Date Introduced:  Thursday, August 21, 2008
Date Decided: Monday, August 25, 2008

Summary of Issue:
Speaker Geoffrey Long submitted a letter of resignation from his capacity as both Speaker of the Senate and as a member of the University Senate in accordance with AB§3-1.5(2) and AB§3-1.5(4).  Per AB§3-1.5(1), resignations “shall be effective upon being read at the next scheduled meeting, at which their absence shall not count against quorum.”  The follow questions are put before the Judicial Court:
1.    Can a resignation be withdrawn or rejected?
2.    Must the successor, who would be up for re-election in the fall, actually run in the fall?  Does the office of the Speaker of the Senate become elected in the fall general election?
3.    Can the President appoint a qualified person to serve as a University Senator for the duration of the unexpired term of Speaker Long?
4.    Must the Senate elect a new Speaker Pro Tem prior to the fall elections, after which, a new Speaker Pro Tem would be elected?

Decision:
Resignations, in a parliamentary sense, are a Request to be Excused from a Duty.  Until a majority accepts the resignation, it may be withdrawn by the maker.  Furthermore, resignations can be rejected, but doing that would subject that individual to the control of the Judicial Court for not complying with the duties of his/her office.

The Bylaws provide that the Speaker Pro Tem shall succeed the Speaker for any reason the office becomes vacant (AB§3-1.5).  This means the successor serves for the remainder of the term of the Speaker of the Senate and does not require election by the Association membership.

The vacancy created by such a resignation would require an election.  While AB§3-1.5 does provide the Association President the power to fill vacancies, the constitutional right for members to vote in Association general elections trumps the power of the Association President.  Further, AB§5-2.3 states that vacancies in the House and Senate shall be filled during the Fall General Elections.

Upon accepting the resignation, it is in order for the University Senate to conduct an election for a Speaker Pro Tem until the October 6 meeting.  Should postponing this election be important, the University Senate, at each meeting up until October 6, must vote to postpone this at each meeting.  Alternatively, the University Senate may adopt a Bylaw which allows for the Speaker Pro Tem to remain vacant within so many weeks or months of the election to that office.

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