Constitution of the Council of Student Representatives
University of Pennsylvania Law School

ARTICLE I – PREAMBLE

Section 1. Name

The name of this organization is the Council of Student Representatives of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (hereinafter referred to as “the Council”).

Section 2. Purpose

The Council is the elected government of the Law School student body. The Council of Student Representatives has four major purposes:
(1) Represent the interests and address the concerns of the student body.
(2) Coordinate and regulate student activities and funds in the interest of the student body.
(3) Communicate with the student body, administrative offices, student leaders, as well as other departments in the university system on relevant issues.
(4) Provide services that improve the quality of life of Penn Law students.

As such, the general duty of the Council is to represent the concerns of the student body while working to enrich the academic, athletic, cultural, professional and social opportunities at the Law School.

Section 3. Previous Constitution and By-Laws

All previous Constitutions and by-laws of the Student Academic Committee, the forerunner of the Council, are hereby repealed.


ARTICLE II -- ELECTION AND IMPEACHMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES

Section 1. Organization

A. Membership

The membership of the Council shall be comprised of thirteen students: Four students shall be elected from the First, Second, and Third year classes; one student shall be elected from among the graduate students. Students so elected shall be known as
Representatives and shall be furnished with a copy of this Constitution. Faculty representatives shall be the students from each JD class who receives the most votes.

B. Terms of Office

Representatives shall serve terms of one year and shall remain in office until their successors have been elected.

C. Vacancies

In the event that a member is either unwilling or unable to carry out their responsibilities, he or she will resign, be impeached, or be asked to step down. The Council shall fill any vacancy in its membership through a class-wide election, held under normal election procedures, with a member from the same class as the Representative whose position has been vacated. Such new members shall complete the unexpired term of the vacated, previous Representative.

Section 2. Nominations and Elections

A. Eligibility

Any law student in good academic standing as defined by the University shall be eligible for nomination and election to the Council.

B. Methods of Nominations and Elections

Nominations and elections to the Council shall be overseen by a standing Committee on Nominations and Elections. This Committee shall determine the procedures to be used for both nominations and elections with two provisions: first, the procedures must be approved by a majority of the Council; second, such procedures must not conflict with provisions outlined in this Constitution. The Committee shall be composed of the Third year Representatives of the Council.

C. Time of Elections

Elections for the Representatives from the Second and Third year classes shall be held no earlier than the first day of March and no later than the first week of April of each year.

Elections for the Representatives from the First year and Graduate classes shall be held no later than the last day of October of each year.

The exact date for elections shall be determined by the Standing Committee on Nominations and Elections.

D. Commencement of Terms of Office

Representatives shall assume office immediately upon their election to the Council.

Section 3. Impeachment of Representatives

Any Representative may be impeached for: behavior which adversely affects the proper performance of his or her functions or adversely affects the good name of the Council, the Law School or of the University of Pennsylvania. Articles of Impeachment may be brought by any Representative. Any member of the student body may bring Articles of Impeachment against any Representative, provided that such articles are signed by at least fifteen (15) other members of the student body. All Articles of Impeachment shall be filed with the Secretary of the Council, except in the case that the Articles are being brought against the Secretary. In such a case, the Articles of Impeachment shall be filed with the President of the Council. Upon the filing of Articles of Impeachment, the Representative being impeached shall be provided with a copy of the Articles of Impeachment. After a reasonable time following the filing, the Council shall convene to consider the Articles of Impeachment. The impeached Representative retains the right at that meeting to defend his or her actions. If at least two-thirds of the Representatives, present and voting, vote to remove the impeached representative (impeached Representative disallowed to vote), he or she shall be immediately suspended from office.

In a timely manner, the Council shall convene a meeting of the general student body with prior notice that the subject of the meeting is the consideration of the Articles of Impeachment of the suspended Representative. At the meeting, the impeached Representative retains the right to defend his or her actions to the student body. If at least three-quarters of those present (impeached Representative disallowed to vote) vote to remove the impeached Representative, he or she will be immediately removed from office. The results from all impeachment proceedings shall be made public in the Law School newspaper. In those periods when such a periodical does not exist, the Council shall determine other means of public notification.

