Here we go again.
A second case has been field with the student court regarding last month’s special election which installed a new constitution for the Student Association.
On Tuesday evening junior Jeff Goodman, the SA vice president of judicial and legislative affairs, filed a case with the student court against junior Morgan Corr, the executive vice president of the SA, and the special Joint Election Committee, the election’s oversight body. Goodman argues in his brief to the court that the guidelines for the election were never passed by the senate and therefor the sJEC was abiding by rules which were never certified.
Corr called the case “ridiculous.”
“It’s time for the SA to stop fighting with itself and start fighting for students,” Corr said.
Last week the student court heard a similar case in which a student claimed the sJEC grossly mismanaged the election and failed to follow guidelines for advertising and promoting the voting locations. The results of the election were not released for five days until the court ruled in favor of the sJEC saying that while they did not follow the bylways perfectly that their failure to do so did not negatively affect the outcome of the election.
Goodman’s case alleges that Corr wrongly passed 700 level bylaws -which create the rules governing the election including the creation of the sJEC. Goodman says the vote required 2/3 of the senate to pass but the vote only received 13 votes in the affirmative, it would have needed 20 to legitimately pass, Goodman argues.
Corr said he questions some of the facts Goodman uses in his brief. Goodman defended his filing of the case.
“This election was conducted in such a horribly flawed manner that the issues needed to be brought to light,” Goodman said.
If the court rules in favor of Goodman the results of the election, which installed sweeping changes to the SA’s structure, could be null and void. Goodman said regardless of the outcome of the election, he belivies rules were violated.
“The nullifaction is an inevitable byproduct of the suit, not a motivation,” Goodman said.
“It is absolutely a motivation,” Corr said Tuesday night. “I just wish some members of the SA would stop trying to invalidate the student’s opinion.”
The court will decide in the next couple of days if they will hear the case. It is unclear when a trial would be for the case, if at all. Check in to gwhatchet.com and hatchetblogs.com for continuing coverage of the second sJEC court case and other breaking news.
