Two members of the five-person ASUO Constitution Court slated
to graduate this year resigned Monday, another change to the court’s makeup after Chief Justice Randy Derrick stepped down as head of the court May 2.
Associate Justices Stefan Myers and Courtney Warner announced their resignations earlier this month, citing impending graduation from the University. Both justices urged ASUO President Adam Petkun to appoint a replacement to ease the transition for next year’s court.
Petkun, who served on the court before being elected president, said he hopes the positions will be filled before the year ends. He added that President-elect Adam Walsh is being included in the hiring process.
Justices are appointed by the ASUO president and serve for the length of their education at the
University. The court has the
authority to rule “on any question arising under the ASUO Constitution” and can “impose broad
sanctions to compel compliance with its rulings,” according to the Green Tape Notebook.
Petkun praised the court’s work.
“I think this was probably the most effective Constitution Court I’ve seen in my four years here,” he said, adding that justices “didn’t shy away from making tough choices that may have been unpopular.”
Myers said in an April 29 e-mail resignation letter to Petkun that it has been “a true honor
to dedicate my time to serve students and protect their rights and
opportunities.”
“The Court itself this year has done an amazing service to the
student body through its careful consideration and fairness in all its dealings,” he said.
In a similar e-mail sent May 2, Warner also said it has been a “privilege” to serve students.
“This was an important year for the Court in term of the decisions that it made and precedents that were set,” she said.
The court ruled on several major cases this year.
In February it denied sophomore Silas Snider’s request to begin gathering signatures to initiate a recall
of the executive and the ASUO
Student Senate.
In March, the court removed
Programs Finance Committee members Eden Cortez, Dan Kieffer
and Mason Quiroz from the committee after it found they “acted in willful defiance of viewpoint
neutrality” during a controversial Feb. 1 budget hearing for the
Oregon Commentator.
When Cortez later appealed the decision, the court upheld its ruling that he defied viewpoint neutrality, ordering that he remain removed from the PFC and the Senate.
The court delayed the results of the ASUO’s primary elections in April until it found that the ASUO Election Board didn’t show favor to ASUO Executive candidates Ashley Rees and Jael Anker-Lagos.
But Derrick, who investigated
the matter for the court, reprimanded the board for a “serious lapse
of judgment” when it allowed a
representative of the ticket to
blow up balloons and complete
financial paperwork for the board.

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