Student Bar Association Constitution PREAMBLE We, the students of Valparaiso University Law School, create this organization in order to enrich and strengthen our fellow students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the greater community. We accomplish these goals through encouraging scholastic achievement, promoting diversity and inclusion, and by seeking understanding and cooperation from the Valparaiso University Law School community in professional and social engagement. This Constitution is established hereby for the Student Bar Association, in order to set-forth the principles and aims that will guide this independent organization in the effective and efficient leadership needed to serve our law community. ARTICLE I: NAME This organization shall be known as the Student Bar Association of the Valparaiso University Law School, hereinafter referred to as the SBA ARTICLE II: PURPOSE & AUTHORITY Section One Purpose The SBA is the student government of the law school. Its purpose is to promote community and communication among the students, faculty, staff, and the administration. The SBA promulgates rules, exercises rulemaking authority over student organizations, budgets and events, under its jurisdiction. The SBA shall strive to promote a collective student voice in all interactions, decisions, and endeavors. The SBA shall be elected by its peers to serve all students and student interests.
Section Two Authority The Administrative Board of the SBA, hereinafter referred to as the Board, is responsible for overseeing every student organization in the law school, including each organization s budget. The SBA Policies and Procedures Manual, hereinafter referred to as the PPM provides guidelines for the formation of new student groups and the allocation of SBA funds. Section Three Administrative Board Duties and Powers A. The Administrative Board shall be the governing body of the S.B.A. This shall include the duty to formulate policies; manage the affairs of the S.B.A.; adjust grievances; and have all other powers prescribed by or necessary for the proper execution of this Constitution. B. The Administrative Board shall meet at least monthly, the times of which shall be selected by the S.B.A. President with consultation by the entire Administrative Board. C. Meetings shall follow Robert s Rules of Order unless a procedure is otherwise specified in this Constitution or other approved S.B.A. governing policy. Robert s Rule of Order should be enforced by the President with assistance of an appointed Parliamentarian, or in his or her absence by the Presiding Officer at the S.B.A. meeting. D. The Administrative Board shall have the power to approve all appointments made by the President and Vice President, in accordance with this Constitution. E. The Administrative Board shall have the power to create and amend bylaws to this Constitution. However, no bylaw shall be introduced and passed at the same meeting. F. The Administrative Board shall have the power to administer any sanction authorized by this Constitution or any other governing policy of this law school and university. G. The Administrative Board may, by majority vote, create ad hoc committees. The function and length of service for each ad hoc committee shall be specified by the Administrative Board at the time the committee is created, except as otherwise defined by this Constitution. H. Any bylaws or other S.B.A. created policies control all other actions or functions of the S.B.A. not mentioned in this Constitution. ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP Section One General Every student of Valparaiso University Law School is a member of the SBA. A portion of the student activity fee for all law students contributes to the budget of the SBA. There is no membership fee. All persons currently registered for five (5) or more academic credits at the Law School shall be active members of the SBA. Section Two Administrative Board Qualifications Every Board member of the SBA shall be a Juris Doctor (J.D.), or Master of Laws (L.L.M.) candidate at Valparaiso University Law School in good standing who has never been found guilty of an Honor Code violation.! 2!
