News in Brief

Senator Files Suit to Cancel Upcoming Recall Election

A suit submitted by ASUC Senator John Moghtader yesterday seeks to cancel the senator's upcoming recall election due to alleged violations by the Judicial Council.

In the charge sheet, Moghtader claims the council did not have the constitutional authority to postpone the election last month, making the election invalid.

The ASUC bylaws state that a recall election must take place within two meetings of the recall election date set by the senate.

The petition to recall Moghtader was submitted Dec. 3, following a November altercation in Eshleman Hall in which some say the senator was involved. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has not filed any charges related to the incident.

According to the ASUC bylaws, the council may only invalidate an election after voting has taken place.

Moghtader's charge sheet states that when the senate rescheduled the election for Feb. 23 and 24, it violated a bylaw requiring the election to be held within two senate meetings of the set date.

"This is a very strong case," Moghtader said. "I'm trying to prevent the recall election from happening to save students this money and prevent an unjust election."

The council will most likely make its decision this weekend, said ASUC Judicial Council Interim Chair Kiira Johal.

A similar suit submitted last Friday by Moghtader charged the Judicial Council with violating a constitutional requirement that the council consist of nine justices.

The council has issued a series of decisions regarding the recall with as few as four members.

The council rejected Moghtader's initial suit because the constitution does not explicitly prohibit the council from deciding cases without having nine members, Johal said.

-Zach Williams

Police Tie Series of Sexual Assaults to Single Suspect

The sexual assault of a female UC Berkeley student Saturday marks the 10th incident in a series of attacks that Berkeley police suspect is linked to the same man.

At about 1 a.m., a male suspect approached two female students from behind as they were walking eastbound on the 2700 block of Durant Avenue, said Berkeley police Officer Andrew Frankel.

The suspect reached under the skirt of one female and touched her genital area before fleeing toward Piedmont Avenue.

Frankel said the suspect, described as a white male in his 20s who may be a college student, is likely responsible for nine other assaults in the area south of UC Berkeley because of the similarity of methods during the attacks.

"I need the public to understand how dangerous this is," Frankel said.

The bulk of the attacks occurred on Saturdays or Sundays between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., according to Frankel.

In many cases beginning with the first assault on Sept. 14, the predator attacked one woman. However, he has also assaulted two women at the same time, including incidents on Oct. 21 and Jan. 24.

In six of the 10 cases, the victims were leaving fraternities and alcohol was involved, Frankel said. He suggested people leave fraternity parties in large groups.

Frankel encourages victims to report assaults quickly because the suspect gets bolder with each successive crime.

"I understand it's a traumatic event, but you need to call in immediately so we can take this guy off the street," he said. "If we don't get a call until a day later, even if they gave us a good description, the suspect is long gone."

-Elizabeth Chang

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