Members of the Student Judiciary heard the appeals of two removed student government members Tuesday night after the representatives were recently relieved following what was deemed to be a breach of rules.

The case, Huang et. al, covers the appeal of Associated Students of Madison Vice Chair Beth Huang and Nominations Chair Niko Magallon. The two were removed over a discrepancy concerning when community service hours needed to be turned in on Sept. 15.

During their opening statement, Huang and Magallon brought up whether or not they followed the Student Judiciary’s orders and turned their hours in on time and whether the branch had the authority to remove them from council.

Magallon spoke on their first claim, arguing that as both he and Huang turned in their community service hours before midnight on Sept. 15, they fully complied with the Student Judiciary’s orders.

Magallon emphasized the word “by” should not mean “before” that date, and the 9:23 p.m. and 10:24 p.m. time of the emails sent to Vice Chief Justice Miriam Liabo were within the allotted time frame.

When asked by Associate Justice Nick Checker whether a reasonable interpretation of the word “by” is “before,” Magallon said the matter should not be decided on unclear wording.

“It would be hard for me if I were in your position to make a decision like this on an ambiguous matter of semantics,” Magallon said.

Huang covered the pair’s second point, stating she did not believe Student Judiciary should have the power to remove her and Magallon from Council.

Huang cited the ASM Constitution, saying it bestows the “sole power” of removing members from office through impeachment by other ASM representatives. She warned Council of the repercussions this decision might have.

“To remove Mr. Magallon and myself after the certification of results would be to set a precedent that alters the spirit of the ASM Constitution,” Huang said.

In an interview with The Badger Herald, Chief Justice Kathryn Fifield said the Student Judiciary’s next steps would be to talk about their initial reactions and create opinion drafts they will later revise.

Once the appeal decision is in, Fifield said it is final.

“The appeal decision is final so whatever that says is the end of the story,” Fifield said.

She added she hopes to have the decision in by the end of the week, though she cannot guarantee it will not take longer.

Student Election Chair Mickey Stevens also presented the changed language of the referendum to be placed on the ASM fall ballot during the report of the SEC chair for the business meeting. 

The proposed referendum reads as follows: “Please note: This is an advisory referendum, results will be presented to the Union Council, the governing body of the Wisconsin Union. Do you support the current design of the student / theater lounge addition for the Memorial Union”?

The referendum will also include a picture from Union Council in addition to the original once chosen by ASM.