ARTICLE III – COUNCIL MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES

Section 1. Council Meetings

A. Frequency

The Council shall meet at least every other week while school is in session, except during examination periods. Additional Council meetings shall be held whenever a majority of the Representatives concur or at the discretion of the President. In the event of an unplanned meeting, each Representative must be given constructive notice at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to such a meeting.

B. Procedure

A quorum for the transaction of all business by the Council shall consist of a majority of Representatives then in office. All Council meetings shall be open to the Law School Community unless the dictates of this Constitution demand that a meeting remain closed or upon the concurrence of two-thirds of those Representatives present.

C. Voting

The act of a simple majority of those Representatives present and voting at a duly assembled meeting, unless otherwise directed by this Constitution, shall be the act of the Council. Each Representative shall have one vote. No proxy votes are to be permitted.

The President may vote when the vote is by ballot (for example but not limited to: election of officers), or when the vote has resulted in a tie, as the tie-breaking vote.

D. Balloting

All ballots shall be open unless this Constitution demands a secret ballot or a two-thirds majority of the Representatives present and voting request a secret ballot.

E. Rules of Order

The parliamentary procedure to be followed at Council meetings shall be the most recent version of Roberts Rules of Order, except as otherwise demanded by this Constitution.

Section 2. Failure to Attend Council Meetings

Any Representative who fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the Council without an excuse satisfactory to a majority of the Council shall be automatically removed from office and vacancy shall be deemed to exist.

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS

Section 1. Officers of the Council

The Council shall have the following officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. No representative may hold more than one office.

Section 2. Duties of the Offices

A. The President

The President is the chief executive officer of the Council. The President shall set the dates, times and locations of the Council’s meetings and shall chair such meetings. The President shall post or otherwise disseminate an agenda for the meeting twenty-four (24) hours prior to each Council meeting. The President shall serve as the primary liaison of the Council both to the Law School and to the University of Pennsylvania. In this capacity, the President shall devote whatever time may be necessary to making the proper authorities aware of the needs and concerns of the Law School student body. The President shall carry out these and all other duties as may be assigned to him or her by this Constitution, Council, or student body. The President shall make periodic status reports to the Council as requested.

B. The Vice-President

The Vice-President shall at all times assist and participate with the President in the carrying out of the President’s duties. The Vice-President shall act as President whenever the President is either absent or disabled. The Vice-President shall become the President should the President resign or be removed from office upon majority approval of the Council. The Vice-President shall oversee and coordinate those students who have been appointed to faculty and student committees. The Vice-President shall carry out these and all other duties that may arise or be assigned to him or her. The Vice-President shall make periodic status reports to the Council as requested.

C. The Treasurer

The Treasurer is the chief financial officer of the Council. The Treasurer shall act as President whenever both the President and Vice-President are either absent or disabled.

The Treasurer shall collect and record all of the Council’s monies and, as necessary, make disbursements. The Treasurer shall faithfully record all of the financial transactions of the Council. The Treasurer shall maintain an account of all Council funds. The Treasurer shall report on a semiannual basis the receipts and expenditures of the Council to the members of the student body in some public form.

The Treasurer shall ensure that no money is expended unless it has previously been approved by a majority of the Council: The President may authorize discretionary funds of up to one-hundred (100) dollars for which, in the opinion of the President, a majority of the Council would approve. The President may grant such discretionary funds up to three (3) times during his or her tenure as President, though the President may do so no more than twice during the last two (2) months of his or her tenure. At the next meeting of the Council, the President shall justify the expense to the Council. The current Council may rescind the power of the sitting President to make such disbursements if, in the Council’s opinion, the President has used the power of disbursement unwisely.

The treasurer shall carry out these and all other duties which may be assigned to him or her. The Treasurer shall report on the Council’s financial status as requested..

