ASUC Student Legal Clinic Effectively Put On Hold
At the end of last semester there was a dispute between the various leadership elements of the ASUC Student Legal Clinic (SLC). A contemporary Daily Cal article summarized the antagonism that was occurring:

Minal Mehta, a co-director of the Student Legal Clinic—which provides legal counseling for students and city residents—is asking the Judicial Council to nullify the group’s constitution after co-director Joanna Jones allegedly rewrote it without obtaining proper approval.

The clinic’s original constitution mandated that any revisions must be approved by both co-directors and the group’s advisor.

Mehta further alleges that Jones’ revised constitution eliminates Mehta’s co-director position and establishes one executive director instead of two co-directors.

The Judicial Council released their ruling today (see below for a link to the ruling), in which they agreed with Mehta, and ruled that the SLC is not operating under the constitution that was approved for them, in violation of sponsorship guidelines, so all their ASUC funds have been frozen and they no longer are allowed to use Eshleman Hall until a new constitution is approved.

The SLC is now homeless, and I imagine penniless if most of their money comes from the ASUC, which means they are out of business until the ASUC approves a new Constitution for them. I have no idea how difficult that will be considering the potential ongoing feud between the leadership.

I assume this will also make some people angry with the Judicial Council (probably the same people who were angry with the council last spring during the election when they felt the JC was too powerful and able to interfere in various election related matters). Although I don't like the idea that the Judicial Council has the right to interfere in the internal matters of a campus organization, as long as a group receives ASUC funding then they must be held accountable to ASUC regulations, including with their constitution, and if the ASUC won't intervene to revoke sponshorship then it falls to the JC to make sure everything works according to plan.

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