To ASUO President Jay Breslow:
I want to submit my formal resignation as chief justice of the ASUO Constitution Court. The experience has most certainly been educational and interesting. My tenure at the University of Oregon Law School comes to an end on May 13, when I graduate and so must my tenure on the court.
If I may be presumptuous, I’d like to make three suggestions about the future of the court at the University.
First, the role of the court needs better definition. The ASUO Executive and the ASUO Student Senate can assist that by using the court in the means laid out in the Green Tape Notebook. The court is, by design, a body that should be available to answer questions, to avoid mistakes and to make student government run effectively. The genius of three branches of government is that it ensures all branches check each other’s work and distribute power so no one branch gains total advantage.
Unfortunately, that is not the way things have run at the University. The court has been forced into the role of elections referee. The other two branches have ignored many responsibilities of the court, such as review of rules and deadlines, which are specifically laid out in the Green Tape Notebook. As a result, the court has not been able to assist in the smooth governance of the ASUO. It is a shame, but it can be changed with respect to the court’s role in student government.
Second, the court should not be the elections referee. The executive is in charge of the administration of the ASUO. Lately, that difficult role has been thrust upon the court. The Elections Board must change their rules and set up a means of formal adjudication to ensure that elections run smoother. The current process is not efficient, not fair and leads to the transfer of power from the executive to the court. I believe it has done fundamental harm to the court and the ASUO.
Finally, there must be special care given to the choice of whom to put on the court. This court can and should be a place that students can turn to in the future for assistance. However, if the justices are unfriendly to student needs, consider themselves smarter than everyone else or take advantage of the system by pushing their own personal agendas, the court is irrevocably injured. I have seen that this year, and it is unacceptable. These are important nominations, because the ASUO structure of government depends on an independent court. Those who would be justices must use sound discretion in the exercise of power. Please take the time to ensure that the new justices will use that discretion fairly.
Again, I want to thank all that I have worked with and come to know in the past year and a half. It has been quite the ride. I wish all of you well. The ASUO Constitution Court is a good institution worth protecting and empowering. Good luck on the continuing experiment of student government.