In the wake of revelations that voter-approved student referendums may be overturned for the second time in two years, the Student Judiciary assembled Monday night to form a panel to hear arguments against the living wage initiative and Student Union Initiative.
The panel was assigned to hear the case of Elliot v. Student Elections Commission next Sunday or Monday after the Student Judiciary's Regular Business Meeting. Chief Justice of the Student Judiciary Joshua Tyack said there will be a decision within four days of the meeting date.
A group of six students led by UW-Madison law student Patrick Elliot filed a complaint Friday against the SEC in an attempt to get the SUI overturned. The initiative would use 30 years worth of student segregated fees to renovate Memorial Union and rebuild Union South.
The complaint said students did not have the authority to allocate segregated fees in this manner, the SUI infringed on the rights of future students to govern themselves and the initiative limited student output into the decision.
""The general idea [of the case] is that the SEC should not have put this initiative on the ballot,"" Tyack said. He also said initiative sponsors have agreed to represent the SEC.
Tyack dismissed a motion by associate justice Laura Dunn to skip the panel and proceed directly to an appeal. ""This case is not as time sensitive, in that if we heard it early next week the appeals would be exhausted by the week after that,"" he said.
Tyack also said he was not sure the SUI sponsors were going to be serving as respondents in this case, and ""they could argue that if we certify directly to appeal, they wouldn't have a chance to repeal the decision.""
Associate justices Leah Moe, and Jerrod Walker were immediately excused from consideration of being on the panel because both are also members of the SEC.
Moe and Walker will be given ""the responsibility of being a respondent in this case,"" Tyack said.
Tyack, Vice Chief Justice Amber Hodgson and Associate Justice Sol Grosskopf were designated as members of the panel that will meet next week.
Tyack also announced the Tenant Resource Center v. Student Services Finance Committee hearing would take place Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
