Student Judiciary Drops Michael Harry's Final Appeal Against Chair Election

The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) student judiciary dismissed a final legal challenge against the chair election on September 29. The decision ends a months-long dispute involving Rep. Michael Harry, a candidate in the spring race who sought to overturn the results. Harry filed his second petitioner's brief on September 22, alleging procedural errors in the handling of his earlier complaint.

The conflict began after the April 24 election for the 33rd session chair, which Harry lost to Haia Al Zein. On April 30, Harry sent a brief to the judiciary arguing the vote was invalid. He amended that filing on September 14 to include new information and requested that alleged violators be barred from future chair races. His complaints centered on broken meeting rules and the absence of the Chief Justice during the initial proceedings.

The judiciary issued an order on September 8 to discuss the first brief as a special order at the September 16 council meeting. This order replaced an earlier version from April 30. Harry’s second brief contested this move, claiming there was no precedent for requiring a two-thirds majority to adopt the special order. He also argued that the Chief Justice misapplied rules during the proceedings.

At the September 16 meeting, representatives voted on the special order. While a simple majority supported the motion, the vote did not reach the two-thirds threshold needed for adoption. Had the motion passed, the council could have re-elected the chair with a simple majority. The failure of the vote left the original election results in place.

The dismissal notice indicated that a majority of student justices recused themselves from the decision. This group included Chief Justice Chloe Sieman, whom Harry had requested remove from the case. Due to these recusals, the judiciary did not assign a full panel to hear the brief.

ASM Chair Haia Al Zein issued a statement welcoming the dismissal. She said the decision provides hope for the rest of the 33rd session and offers a chance for the group to collaborate and move forward with greater unity. Sieman, Harry, and the judiciary declined to provide further comment on the final ruling.

The dismissal closes the legal avenue for Harry to challenge the April vote. No further briefs are scheduled for review, and the 33rd session will continue under Al Zein’s leadership.