A petition against the Student Election Commission, which prevented the Student Services Finance Committee election results from being released, was dismissed in a unanimous decision rendered by the Student Judiciary Monday.
However, the decision also ordered the dismissal judgment not take effect for either two weeks or until the Student Judiciary grants or denies any appeal that the petitioner, former Student Council Chair Austin Evans, may file.
Evans stated in the petition that SEC chair Shelton Roulhac violated a resolution passed while he was chair, which is designed to stagger elections of newly created SSFC elected seats.
Evans claimed one SSFC seat should be a one-year term and the other a two-year term, but in this election, both elections were run as one-year seats.
In his defense during the Student Judiciary hearing Friday, Roulhac claimed he used others’ advice and the ASM constitution as his guide in creating election ballots.
Evans responded, saying that the resolution in question was passed as a referendum that the entire student body passed, which gives it the power to amend the ASM constitution.
The decision of the Student Judiciary stated the student body was not fully aware of every implication in the resolution Evans used in his arguments. The decision also stated Roulhac had no way of obtaining knowledge of every past resolution if they were not specifically written into the ASM constitution or by-laws.
“To say so otherwise would create a dangerous sphere of uncertainty behind the process of implementing vague, conflicting and ambiguous referenda into law,” the decision said.
In a phone interview, Evans said he intends to appeal the decision.
“[The decision] is basically going against the student body, which can’t stand,” Evans said, adding the defense played tricks and the court “bought it, which is unfortunate.”
ASM academic affairs committee chair Ashok Kumar, who dealt with delayed elections while running for his position, said most cases only waste time and stall the entire election process. “[Evans’ petition] was absolutely not necessary,” Kumar said, adding ASM could be making more positive changes on campus rather than hearing frivolous cases.
Kumar said he suggests trivial cases should be dismissed immediately rather than slowly go through the whole judiciary process.
Most cases are brought by an elite class of students, according to Kumar.
“A slew of [Student Judiciary cases] … are brought up by the same people. It is almost as if they want their name on the cases,” he added.
Roulhac could not be reached for comment.
In addition to the Evans case, the freshman Student Council election results are not finalized due to two pending cases, according to Student Judiciary Chief Justice Nathaniel Romano.