Madison student court drops Michael Harry's final challenge to chair seat

The Associated Students of Madison chair remains Haia Al Zein following the dismissal of Rep. Michael Harry's final legal challenge on Sept. 29. The student judiciary rejected the second brief filed by Harry, a candidate who lost the spring election. This decision ends the formal procedural dispute over the April vote.

Harry submitted his second brief on Sept. 22. He alleged that the judiciary mishandled its order regarding his first brief and that Chief Justice Chloe Sieman misapplied rules during the proceedings. His filings also claimed that meeting rules were broken during the election and that the Chief Justice did not preside over the event.

The conflict began with the April 24 election for the 33rd session chair. Harry lost that race and filed his first petitioner's brief with the Student Judiciary on April 30. He argued that the election results were invalid. On Sept. 14, Harry amended his original filing to include new information and to request that alleged violators be disqualified from future chair elections.

The Student Judiciary issued an order on Sept. 8 to allow Harry's first brief to be discussed as a special order during the Sept. 16 meeting. This order modified a previous version dated April 30. At that Sept. 16 student council meeting, representatives voted against adopting the special order. The motion failed because it did not reach the required two-thirds majority, though a simple majority supported it.

Harry's second brief argued that the requirement of a two-thirds majority to take up his first brief lacked precedent. The dismissal notice revealed that a majority of student justices recused themselves from deciding the brief. This group included Chief Justice Sieman, whose recusal Harry had specifically requested. Due to these recusals, the judiciary did not assign a full panel to hear the case.

Al Zein, the current ASM chair, 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 offer further comment on the brief.

The dismissal closes the legal avenue for Harry to challenge the chair election through the student judiciary. No other appeals are currently pending before the body regarding the 33rd session chairmanship.