CARDS) apply.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Auction Period: (1) from removal of cards from board to first call of auction, plus (2) auction period, plus (3) clarification period.

Auction period: from when a partnership removes one of the two hands from the board to the facing of the opening lead

Clarification period: from the final pass to the facing of the opening lead (that is, the latter part of the auction period)

Auction: from the first call of the auction to the final pass of the auction

Law 16D (Extraneous Information from Other Sources)

1. "When a player accidentally receives extraneous information about a board he is playing or has yet to play ... by seeing a card belonging to another player at his own table before the auction begins, the Director should be notified forthwith ...."

2. "If the Director considers that the information would likely interfere with normal play he may, before any call has been made, ... allow completion of the play of the board standing ready to award an adjusted score if he judges that the extraneous information affected the result."

Law 24 (CARD EXPOSED OR LED DURING THE AUCTION): "When ... during the auction, because of a player’s own error, one or more cards of that player’s hand were in position for the face to be seen by his partner, the Director shall require that every such card be placed face up on the table until the auction ends. Information from cards thus exposed is authorized for the nonoffending side but unauthorized for the o‘ending side (see Law 16C)."

Law 50B: (Major or Minor Penalty Card): "A single card below the rank of an honor exposed unintentionally (as in playing two cards to a trick, or in dropping a card accidentally) becomes a minor penalty card. Any card of honor rank, or any card exposed through deliberate play (for example in leading out of turn, or in revoking and then correcting), becomes a major penalty card ...."

[BudH]

mycroft, on 2023-June-21, 14:25, said:

"... , what makes the card a penalty card is Law 49 and 50."

Under the 2007 laws CHAPTER VI — The Play is Laws 41 to 71. This is a strong indicator that Laws 49 and 50 apply only to the play period.

[thepossum]

This question intrigued me (without having a clue of the rules) in that I would think everyone at the table should forget what they saw and play accordingly

[sfi]

A cursory reading suggests:

• The opening leader is a "defender" once the auction is completed. (necessary for 16D1 and 41A to make sense)
  
• The exposed card is a penalty card (Law 50).
  
• If it is an honour, it is a major penalty card. Otherwise it is a minor penalty card (Law 50B).
  
• If it is a major penalty card, it must be led. Otherwise opening leader may play any card they like apart from another card below the 10 in the same suit as the exposed card.
  
• If it is a minor penalty card and remains on the table, the usual restrictions apply.

It seems the critical point is that there is a defending side the moment the auction is completed.

[BudH]

"Presumed Declarer: The player, who in the absence of an irregularity, would become declarer."

"Defender: An opponent of (presumed) declarer."

So it appears the term "defender" becomes defined when the auction (presumably) ends, although we know misinformation might lead to the non-offender's final pass being changed and the auction therefore continuing.

It appears to me if Law 24 (CARD EXPOSED OR LED DURING THE AUCTION) was instead titled "CARD EXPOSED OR LED DURING THE AUCTION OR CLARIFICATION PERIOD" with a minor change to the wording of this law, it would additionally cover the clarification period for accidentally dropped (or deliberately exposed) cards.

[sfi]

It would be fairly simple to make the change you suggest, but I think it is a change rather than a clarification. And I'm not convinced it would be an improvement.

In a related question, let's say the partner of the opening leader accidentally exposed an honour during the auction. The card will become a penalty card (24E). Your change suggests that there are no lead restrictions because the exposed card is not yet a penalty card - is that "better"?

I would suggest that it is unreasonable for a card exposed during the auction to be treated differently to a card exposed during the clarification period, so either both or neither should already be penalty cards once the auction has been completed.

[mycroft]

Yeah, all of that I was admitting. That's why I said, legally there's a hole there; practically we would read Law 24 as applying to the auction period. But I was wrong!

I did what I was about to suggest you do, and:

Commentary to the 2017 Laws, my emphasis said:

Law 24 – Card(s) Exposed during the Auction
There has been a change in this law. The words ‘auction period’ in the first line of the 2007 code
have been replaced with the word ‘auction’. This means that if a card from the board becomes
visible before the first call is made, Law 16D1 now applies and not Law 24.

Any card accidentally exposed (not led) after the conclusion of the auction (i.e., during the
Clarification Period) by the declaring side should be addressed via Law 48 and any card similarly
exposed by the defending side becomes the domain of Law 49, and thus ultimately a penalty
card.