D. The Secretary

The Secretary shall notify the Council of the time and place of each Council meeting. The Secretary shall act as President whenever the President, Vice-President, and Treasurer are all absent or disabled. The Secretary shall keep and record the minutes at each meeting of the Council. The minutes shall be posted in a prominent place in the Law School or otherwise disseminated publicly to the student body. The Secretary shall carry out these and all other duties which may be assigned to him or her. The Secretary shall make periodic status reports to the Council as requested.

Section 3. Vacancy of Offices

In the event that the Vice-President, Treasurer or Secretary either resigns or is removed from office during their term, any member on the Council, for that same term, may stand for election.

Section 4. Election of Officers

A. Eligibility

Only persons who have been elected Representatives for the coming year may stand for election to any of the offices of the Council.

B. Time of Election

During the month of April of each year, the newly elected Representatives from the second and third year classes shall meet to nominate and elect officers.


C. Order of Election

The office of President shall be elected first. Then, the Vice-President, the Treasurer, and the Secretary shall be consecutively elected.

D. Nomination

Nominations may be made by any Representative on behalf of any other Representative. Self-nominations are also permitted.

E. Election Procedures

In order to be elected President, a candidate must receive a majority of votes of those Representatives who are present and voting. Candidates may not vote and shall not be present during the voting. The voting shall be done by secret ballot.

If there are only two candidates and no candidate receives a majority of votes, voting will continue until one candidate has received a majority of votes.

If more than two candidates are nominated and no candidate receives a majority of votes, the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes shall be dropped from the balloting and a new balloting will take place. This procedure will be followed as often as it takes until a candidate receives a majority of the votes cast.

When a candidate has been dropped because of insufficient votes, they will have their vote restored and may participate in all future balloting for that office. Where two candidates have the same number of votes and are the lowest vote-getting candidates, both shall be dropped from the ballot unless this would result in there being but one remaining candidate. In such an event, a run-off will be held between these two candidates and the one receiving the largest number of votes shall then stand for office along with the remaining candidate.

The same procedure will be used for the offices of Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

ARTICLE V – COUNCIL COMMITTEES

Section 1. Creation

The council may create such Committees as it may from time to time deem necessary.

Section 2. Appointment

The Council shall appoint as many members to the Committee as it deems necessary and designate one of the members to serve as the Chairperson of the Committee. The Council may delegate the power of appointment of the Chairperson of the of the Committee to the President of the Council

Section 3. Frequency of Committee Meetings

Committees shall meet at the call of the Chairperson of the Committee or as directed by a majority of the Council.

Section 4. Procedure of Committee Meetings

Committees shall operate under the procedure outlined in Article III of this Constitution, with the exceptions of Sections 1(A) and 2.

Section 5. Removal of Committee Members

Committee members may be removed for just cause by a majority of the Council.

ARTICLE VI – TIME OF APPOINTMENT

Section 1. Appointment of Students to Faculty Committees

Whenever invited to do so, the Council shall make appointments to Faculty committees among the membership of the student body.

Section 2. Time of Appointment

Appointments shall be made as soon as possible after the Council is invited to make them; appointments must be made within six (6) weeks of the invitation.

Section 3. Procedure

Once invited to make an appointment, the Council shall solicit applications from the membership of the student body. Solicitations shall be posted in prominent places around the Law School and shall be open for at least one (1) week, unless otherwise directed by the Committee making the request.

After the close of the application period, the Council shall convene within two (2) weeks to act upon the applications. Meetings at which committee selections are made shall be closed.

Upon making its selection, the Council shall inform the requesting Committee and the applicant of its choice within five (5) school days. All other applicants and the student body shall be informed as soon thereafter as possible, but in no event later than two (2)
weeks.

Whenever the Council shall request applicants for a Faculty Committee, the solicitations shall include a description of the Committee and the name of the Faculty Chairperson.

Section 4. Duties of the Student Committee Member

Student committee members are chosen to represent the views of the student body. They shall carry out whatever duties may be assigned to them by the faculty committee. Each student committee member shall prepare a written report for the Vice-President
after each committee meeting. The Vice-President shall report back to the Council on the activities of each student committee member. At its pleasure, the Council shall have the student committee members appear before it.

