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Court Case Procedures

The court has the power to hear the following types of cases:

All cases that arise under the ASUCM Constitution and appropriate ASUCM by-laws, including, but not limited to, questions regarding constitutionality and equal protection, or the University of California Office of the President’s (UCOP) Policies.

All cases involving the Undergraduate Student Body of the University of California, Merced or any members thereof, involving members of ASUCM that are involved in an ASUCM Activity or sponsorship 

Case Procedure

  1. The Petitioner submits a P1 Form (Both parties will have one (1) week from the day and time that the P1 form was received to submit all forms and evidence).
  2. An email will be sent to the parties involved along with the Associate Justices of the Court
  3. The Respondent is able to submit an R1 Form in response to the claims made by the Petitioner, but should do so before the Court meets at their next weekly meeting. The Respondent is not required to do so. The Court may decide to hear the case even if the R1 Form has not been submitted (Both parties will have one (1) week from the day and time that the P1 form was received to submit all forms and evidence. The case shall be considered open until the ASUCM Court dismisses it or completes the hearing and releases the decision. If the Court dismisses, they will release a statement about the case.
  4. The ASUCM Court will hold a vote at the next scheduled meeting to determine if a hearing is merited based on all information submitted. This vote will take place regardless of the submission status of the R1 form, unless the respondent requests, and the ASUCM Court approves by majority vote, a delayed decision to hold a hearing in order to provide sufficient time for the Respondent’s evidence submission. If at any point the petitioner wishes to withdraw their case, they have the liberty to do so. The petitioner must send all Justices a written notification, such as a hard copy letter or email, requesting the withdrawal. The Court will immediately cease to pursue any case that has been withdrawn unless the respondent requests that it continue. If the ASUCM Court decides not to hear the case, an official statement and all submitted documents including evidence will be released and made public.If the ASUCM Court determines that a hearing is merited the following will occur:
  5. When the ASUCM Court comes to a decision to hear the case, the court clerk will notify both parties involved of the status of the case and following procedures.
  6. Petitioner and Respondent must submit their schedules in (48) hours after the ASUCM Court has decided to hold a hearing. If a party does not submit their schedule after being contacted by the Court within the (48) hours, the Court shall establish a hearing time.
  7. Both parties will have one (1) week from the day and time that the P1 form was received to submit additional forms and evidence. At the end of the given week all evidence will be available to the public if requested by any student. The Court is at liberty to shorten or extend this time by a majority vote if they believe it will be for the greater good. 
  8. Both the Petitioner and Respondent will be expected to argue their case at the hearing unless a proxy for the involved individual is approved by the ASUCM Court by majority vote (12) hours before the case hearing. 
  9. If the Petitioner or Respondent believes additional information may be beneficial for the hearing, they may call on the witnesses that were included in the P1 and R1 forms. Witnesses who have not been submitted in the P1 or R1, must be proposed to the court at least (24) hours before the hearing to be considered. All witnesses not submitted in the original P1 or R1 forms will not be guaranteed a place in the hearing. Names of witnesses approved by the Court will be made public (24) hours prior to the hearing by the ASUCM Court.  
  10. The hearing will take place.
  11. The ASUCM Court will then meet after the hearing and discuss the case. The senior-most Justice that was present at the hearing will determine the author of the majority opinion. A decision shall be made, and the Court shall release an official case document that will be publicly released to the Undergraduate Students of the University of California, Merced within (7) days of the hearing. 

  

In the occasion of an Elections Cases:

The ASUCM Court may expedite elections related cases if they feel that following the normal timeline will impede the elections process.
 
Any candidate that has been removed from the election by the elections commission will be appealed to the ASUCM Court unless they specifically request to give up this right.  Candidates will have 24 hours to request a dismissal of the appeal.  If no dismissal is requested the ASUCM Court will hear the appeal even if the candidate in question is not present at the appeal hearing.   

 

In the occasion of an Expedite Case:

If the court agrees to hear a case that has been filed during the last two weeks of a semester (prior to finals week) it shall be considered an expedited case. The petitioner and respondent must share their availability to the Court (24) hours after the petition has been filed. The Court will then decide on a time to meet. The petitioner or respondent may request for the case to be put on hold until next semester only if: (1) the case is filed during the fall semester, (2) both petitioner and respondent are in agreement, and (3) the Court permits it with a majority vote. The case will resume when the court is back in session on the first meeting of the Spring semester. 
 
 
 
 
 
*This page shall serve as a reference for the ASUCM Court and all parties involved in a court case. The ASUCM Court has the right to change procedure or use another method of hearing the case if it is believed that it will be of greater benefit. The Court uses modified Robert’s Rules of Order as a guideline for courtroom procedures as stated in the ASUCM Constitution.