A spirit of reform has recently swept through Duke Student Government.
Several weeks ago, the DSG Senate approved bylaws outlining new judicial procedures that are in accordance with constitutional amendments passed in September. The reforms include an increase in term length and changes to the selection process for justices and the formalization of the judiciary’s roles.
To increase student involvement, DSG opened all six associate justice positions to students wishing to apply, a departure from the old process that reserved half the spots for appointed justices. Thirty six students applied for the spots by the Nov. 3 deadline.
“The judicial reforms are a long-term change that aim to remedy the previously ineffective and incompetent DSG judiciary” said DSG Executive Vice President Gregory Morrison, a junior. “By making DSG judiciary more independent and providing them with a greater extension of authority, the governing body hopes to provide students with a way to voice their concerns about how DSG runs.”
The DSG judiciary previously was not independent and had to wait for students to bring cases to it before issuing rulings, according to a memo from Morrison advocating judicial reform. The judiciary’s rulings were also more limited in scope—it could not rule DSG actions unconstitutional, for instance.
The reform allows the judiciary to act as a trial and constitutional court, greatly expanding the governing body’s authority on campus.
“The constitution gives DSG the right to exercise some ruling over disputes between DSG-chartered student groups, because you don’t always want an administrator in [the Office of Student Activities and Facilities] handling them.” Morrison said.
Sophomore Eric Zimmerman disagreed, raising concerns about students adjudicating conflicts between student groups.
“I’d rather have disputes between student groups handled by OSAF rather than my peers,” he said. “I mean, I see merits in both arguments. But in the end, I just disagree with the idea of DSG, a student group, making a ruling on another student group, even if it’s chartered by DSG.”
The reforms also change the chief justice and justice selection process for the court. Morrison said that in the past, the DSG president, executive vice president and chief justice each appointed a justice to the court, and the other three justices were elected by the Senate.
A new Senate judiciary committee now recommends candidates to the cabinet for confirmation.
The chief justice will also face a similar recommendation and approval process. Students, however, will vote on his or her confirmation in the Spring elections.
Chief Justice Matt Straus, a sophomore, said the selection process he underwent was embarrassing because it offered little opportunity for DSG members to evaluate him before he was selected.
“They sent the candidates a blast e-mail inviting them to speak before the Senate. They asked us a few questions and had us go into another room while they deliberated,” he said. “One of the great things about these reforms is that it adds a lot more accountability. They know a lot more about this candidate rather than what the Senate can gather from a person in five minutes.”
To make the justices more independent, DSG extended their term lengths from one to two years.
One of the greatest concerns among DSG members was the unclear wording of the constitution, which left some justices without a clear understanding of their jobs, Morrison said.
“The way we operated last year, we operated as a trial and constitutional court, but there was nothing in terms of procedure on how to go about doing this,” Straus said. “So even though not much has changed besides the selection process, all these reforms formalized the process.”
Several senators said they were pleased with the outcome of the reforms and the prospects for a better DSG judiciary in the future.
“The reforms will ensure that justices are independent, intelligent and morally competent,” said Student Affairs Senator Molly Superfine, a freshman. “This reform marks an incredible improvement in transparency in the judiciary.”
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