NEWS IN BRIEF

ASUC Looks to Develop Impeachment Protocol

After some confusion over impeachment procedures last semester, the ASUC Senate will discuss at tonight’s meeting the formation of an ad hoc committee designed to better guide the body in impeachment procedures.

The committee, if approved by the senate, would review the Judicial Council Rules of Procedure and translate them into clear rules for the senate to follow in the event of an impeachment hearing, said ASUC Solicitor General Alex Kozak.

“We have to create a set of guidelines by which the senate can act as a jury,” said SQUELCH! Senator David Wasserman.

Kozak said he feels that the Judicial Council’s rules should be used as a basis for these guidelines, as he said it seemed to be the best option rather than creating impeachment procedures from scratch.

“The (Judicial Council’s rules) are well tried. We know they work,” Kozak said.

Nothing, however, is finalized and the committee could decide to develop the procedures differently, he said.

If the committee is created, ASUC bylaws would require that the ad hoc committee be composed of at least three members of the ASUC.

In accordance to current ASUC bylaws, senators followed the Judicial Council Rules of Procedure during an impeachment trial of Judicial Council Chair Sonya Banerjee last November.

But some members of the ASUC said the lack of standard impeachment procedures for the senate needed to be addressed to avoid possible misinterpretations.

“It was confusing ... it wasted a lot of time,” Kozak said. “It would help if there were a set of rules (for impeachment procedures). There needs to be an in-depth discussion.”

Tamara Bartlett

Senate to Vote on Expedited Release of Election Results

An amended version of a bill calling for more prompt tabulation and release of ASUC elections results will be voted on by the senate at tonight’s meeting.

The bill, authored by CalSERVE Senator Van Nguyen, now calls for votes to be tabulated 24 hours after the deadline for filing good faith Judicial Council suits involving elections.

The filing deadline falls approximately four days after the closing of the polls, Nguyen said.

The original version of the bill called for the tabulation of votes to occur within 48 hours of the polls closing, but was amended after some senators said they were concerned that the premature release of uncertified results could generate malicious or illegitimate lawsuits.

Other senators said that even if the release of results generated more Judicial Council suits, the suits would still have to be substantiated with evidence and be reviewed by the council.

“You should only be worried if you did something wrong,” Independent Senator Ali Ansary told the Constitutional Review Committee Monday night.

Even with the deadline extension, senators said the bill would accomplish its goal of informing students of the election results in a timely manner.

“What is being presented is a way to keep the student body’s attention span,” Nguyen told the committee.

Tamara Bartlett and Will Kane

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