When an Administrative Board member falls out of good standing as determined by the Law School or is found guilty of an Honor Code violation, the President shall notify the board member of his/her removal. ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS The SBA s Executive board shall be comprised of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Special Events Coordinator, and the American Bar Association Representative. An Executive Board member may not hold an executive office position with any other SBA funded student organization while serving their term. Section One President The President shall convene, preside over, and set agenda of all meetings of the SBA. The President shall, in good faith work to enforce the articles contained within this document to the best of his or her ability. The President shall fulfill all of his/her duties outlined in the SBA s PPM. The President shall represent the concerns of the Student Bar Association and Student Body to the Law School Administration. Section Two Vice President The Vice President shall support the President, convening and presiding over meetings when the President is not present. The Vice President shall, in good faith, work to enforce the articles contained within this document to the best of his or her ability. The Vice President shall fulfill all of his/her duties outlined in the SBA s PPM. The Vice President shall preside over all committee chairs operating under the SBA and serve as the liaison between organizations and the SBA for non-financial matters. Section Three Secretary The Secretary shall support the President and keep accurate records of all SBA meetings and activities. The Secretary shall, in good faith, work to enforce the articles contained within this document to the best of his or her ability. The Secretary shall fulfill all of his/her duties outlined in the SBA s PPM. The Secretary shall be the keeper of all SBA governing documents and provide them to any Law School student that requests them. The Secretary shall be the Chairperson of the Communications Committee and oversee all 1L Class Representatives in the performance of their Class Representative duties. Section Four Treasurer The Treasurer shall support the President and account for all SBA funds, providing periodic accounting reports to its members at appropriate intervals. The Treasurer shall in good faith, work to enforce the articles contained within this document to the best of his or her ability. The Treasurer shall fulfill all of his/her duties outlined in the SBA s PPM. The Treasurer shall be the Chairperson of the Budget Committee and ensure that student activity funds are spent responsibly and in accordance with the purpose of the SBA and any policies set forth in the SBA s governing documents.! 3!
Section Five Special Events Coordinator The Special Events Coordinator shall support the President and manage all internal events of the SBA not otherwise delegated within this document. The Special Events Coordinator shall, in good faith, work to enforce the articles contained within this document to the best of his or her ability. The Special Events Coordinator shall fulfill all of his/her duties outlined in the SBA s PPM. The Special Events Coordinator shall be the Chairperson of the Special Events Committee and preside over the planning and execution of all SBA related activities. Section Six ABA Representative The ABA Representative shall support the President and represent the law school at the annual ABA Circuit and National Conference. The ABA Representative shall, in good faith, work to enforce the articles contained within this document to the best of his or her ability. The ABA Representative shall fulfill all of his/her duties outlined in the SBA s PPM. The ABA Representative shall work with the Executive Board to ensure ABA initiatives are reflected in current SBA policies. Section Seven Incapacity Should the President for any reason become unable to fulfill his/her duties, the Vice President shall succeed to the position of President. The new President shall then appoint a Vice President from the remaining officers or class representatives, with a two-thirds (2/3) approval of the Board. Should the President and Vice President position become vacant simultaneously, the ABA Representative shall assume the position of Acting President and call for a special SBA Administrative Board meeting for the sole purpose of nominating and selecting a new President and Vice President. The Acting President shall nominate a person for the office of President and Vice President and present his or her nominee(s) to the Board for approval. The nominee shall be confirmed by the Board by a two-thirds (2/3) vote. Should the Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Special Events Coordinator, or ABA Representative become unable to fulfill his/her duties, the President shall provide a nominee(s) to fill the vacant position(s) with a two-thirds (2/3) approval of the Board. Section Eight Removal An SBA executive officer may be removed for failure to perform his/her duties upon motion of a voting SBA Board member, second of another voting SBA Board member, and a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all voting Board members. For any removal, following motion and second, the Secretary shall within twenty-four hours give notice to the individual and the student body. ARTICLE V: REPRESENTATIVES Section One Class Representatives There shall be three (3) class representatives for each respective class level. The class representatives shall be elected by a general popular vote from their respective class members. A class representative shall be a member of the class he or she seeks to represent during the term of! 4!
