Re-Ordering the Court: A Look at the New-Look Student Court

YSU’s Student Court, an organization likely unbeknownst to most Wilf Campus students, may soon play a significant role in the lives of the entire student body.

The Student Court, as its name implies, is the judicial branch of the Yeshiva Student Union.  It has the power to try cases, both civil and criminal, that arise among the male student body of YU.  According to the constitution by which the court operates (www.soyseforim.org/elections, Article XI, section 1, paragraph 2), its jurisdiction encompasses “all Yeshiva University undergraduate male students,” covering problems that would arise in almost any activity done on campus.  It tries the cases that come up during the course of operation of the numerous clubs that operate on the Wilf Campus.  Steven Paletz (YC ’11), a former member of the court and the current chair of the Student Life Committee, noted that some of the most common cases the court has heard regard clubs complaining about their funding from the Student Union.  “Someone starts a club and wants to run an event, and realizes he doesn’t have the budget to do it; that complaint is brought before the court,” Mr. Paletz said.  In addition, he mentioned that the court has been involved in some more uncommon and controversial cases, such as the impeachment and removal of one of the heads of the YSU last year.  He could not disclose further details, however, because the case was kept private, which can be done at the behest of either the defendant or the Chief Justice (per Article XI, section 3, paragraph 4 of the YSU constitution).

The Student Court consists of one Chief Justice and two Associate Justice positions filled by seniors in good academic standing, and two more Associate Justice positions reserved for juniors.  In addition, there is a Justice Pro-Tempore, who must be at least a sophomore, in charge of recording court sessions and filling in if one of the Justices is unavailable for a trial.  Cases are heard in front of a full court of five.  While no location is specified for trials, the new Beit Din (Jewish religious court) boardroom in the Glueck Center would likely (with permission of the Rebbeim) fit the needs of a courtroom trial.  The tentative list of Justices includes Tani Cohn as Chief Justice, and Michael Falik, Ari Feldman, Asaf Gamzo, David Elkaim, and Tuviah Brander filling the other roles, with one serving as the Justice Pro-Tempore and the other four as Associate Justices.  Judges are appointed by the president of YSU, who works in cooperation with the current members of the court.  The members serve a term through the school year, at which point a new court is appointed.  Their reign is not limitless, however; a wayward judge can be removed by a four-fifths vote of the YSU council.

The court has wielded its power very sparingly in recent history. This has largely been due to the disorganization the court has fallen into, which is by no means a new occurrence.  In a 2004 Commentator article, Avi Zohar commented that in the 2001-‘02 academic year, a court wasn’t even appointed, and in 2004 it took the better part of the year to appoint members.  This trend has continued up to this year. Paletz admits he didn’t hear a single case while serving on the court, as did Cohn, who declined to comment on what cases are lined up, but stated that none has been heard yet during the current term.

That trend could end later this year.  There are indications that the court seeks to reorganize itself, appointing members from every Jewish Studies Program on campus to give the court fuller representation.  Yet, there may be a bigger issue facing the court: the level of anonymity into which the court has fallen.  Very few current students have ever heard of the court.  Upperclassmen in previous years failed to pass on the knowledge to younger students, and the knowledge was lost somewhere in the turnover of students.  Compounding the problem further is the high level of privacy under which the court operates.  One candidate previously considered for membership stated that when he was approached about the position, he was asked “not to talk to people about [the court].”  Aside from ethical questions unpublicized dealings may carry, it also does nothing to increase students’ awareness of the existence of the court.  The less students are aware of the court, the less they will turn to it to arbitrate over possible disputes.

Another issue pertains to the necessity of student-run courts – there is a question as to whether the Student Court need even exist.  Student-run courts, though uncommon, exist on other college campuses in the US.  Most student bodies have an elected president and a student council, the so-called “legislative” and “executive” branches of the government, but few have the addition of a judicial body.  Current members of the court, however, think that the Court is integral to the smooth functioning of clubs at Yeshiva University, clubs that may sometimes come head-to-head with one another.  Cohn, however, explained the need for the court as an arbitrator.  “Problems perennially plague institutions, and a court is a means of solving these frequent bumps in the road to progress,” he said.

The importance of such a court system is undeniable.  A well-organized court would, on the most basic level, ensure that the college’s many clubs deliver on their promises, an issue that has plagued YU in recent years.