The Law is An Ass...and It's Name is Mike Davis

I just got a hold of DAAP's legal briefs against the J-Council and I wanted to pass on the following highlight:

In fact, even accepting the Council’s Decision’s description of the events in question at face value, it is clear that the Council found DAAP guilty of “badgering” based upon criticism of the competence of the Justices (“personal attacks”), the vigor with which Massie and Felarca pressed their appeal (“the bellicosity of these arguments”), their asserted use of the word “asses” (“foul language”), and the fact that both made known “their thoughts on our decision.” According to the Council, “This was all badgering”-but according the United States Constitution, all this was classic, protected free speech.

Yup, there you have it. One of the reasons that the J-Council in its less-than-infinite wisdom decided to disqualify the entire slate of the Defend Affirmative Action Party was that somebody said the word "ass." You can't say "ass" any more? What is this, the Brady Bunch?

Another facet of DAAP's legal briefs suggests that a lot of this situation is due to Mike Davis overreacting to having his judgments questioned:

During the hearing of that day, the ASUC Judicial Chair Michael Davis issued a ruling excluding from the hearing room Mr. Luke Massie—a DAAP supporter who was not a student at UCB and who was a spectator at the hearing on the charges against the other party targeted by Mr. LaFata—on the basis of facial expressions that were purportedly disrespectful to the Judicial Council.

When the Council took a break, Mr. Massie and Ms. Felarca approached members of the Judicial Council and asked for an appeal from Mr. Davis’s ruling to the entire Judicial Panel, arguing that the ruling was unjust and undemocratic and that Mr. Massie should be readmitted to the hearing. Under the Judicial Council’s Rules of Procedure, any ruling of that chair may be challenged and subjected to en banc reconsideration. After initially refusing to reconsider the Chair’s ruling, the Judicial Council then reconsidered, upheld the Chair’s ruling, and the hearing proceeded. Mr. LaFata charged that this request for reconsideration constituted the offense of badgering, which, under the ASUC By-laws was grounds for disqualifying DAAP.

It's almost as if Paul LaFata and Mike Davis were in cahoots. Felarca and Massie challenge Davis's ruling and assert their right, given to them under the J-Council's own rules of procedure, to have the ruling reheard by the entire council. When they exercise that right, Paul LaFata argues that this constitutes "badgering" and LaFata's interpretation is actually considered seriously by the J-Council. It's a great scam. LaFata claims to be oh-so-fragile. He filed suit because Yvette Felarca gave him a phone call. He filed suit because Luke Massie shook his hand too "vigorously." Mike Davis then steps in to give LaFata and his complaints a credibility they do not deserve, in order to disqualify a party that they as conservative Republicans both oppose.

It's sad that it had to come to this, but the DAAP lawsuit is a necessary step to ensure that the prima donnas on the Judicial Council don't stomp all over the democratic rights of the Berkeley student body.
- posted by Jon @ 6:57 PM |