office. Class status is determined at the beginning of the academic semester that the class vote is being held for each respective class. Class representatives shall represent the class level to which he or she is elected by raising student concerns during SBA meetings. Class representatives shall, in good faith, work to enforce the articles contained within this document to the best of his or her ability. Class representatives shall fulfill all of their duties outlined in the SBA s PPM. Class representatives shall represent and seek feedback from their constituencies. Class representatives shall choose by popular vote or volunteer from among the three, one elected class representative to act as liaison to faculty, helping to ensure an open dialogue between faculty and students and encourage faculty attendance to SBA sponsored events. Section Three Part-Time Student Representatives There shall be one (1) part-time student representative for the entire student body. The part-time student representative shall be elected by a general popular vote among all registered students. The part-time student representative must be classified as a part-time student. If at anytime during the representative s status changes to a full-time student, the position will be forfeited and the President will nominate someone for the vacant position. Section Four Vacancy If a vacancy occurs in the position(s) of class representatives, faculty representatives, part-time student representative, the President shall provide a nominee(s) to fill the vacant position(s) and present his or her nominee(s) to the Administrative Board for approval by a two-thirds (2/3) vote. Section Five Removal A representative may be removed for failure to perform his/her duties upon motion of a voting Administrative Board member, second of another voting Administrative Board member, and a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all voting Administrative Board members. For any removal, following motion and second, the Secretary shall within twenty-four hours give notice to the individual and the student body. ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS Section One Election Committee The Election Committee shall be appointed no later than the third week of the fall semester. The Election Committee shall be made up of five members of the student body. The members of the committee shall choose from amongst themselves a chair. The committee shall function until the final day of the fall semester and thereafter disband. The Election Committee shall be appointed no later than the third week of the spring semester. The Election Committee shall be made up of five members of the student body. The members of the committee shall choose from amongst themselves a chair. The committee shall function until the final day of the spring semester and thereafter disband.! 5!
The Director of Student Relations shall select the members of the Election Committee and publish the names of those selected to the student body. The Director of Student Relations shall also select members of the student body to fill vacancies on the committee that may arise during the fall and spring semesters. For a member of the student body to be eligible he/she shall not be a member of the SBA Executive Board, a candidate for a position on the SBA Administrative Board, or hold a conflict of interest that may damage the independence of the election process. The Election Committee shall recruit members of the student body who do not have a conflict of interest in the election process, or that may damage the independence of the election process and election operation. If any member of the student body finds that a member of the Election Committee has a conflict of interest and has not immediately resigned from the Election Committee, then a complaint shall be filed with the SBA Supreme Court. The SBA Supreme Court shall investigate and judge the complaint and if a majority finds that a conflict of interest does exist, then that member of the Elections Committee shall be immediately removed. Appeals of all election grievances shall be decided by the Director of Student Relations. Section Two Election Procedures Election Procedures are outlined in the SBA PPM Article IV. ARTICLE VII: CONSTITUTION Section One Authoritative Supremacy Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to interfere or conflict with the authority of the President of Valparaiso University or the Dean of the Law School. Section Two Conflicting Documents Whenever the Constitution and any other governing document of the SBA conflict, the Constitution shall control. ARTICLE VIII: POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL The SBA PPM consists of rules created by members of the SBA that bind the SBA, its members, and the organizations that receive SBA funds. SBA may amend the PPM at any time upon motion and second of any voting board member and a two-thirds (2/3) majority of all voting board members.! 6!
ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS Section One Approval Process Amendments to this Constitution and proposals to amend the SBA Policies and Procedures Manual (PPM) may be made by any voting member at any time for a provisional vote. A meeting of the general membership to discuss the proposed amendments(s) or revision(s) may be called before a final vote of the Board is taken at the discretion of the President or as requested by the general student population. If the revised Constitution or PPM is approved for posting by a two-thirds (2/3) vote, then a written copy of the proposed amendments or revisions shall be posted for seven (7) academic days for review and comment by the general student population before a ratification vote may be held. An Open Forum meeting date and time will be posted by the SBA Secretary on the website, calendar, and board outside the SBA office on the first day of the seven. The Open Forum meeting is for students to ask questions and voice concerns about proposed changes. The Open Forum will be held on the seventh day of the seven. The changes and edits will be discussed and the final documents will be presented to the SBA Administrative Board for a final adoption vote on the following regularly scheduled SBA general meeting. Section Two Ratification Process Amendments to this Constitution shall be ratified by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) majority of the Administrative Board, after the review and comment process is completed. Such vote shall be conducted by secret ballot and tabulated by the President and certified by the ABA Representative. Section Three Notification of Ratification Amendment to this Constitution shall be submitted to the Dean of the Law School and Director of Student Relations. ARTICLE X: REVOCATION All prior Constitutions, Amendments, and Bylaws are hereby revoked and shall become null and void immediately upon adoption of this Constitution.! 7!