The judicial branch of Student Government was placed on hold after the bill to appoint Audra Thurman as chief justice failed to pass during the Student Senate meeting on May 2.
Thurman, a Public Administration major, was the only applicant for the position of Chief Justice. She had previously served as an associate justice on the judicial board, and briefly served as Chief Justice Pro-Tem.
The bill that would have brought Thurman into the position was initially rejected by the Rules and Appropriations committee based on the grounds of the application process. Some members of the committee felt that there was not enough advertisement for the vacant position. However, the bill was brought back during the meeting this week.
“We opened the application time twice – once for two weeks and the second time for an extra three days,” Brandy Roberts, student body president-elect, said. “It was advertised on the Friday Blast emails, Facebook, and I also handed out applications personally.”
“I believe the process to create this bill was unjust, and was not done right,” Casey Hayes, senior senator and head of the Rules and Appropriations committee, said. “I do not believe [it] was enough time.”
Hayes also said that whether there would be a more suitable candidate than Thurman was debatable, but regardless, there was not enough time given, therefore the opportunity was not there for other applicants.
“How many other students have held the Pro-Tem position?” Roberts asked. “Its even been said that [Thurman] is more qualified than JD Morrison, our current Chief Justice. The Special Appointment committee felt that she was the most qualified.”
Even though voting was 19-14 in favor of the appointment bill, it did not meet then 2/3 votes needed according to the senate bylaws. Therefore, the bill failed on the Senate floor.
The situation is unusual because the application process had not been questioned in recent memory. There is nothing in the Student Government bylaws that govern how long the application process is open, according to Parliamentarian Katie Gustainis.
“There is an extreme gray area when it comes to how the application process is conducted,” senator Miranda Knippers said. “The constitution needs to be clarified so that this does not happen again.”
As a result of the bill´s failure, Chief Justice JD Morrison refused to swear in the new Student Body President and Vice President, stating that the senators had not performed their functions in accordance with the bylaws.
“The student senate has gone outside of the realm of the Constitution,” said Morrison. “The senate is acting unconstitutionally with its failure to vote on a chief justice. Because of this, we no longer have a judicial board. With no chief justice and no judicial board, this means there are no elections.”
Gustainis further clarified Morrison’s statements and the effect the absence of a judicial branch has on the University.
“[Without a judicial branch], it puts a huge burden on other judicial committees in the University,” said Gustainis. “We won’t be able to hold elections right away. It would have to be done very quickly, but again it would be doing the same thing that happened today.”
Student Body President Tim Vela also voiced his disappointment in the student senate.
“This is the most apathetic student senate in regards to passing things,” Vela said. “The senators have slacked on their job.”
However, Vice President Kyle Haugh said he believes that despite the lack of a chief justice for next year, it does not call for overreaction.
“It’s not as big of a problem [as it may seem],” said Haugh. “It can be solved. We just killed Osama Bin Laden. There are bigger issues than chief justice.”
Senator Aurora Ortiz said she remains hopeful that the Student Government will be able to overcome this recent setback.
“I have good faith that the student senate will uphold its duties next semester and our executives will do their job to the best of their abilities,” she said. “We’ll grow from this.”
