Two Constitution Court appointees who will preside over Emma Kallaway’s grievance hearing face Student Senate approval tonight.
Kallaway approved on Sept. 25 her hiring committee’s recommendations for Constitution Court Justices of two law school students, Andrae Washington and Casey E.R. Sanders. Also approved by Kallaway is her appointee for Senate Seat 8, 2008-2009 Sen. Hailey Sheldon.
The hiring committee for the Constitution Court consisted of ASUO Vice President Getachew Kassa and former ASUO Sens. Cassie Gray and Tina Snodgrass. Neither currently holds a position in the ASUO aside from that on the hiring committee.
Kassa said the hope for the hiring process was that it would be “very boring, typical hiring process and that there was not going to be any controversial things that would come up,” he said.
He hoped to steer clear of controversy such as the senate’s rejection of senate-nominated Athan Papailiou last winter which ended in tears.
“Last year the confirmation hearings were very emotional,” Kassa said, “so I was making sure that everybody’s concerns were alleviated.”
Along with a review of application and resume and an interview, applicants were subject to a test: a hypothetical grievance on which they would have to provide a ruling.
ASUO spokesperson Curtis Haley said the ASUO has been adding scenario questions for each of its hiring processes. He said he went through a similar process when he was hired. By using a hypothetical scenario, Haley said members of the hiring committee can determine more about the person than through application and
interview alone.
Gray described the new procedure as “basically a generic grievance that did actually come before the Con Court in 2005.” She said the grievance was “generic so that it couldn’t be traced back to any of the people in the case.”
The reason for adding the hypothetical court scenario was because the committee “wanted to see thought process. To see how they would apply the Green Tape Notebook (which contains the ASUO Constitution and other governing documents) to a given situation,” Gray said.
Kassa echoed Gray’s explanation, claiming the reason for the addition of the activity was to see how the applicants came to the conclusions that they did and the clarity by which they could explain their thought processes.
The scenario posed was a grievance filed against a Programs Finance Committee member, putting into question the mission statement of a program and the member’s neutrality, on which applicants would then write an opinion.
“The main point of the activity was to see how well they could articulate their thoughts and ideas not only to us, but to the average student,” Kassa said. “What that consisted of was getting from point A to point B and how well they did that. We didn’t care what the outcome was. We just took the extra steps to make sure that we’re getting the right people.”
Newly appointed Constitution Court members:
Andrae Washington
Washington, a first-year law student who graduated with a degree in anthropology from the University of Michigan, first got interested in the position when he learned of the courts from his mentor in the law school.
“I decided that it sounded really interesting. My father was a judge so it really interested me even more studying law,” Washington said. “I was really interested in the process. I think it’s something that’s really cool to me.”
In his seventh week on the University campus, Washington says that he wanted to get involved in the University, specifically in a field that relates to his interests.
“I’m going to be going into the military after I graduate,” he said. “I personally am interested in the law of war. War crimes, law of war, rules of engagement — all that kind of international flavor of law.”
Comparing the political arena of the ASUO to that of international warfare, Washington said, “I think it will tie in very well.”
As a first year law student, Washington would serve in the position for as long as he is a student at the University.
“I’m very excited for the position — extremely excited, to correct,” he said. “I genuinely hope that one of the jobs that not just myself but the Constitution Court can kind of do, is that the justice that we administer is very fair and very balanced.”
Washington hopes to live out the mission behind the court to be fair under the Green Tape Notebook that serves as the ASUO’s Constitution.
“One of our main goals is that when people come they know (what) they’re going to get, even if the decision isn’t always ruled in their favor; they’re going to get a very clear and precise explanation as to why (we) came to the process that we came to,” he said.
Casey E.R. Sanders
In his third and final year of law school, Casey E.R. Sanders is excited about his recent appointment to Constitution Court, viewing it as an opportunity to extend his skills and knowledge in a way that benefits the University.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to serve the University,” he said.
Sanders, whose family is originally from Oregon and whose father holds a doctorate degree from the University, feels a special tie to the campus.
“I’m kind of excited to give back to the University that’s given a lot to my family.” Sanders was recommended by his friends, current Sen. Sandy Weintraub and fellow Constitution Court appointee Casey King to apply for an open justice position.
“I don’t want to make it sound like I just did it because they recommended it,” he said. “They’re very involved in student government both on campus and especially in the law school, so I hear of a lot of opportunities to do things through them.”
Sanders speaks to the exercise that was included in the
application process.
“It was a brilliant thing to do, I thought. Good way to see what a written opinion would look like,” he said. “It was a pretty common scenario, sounds like it could come up. They wanted to see the clarity and the ease of reaching it.”
He adds that clarity is important in his job, as he will be presenting decisions to an audience that is not necessarily versed in legal jargon.
Studying primarily environmental and public interest law, Sanders is also involved in an organization called Public Interest Public Service which works to promote public interest law amongst students. Sanders received his undergraduate degree from Weber State University in history with a minor in anthropology.
“I’m very excited to start. I hope the confirmation goes smoothly,” he said. “I think the three most important things to expect from the justices is impartiality, clarity in the writing and the decisions and transparency — as much transparency as possible.”
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