Student Government Association v. Johnson

Facts of the case:

On October 2, 2023, following a senate meeting, an altercation occurred in the SGA office’s MPR room. This altercation involved Seth Johnson being hit on the arm multiple times by another senator who later stormed out of the MPR room. Johnson followed the other senator out of the MPR room and into the main office where they proceeded to argue. Both parties then exited the office and argued very loudly in the middle of the Powell building. A report was submitted for violations of the Student Code of Conduct and the SGA bylaws by several SGA members.

In his Court hearing, Johnson argued that the issue was a personal matter and therefore did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Student Court.

Question:

Does the Student Court have jurisdiction over personal matters that don’t involve SGA business?

Answer:
In a unanimous decision, the Student Court ruled that Johnson, although the victim, had violated the bylaws. The Court agreed that Johnson could have removed himself from the situation after being physically accosted but instead chose to engage further and thus became part of the problem. The Court also agreed that although the squabble was regarding a personal matter, because both violators were SGA members and their actions affected SGA negatively, it was a violation of the bylaws and thus the Court did have jurisdiction to hear this case.