Section 5. Interim Appointments

Whenever Circumstances prevent the Council from making a permanent appointment to a faculty committee, the council may make an interim appointment. Interim appointments shall be made under any procedure which is approved by a majority of the Council. Interim appointees shall serve for the period of time specified by the Council, which in no event may be longer than the first day of the semester following the semester in which the interim appointment is made.

Section 6. Removal of Student Committee Members

Student committee members may be removed for just cause by a majority of the Council.

ARTICLE VII – FUNDING OF STUDENT GROUPS

Section 1. Request by Student Groups for Council Funding

The Council each year shall make a part of the budget available to other student groups.

By October 15th of each year, the Council shall begin soliciting applications from all student groups for funding by the Council.

All requests for funding shall include an income statement from the previous year, a proposed budget, and a reasonable number of activities which will be open to the entire Law School community. Any group may request and be granted time to come before the Council to explain its budget request.

Section 2. Consideration of Requests

By November 1st of each year, the Council shall convene to discuss and vote on each received request for funding. Requests shall be granted, denied, or granted as modified. No action may be taken without a majority of those Representatives present and voting. The meeting shall be closed.

Once all of the requests have been acted upon, the Treasurer shall notify, in writing, each group that requested funding as to the outcome of its request. The Treasurer shall notify these groups within two (2) weeks of the actions of the Council. In cases where
the request was either denied or granted as modified, the Treasurer shall explain in writing the reasons why such action was taken.

Within three (3) weeks of notifying each group as to the outcome of its request, the Treasurer shall post in a prominent place in the Law School a list detailing how much money was appropriated to each group.

Section 3. Appeal of Council Funding Decisions

Within two (2) weeks of notification, a student group may appeal the Council’s funding decision. To appeal, a student group must file a notice of appeal accompanied by a petition in support of such appeal signed by at least fifty (50) members of the student
body. All appeals made in compliance with this procedure will be reviewed within three (3) weeks of filing. The Council will grant, deny, or grant with modification the appeal.

Section 4. Further Requests

After the initial requests and appeals as outlined in Article VII, Sections Two and Three have been made, the Council shall entertain requests for additional funding (or in cases of groups started after the initial requests for funding). Such requests shall be made at any time and shall be acted upon by the Council within four (4) weeks of the request. Such requests shall be made to the Treasurer who shall, in turn, present such requests to the Council. Requests shall be considered in the same manner and with the same right of appeal as initial requests for funding. The procedures for additional requests shall mirror those outlined in Article VII, Sections 2 and 3 of this Constitution. To facilitate such requests, the Treasurer shall, in a prominent place, post how much money remains in the Council’s budget allocated for funding student groups.

ARTICLE VIII – AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Procedure

Proposed amendments to this Constitution may be submitted at any Council meeting. Amendments may be proposed by any two Representatives or any ten (10) members of the student body.

Section 2. Notice

Once an amendment is proposed at a meeting of the Council, the Council shall publish the proposal in the Law School newspaper. During periods when such a periodical is not in operation, the Council shall post the proposal in a prominent place in the Law School and use such other means that are necessary to insure the wide circulation of the proposal among the student body.

Section 3. Adoption

Within sixty (60) days of the proposal first being submitted at a Council meeting, the student body shall vote on the proposal in a referendum. The voting shall take place in such a manner and at such a time as the Council may decide. Where the sixty (60) days would end during a period when the Law School is not in session, the Council shall either hold the voting before the period when school is out or as soon as school begins again.

ARTICLE IX – ADOPTION

Section 1. Effective Date

This Constitution shall become effective upon adoption by a majority of the voting members of the student body of the University of Pennsylvania Law School held at a time and place chosen by the Council.

Prior to the vote, the Council shall see to it that copies of this Constitution are distributed to all students wishing to see a copy. A copy shall also be posted in a prominent place or places in or around the Law School.

Adopted: April 4, 2003