Whether or not the official WBFLC interpretation is technically accurate, in that I am not sure that a "declaring side" and a "defending side" have been legally specified during the Clarification period, it's the official interpretation.

So, practically I was correct - a card exposed but not led during the Clarification Period will stay on the table until declarer and defenders are finalized, and then become (or not) a PC.

Whether this is right or not, whether it is obvious from the Law or not (it's clear, I think, that it's not contradicted by the Law), that's the official interpretation. Maybe it's right to make it explicit in 24 - so I still think it should go to Laurie Kelso et al.

[BudH]

sfi, on 2023-June-21, 20:45, said:

It would be fairly simple to make the change you suggest, but I think it is a change rather than a clarification. And I'm not convinced it would be an improvement.

In a related question, let's say the partner of the opening leader accidentally exposed an honour during the auction. The card will become a penalty card (24E). Your change suggests that there are no lead restrictions because the exposed card is not yet a penalty card - is that "better"?

I never said that (for exposed cards happening "during the auction".

You are stating that the exposed card happened during the auction. Law 24 clearly covers this case.

[BudH]

mycroft, on 2023-June-22, 09:29, said:

Commentary to the 2017 Laws, my emphasis said:

Law 24 – Card(s) Exposed during the Auction
There has been a change in this law. The words ‘auction period’ in the first line of the 2007 code
have been replaced with the word ‘auction’. This means that if a card from the board becomes
visible before the first call is made, Law 16D1 now applies and not Law 24.

Any card accidentally exposed (not led) after the conclusion of the auction (i.e., during the
Clarification Period) by the declaring side should be addressed via Law 48 and any card similarly
exposed by the defending side becomes the domain of Law 49, and thus ultimately a penalty
card.

Yeah, all of that I was admitting. That's why I said, legally there's a hole there; practically we would read Law 24 as applying to the auction period. But I was wrong!

I did what I was about to suggest you do, and:

Whether or not the official WBFLC interpretation is technically accurate, in that I am not sure that a "declaring side" and a "defending side" have been legally specified during the Clarification period, it's the official interpretation.

So, practically I was correct - a card exposed but not led during the Clarification Period will stay on the table until declarer and defenders are finalized, and then become (or not) a PC.

Whether this is right or not, whether it is obvious from the Law or not (it's clear, I think, that it's not contradicted by the Law), that's the official interpretation. Maybe it's right to make it explicit in 24 - so I still think it should go to Laurie Kelso et al.

Thanks for finding that. I thought I had or found every document associated with the 2017 law changes and had been looking for a passage similar to what you found. That at least gives some evidence to what we expected we should do. I still think the laws themselves should clarify the clarification period and disposition of exposed cards.

[mycroft]

I have argued repeatedly for "Laws, and case law, and annual summaries of relevant examples", like we get in many other sports (I read the amateur indoor lacrosse rulebook one day while I was timekeeping; one of my fellow directors also umpires baseball at the semi-pro and canadian amateur level, and not only gets this, but gets *tested on it* every year).

I think the Laws should be clearer in some cases. This one - everybody's going to get it right intuitively at the table, the one time in the world a year it happens.

I would prefer it if the Commentary explicitly was stated to be official WBF explanation of potential confusions in the Laws (and therefore treated as an appendix to the Laws); I can see why it isn't (but strongly hinted at).

Those that want the Laws to be lawyer-proof and complete get to fight against those who already think the Laws (the words themselves, not the implementation) are too complicated for mere science Ph.Ds., MDs, and CPAs to dream of understanding (never mind the 100% knowledge from RL that "lawyer-proof and complete" is impossible).

[sfi]

BudH, on 2023-June-22, 20:49, said:

I never said that (for exposed cards happening "during the auction".

You are stating that the exposed card happened during the auction. Law 24 clearly covers this case.

Hence the "related question". The point was about the timing of when an exposed card becomes a penalty card and whether it impacts options on opening lead. If it doesn't yet happen during the clarification period, in neither situation should opening leader have any restrictions on which card to play. I suggest that is contrary to both laws and player expectation. Therefore a card exposed during the clarification period (your scenario) immediately becomes a penalty card.

Of course, mycroft did the sensible thing and found the law clarification that said the same thing.