It’s finally official.After a long week of complaints, three Trial Court hearings and appeals, a University Court case and long nights of debate in the Student Union, the University is ready to recognize its next Student Government president and vice president, J Hudson and Dani Borel.UCourt heard Docket 10-08 between Speaker of the Senate Tyler Martin and Hudson on Friday night in the Student Union.”We hold that the Trial Judge, Daniel Marsh, did not fully comprehend the basis of the complaint … Mr. Marsh contradicted himself numerous times in explaining contribution and expenditure reports,” Martin said in his appeal to UCourt. The appeal also said Marsh claimed there are no “explicit writings” in regards to what expenditures are. The appeal cited Article 7, Section 4, Subsection A, which “explicitly states that in-kind contributions should be included on the expenditure report of each candidate.”UCourt voted unanimously in favor of Hudson and Borel and to uphold the previous decision of the Trial Court.UCourt Chief Justice Sean Horridge said the UCourt deemed the clarity of the subsection to be unclear and open to interpretation.”We feel there is no defined distinction between an expense report and an expenditure report anywhere,” Horridge said. “It is our decision a total expenditure report was filed and deemed complete, including all expenses and in-kind contributions.”Hudson and Borel will be officially inaugurated Wednesday night during the Senate meeting. “It goes to show the democratic process of SG played out,” Hudson said.Borel said she’s excited to finally put to use the team’s hard work for the last two weeks. Associate Justice Brittany Smith issued a statement urging the organization to move forward to better the student body, Horridge said.”The entire process brought tension and discord on the entire Student Government,” Smith said.Trial Court heard three complaints last week, and Judge Daniel Marsh ruled in favor of StudentsFIRST candidates Hudson and Borel each time. All three decisions were appealed to UCourt.UCourt met Wednesday night and decided whether to grant writ to the appealers. For a writ to be granted, three of the nine UCourt justices must find there is reason to review the case.UCourt did not grant writ to Docket 10-07 between the Election Board and StudentsFIRST candidates or Docket 10-09 between Leading the Way candidate Brooksie Bonvillain and Hudson. The appeals process cannot continue for those two cases, and the Trial Court opinion stands.–Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]
UCourt unanimously upholds Trial Court decision
April 17, 2010