Board justices charged with violating rules
Board justices charged with violating rules
Judicial board member resigns, council considers sanctions against another
By Brooke Olson
Daily Bruin Contributor
A member of the Judicial Board resigned yesterday after being formally charged by the undergraduate council with violating student government guidelines during last spring's controversial elections.
Furthermore, another Judicial Board justice was charged by the council with discussing an election case outside of an official meeting. Next Tuesday, the council could vote to remove that justice from the board.
During last year's elections, the Judicial Board overturned several results. A few days later, the board's decision was overturned by another undergraduate committee and the original election results were reinstated.
"Due to personal time commitments, I am no longer able to fulfill my duties on the Judicial Board," Justice Jacob Rothman wrote in a letter to the undergraduate council.
As a result of his resignation, Academic Affairs Commissioner Cynthia Duarte, the sole member of the investigating committee, terminated the investigation, which accused Rothman of presiding over a case despite a conflict of interest.
"At this time I feel the issues concerning the conduct of Rothman are moot considering his future involvement with the Judicial Board is no longer of any consequence," Duarte said.
The committee, however, will uphold their charge against Noah Hochman for possibly violating student government guidelines.
Duarte's reasons for continuing the investigation result from testimony compiled from both former Election Board member Nikki Vivion and Justice Noah Hochman.
Testifying before the investigation committee, Vivion said that she witnessed Hochman discussing the election case with last year's undergraduate president Rob Greenhalgh, even though the case was still open
"Any mention of the case (while it is ongoing) is in violation of student government guidelines," Duarte said. "I am recommending that the council consider sanctions up to and including the removal of Noah Hochman from the Judicial Board."
Hochman vehemently denied the charge. He added that the investigation committee neglected to tell him the specifics of the charge until after he had been questioned about the alleged violation at a public hearing.
"I stated all of my objections (at the hearing)," Hochman said. "According to the rules, I have the right to know what I've specifically done and (Duarte) didn't even tell me that until the end of my hearing."
Duarte said she repeatedly attempted to get in contact with Hochman and inform him of the charge before the hearing was held.
The council will rule on the charge at next Tuesday's meeting. Council members seem likely to follow Duarte's recommendation to remove Hochman from the board.
The dispute over the Judicial Board justices and their actions stem from last spring's controversy.
During the undergraduate elections, the Bruin Democrats placed a full-page ad in the Daily Bruin announcing the group's endorsement of several candidates.
Marwa Kilani, a council general representative, filed a complaint with the Elections Board, alleging that the ad was an illegal endorsement.
The Elections Board, however, determined there was no violation.
Then Matt Weathers, a former council member, filed a petition with the Judicial Board requesting a review of the Elections Board's ruling. The Judicial Board ruled the ad was an illegal endorsement and quickly overturned several election results.
However, several days later the Judicial Board reopened the case, overturned its original decision, and gave the Elections Board the power to resolve the situation.
The Elections Board unanimously voted to keep the original election results.Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu
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