Al Zein's Mandate Secured: Student Court Rejects Harry's Last Bid

Rep. Michael Harry lost his final legal challenge to unseat the current student government leader. The student judiciary of the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) dismissed his second petitioner's brief on Sept. 29, ending a multi-month dispute over the April chair election.

The conflict began on April 24, when Harry lost the vote for chair of the 33rd session. On April 30, he filed an initial brief arguing that the election results were invalid. He amended that filing on Sept. 14 to add new information and requested that alleged violators be disqualified from future chair elections.

The Student Judiciary issued an order on Sept. 8 to allow his first brief to be discussed as a special order at the Sept. 16 meeting. This order modified a previous version from April 30. At the Sept. 16 student council meeting, representatives voted on adopting the special order. Adoption required a two-thirds majority. While a majority voted in favor, the threshold was not met, so the motion failed. Had it passed, representatives could have re-elected the 33rd session chair by a simple majority.

Harry filed his second brief on Sept. 22. He argued that the judiciary mishandled its order on the first brief and that Chief Justice Chloe Sieman misapplied rules during proceedings. He also claimed that requiring a two-thirds majority to take up the first brief had no precedent.

According to the dismissal notice, a majority of student justices recused themselves from deciding the brief. This group included Chief Justice Sieman, whose recusal Harry had requested. Because of these recusals, the student judiciary did not assign a full panel to decide the case.

ASM Chair Haia Al Zein welcomed the outcome in a statement to The Daily Cardinal. "The Student Judiciary's decision gives me hope for the remainder of the 33rd session, and I hope it serves as an opportunity for us to work more collaboratively and move forward in greater unity," Al Zein said.

Sieman, Harry, and the student judiciary declined to comment further on the brief. The dismissal leaves Al Zein in office for the duration of the 33rd session.