Student Judiciary Dismisses Final Appeal: Two-Thirds Vote Rule Ends ASM Chair Dispute

The Associated Students of Madison student judiciary dismissed the final legal challenge to the spring chair election on Sept. 29, ending the dispute over the leadership of the 33rd session.

The dismissal concludes a procedural battle that began after Rep. Michael Harry lost the April 24 election. Harry, the petitioner in both filings, sought to invalidate the results by alleging that meeting rules were broken and that the Chief Justice failed to preside over the proceedings.

A key procedural hurdle determined the outcome of the case. The student council voted against adopting a special order to discuss Harry's initial brief. While a simple majority of representatives supported the motion, it failed to reach the two-thirds supermajority required for adoption. Harry argued in his second brief that applying this two-thirds threshold lacked precedent in previous judiciary actions.

The dismissal notice indicated that a majority of the student justices recused themselves from the decision. Chief Justice Chloe Sieman, whose recusal Harry had requested, was among those who stepped back. Because of these recusals, the body did not assign a full panel to hear the case. Harry filed his second brief on Sept. 22, claiming the judiciary mishandled its earlier order on his first submission and that the Chief Justice misapplied the rules during the process.

The timeline of the dispute spans six months. Harry first filed a petitioner's brief on April 30, arguing the election results were invalid. He amended that filing on Sept. 14 to request that alleged violators be disqualified from future chair races. The judiciary issued an order on Sept. 8 allowing the brief to be discussed as a special item at the Sept. 16 meeting. That order had modified an earlier version issued on April 30.

ASM Chair Haia Al Zein responded to the ruling in a statement. "The Student Judiciary's decision gives me hope for the remainder of the 33rd session, and I hope it serves as an opportunity for us to work more collaboratively and move forward in greater unity," Al Zein said. Sieman, Harry, and the student judiciary declined to provide additional comment on the final decision.