Student Court Drops Final Chair Appeal

The student judiciary of the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) dismissed the final legal challenge to the April chair election on September 29. The decision ends a months-long dispute over the validity of the vote that installed Haia Al Zein as chair of the 33rd session.

Rep. Michael Harry, who lost the election on April 24, submitted the brief on September 22. This marked his second attempt to have the student judiciary review procedural errors. In the filing, Harry argued that the court mishandled its previous order and that Chief Justice Chloe Sieman misapplied rules during the proceedings.

The conflict originated when Harry filed his initial brief on April 30, claiming the election results were invalid. He amended that document on September 14 to request that alleged rule-breakers be barred from future chair elections. Harry specifically cited broken meeting rules and asserted that the Chief Justice did not preside over the election.

The student judiciary issued an order on September 8 to discuss the matter as a special order at the September 16 meeting. This order modified an earlier version from April 30. At that session, ASM representatives voted against adopting the special order. The motion failed because it required a two-thirds majority for passage, a threshold Harry argued lacked precedent.

Had the motion succeeded, representatives could have re-elected the 33rd session chair by a simple majority. The dismissal notice stated that a majority of student justices recused themselves from the decision. This group included Chief Justice Sieman, whose recusal Harry had requested. The court did not assign a full panel due to these recusals.

Al Zein issued a statement welcoming the outcome. She said the decision gave her hope for the remainder of the 33rd session and offered an opportunity for the body to work more collaboratively. Sieman, Harry, and the student judiciary declined to provide further comment on the brief.

The dismissal confirms Al Zein's position as chair. The student council will continue its work for the current session without a full re-election of the leadership role.