The ASUO Constitution Court voted unanimously Tuesday evening to dismiss Emerald editor in chief Michael J. Kleckner’s grievance against the ASUO Programs Finance Committee.
The court had issued a temporary halt to PFC’s budget recall process after receiving Kleckner’s petition for review on Friday, but PFC can now move forward with its agenda.
In his petition, Kleckner asked justices to rule that it was unconstitutional for PFC to vote on or conduct recall hearings because it has no specific procedures or protocols regarding the recall process in its bylaws. Additionally, Kleckner asked the court to issue an injunction because he wanted the protocol issue to be addressed before the Emerald’s recall hearing, which had originally been scheduled for Monday.
The court said it decided not to hear Kleckner’s grievance because he hadn’t gone through the established channels of first addressing his concerns to the ASUO Programs Administrator and then the ASUO president before appealing to the Constitution Court.
Although the court chose not to rule on the grievance itself, Chief Justice Megan Macy issued an opinion on the interpretation of PFC’s bylaws regarding recalls. Macy stated the committee does not need to publish “explicit rules governing a recall proceeding.” She argued that because PFC stated in its bylaws that it would follow “Robert’s Rules of Order” as a guideline in the absence of its own stated protocols, the committee was not required to establish a set of recall procedures.
Kleckner said the court’s decision didn’t disappoint him and he was grateful the justices had taken the time to address his constitutional question.
“I think they were correct, and I’m glad for the clarification,”
he said.
The Emerald attempted to contact PFC for comment on the court’s decision, but was unable to reach the committee by press time, due to the late timing of the decision.