Correction: Senate doesn’t reprimand Supreme Court justices

An error was made in the last issue of The Crow’s Nest. Supreme Court Justice Rim Shuman and her fellow justices did not receive a censure#a formal reprimand# from the student government Senate.

The previous story incorrectly stated that Shuman’s censure passed.

The original vote for Shuman’s censure passed, but after Justice Chloe Kirkland made her defense she proposed a motion for a reconsideration for Shuman’s censure.

Kirkland’s proposal needed at least two votes in agreement from the Senate in order for a revote to occur. Sen. Nicholas Patides moved to recall the vote, which was seconded by Sen. Michael Murphy.

After making the motion, Patides apologized to the Supreme Court members for voting rashly on Rim Shuman’s censure on the first vote.

After a second vote, Shuman’s censure did not pass. All three censures ultimately failed at the Oct. 1 meeting.

The re-vote was not reflected in the Senate’s minutes.

The censure resolutions # authored by Senate Pro Tempore Jared Pieniazek # were written reprimands against the justices, claiming they mishandled the impeachment case against Student Body President Cody Boyer. According to the censure resolution documents, Pieniazek wrote that the justices “expressed incompetence of branch position,” and “negligence in duty.”

Senate President Taylor Adams, who was not in favor of the censure, said he was originally offended by things written by the court in the dismissal of the impeachment case. But a meeting with Kirkland allowed him to clarify his misinterpretation on some parts of the ruling.

“I didn’t like this because I didn’t feel it was needed,” Adams said about his opinion on the censures. “It was really just miscommunication.”

Adams says he meets with the court once a week, which gives them time to discuss any concerns or issues and keeps him informed about what is going on in each branch.

According to Adams, the issue has begun to die down. But the impeachment memo can be resubmitted if the senate finds it necessary.

“If people still feel that passionately that there decision was correct, then they have all the means to do that,” Adams said. “So we will find out and see what happens.”

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