On tonight’s Senate agenda time was allotted to discuss ASUO Senator Bryan Vanderpool’s motion to remove ASUO Chief Justice-elect Allison Apana from the ASUO Constitution Court. However, Court Justice Cedar Cosner sent out a judicial order on Tuesday that would force the ASUO Senate to postpone discussion about the motion during Wednesday’s Senate meeting.
Even with the judicial order requiring the ASUO Senate to postpone discussion of the removal of Justice Apana to a later meeting, Vanderpool still moved with the removal of Justice Apana, and Senator Lindy Mabuya seconded the motion.
After the motion was seconded, the meeting continued on with the remainder of the meeting’s agenda. During the meeting, a press release was sent out by ASUO Constitution Court Chief Justice Nick Schultz about the body’s handling of Vanderpool’s motion.
According to Justice Schultz’s email, the body failed to comply with Justice Cosner’s judicial order, which voids Vanderpool’s motion, until the court lifts the judicial order.
In a response to Schultz’s email, Vanderpool said that Justice Cosner lacks any authority to enjoin his motion towards Justice Apana. Since the ASUO Senate didn’t vote on the motion, Vanderpool says that he is well within his senate rights, and that the Constitution Court’s interference is nothing more but an infringement of his freedom of speech.
“The fact that my motion is regarding the ongoing relationship between Justice Schultz and Justice Apana, a relationship Justice Apana appears to have lied about during her confirmation as Justice Schultz looked on, is an even further egregious breach of authority and decency,” Vanderpool said in a response to the nullified motion.
Vanderpool continues on his response to say that his motion is about protecting the integrity of the ASUO Constitution Court, and that he will move forward with his motion to remove Justice Apana from the Constitution Court.
“(The Constitution Court) have made their stance clear that Senate’s vote is voided,” ASUO Senate President, Matthew Miyamoto said.
The Senate’s vote might be voided, but according to Miyamoto, the Senate’s stance to keep the motion had its purpose.
“One part of the reason why the motion remained upon the agenda tonight was because the court did not issue a response to that ruling,” Miyamoto said. “I suppose part of Senate’s response will be circumstantial in that regard.”
On the Constitution Court side of things, Schultz said that under the ASUO Constitution, the court has final authority over all questions of interpretation of the constitution, and any rules that were created with it.
“My worry in all of this is that even though the motion doesn’t count, it still shows a dangerous attitude for student leaders to adopt,” Scultz said. “What they’ve done is just symbolic, and they can do it again at the next meeting, but it doesn’t show respect to the process.”
As both Miyamoto and Schultz said, the senate’s motion has been voided. That leads to the Constitution Court deciding what will happen to Justice Apana.
“In real life we have courts, whether you like it or not, you have to let the courts rule — there is a process in doing things. What’s happening here is that they’re infringing the courts ability or authority of the constitution,” Schultz said. “There’s a real constitutional issue here. This is a constitutional question, and we have a constitutional court to decide those questions.”
In the recent events that have happened between Vanderpool’s motion to remove Apana, Chief Justice Schultz still believes that this is a constitutional process, but it does involve the productive partnership of the other branches.
“We can put our heads together, and show students that we are leaders,” Schultz said. “I hope I’ll have a partner with President (Laura) Hinman and Senate President Miyamoto to move forward, and to prove to students that we’re mature adults that can respect the process.”