Vis Lupi Est Grex: A year later, cases coming to trial

Sunday, February 7, 2010

A year later, cases coming to trial

Nearly one year after being filed, six cases variously against the Senate, its leader and secretary, the President, and other ASUN officials are finally coming to trial.

In March 2009, student Corinna Cohn (who is a contributor to this blog) filed six complaints in the ASUN Judicial Council alleging gross violations of the Open Meeting Law and of the ASUN Constitution in the passage of legislation during the 76th Session of the Senate.

The first case docketed is AN-005, a case that alleges the Senate violated the Open Meeting Law (OML) by failing to keep written minutes of its proceedings, is scheduled for February 17, during a Senate meeting.

The OML requires public bodies, which the Senate is, to keep written minutes and produce them within 30 working days after a meeting. Failure to do so constitutes a violation. The consequences of a judicial finding of a violation include invalidation of the actions taken at the meeting. If handled by the university conduct office, consequences include removal from office and a disciplinary note being included on the offender's transcript.

The result of invalidation would be far reaching, voiding many pieces of legislation, including last year's budget. All of the cases have the potential to wipe the 76th Session from the books. And since practice has not changed since that session, a favorable ruling for Cohn could lead to challenges of the actions taken during this session, as well.

Respondents in the case, purportedly being represented by the Senate's leader, Speaker Gracie Geremia, complained in documents filed with the Council that Cohn no longer has standing to bring the complaints because she has since graduated.

Geremia has also questioned the ethics of hearing complaints from individuals who are no longer students. "The students of the Association are paying into a system that's paying for judicial wages. As of now, our judicial council is working on cases from an individual who is no longer a student. How is this ethical. (sic)," Geremia wrote in a filing with the Council.

The Council has rejected both arguments, noting that Cohn was a member when the cases were initially filed and thus has standing to see the cases through. The Council did, however, require Cohn to find a representative to argue her cases, which she did.

The cases, which were originally scheduled to be heard in May 2009, were indefinitely postponed because then Chief Justice Ashley Nikkel graduated. The new Chief Justice, Ebeth Palafox, was out of the country for most of the summer, and the cases languished on the docket. Nothing was done until last month, when Cohn received a communiation from Palafox notifying her that the cases were on.

Also of note is Justice Taylor R. Anderson, who formerly recused himself from the cases back in May, is now back on the cases, causing Geremia to take exception. "Ms.Cohn (sic) and Mr.Anderson (sic) have discussed and agreed upon this issues in my presence, prior to his appointment as a justice," Geremia wrote. So far, the Council has instructed Geremia to ask for a recusal hearing if she believes it is warranted.

These cases also rekindle interesting constitutional and parliamentary questions about who can properly represent the Senate in these cases (previously discussed on VLEG here). Although the Senate considered a resolution to allow the parliamentarian to represent the Senate, there is no record of it being agreed to.

Recently, the Judicial Council has been critical of the failures of the Senate and President to properly handle the reapportionment of the Senate for the next two years.