Whereas, the Student Government Association President has the Constitutional authority to improve the operations of the Student Government Association;
Whereas, an impeachment process has not occurred since the 76th Administration, which no current officer of the Student Government Association (SGA) was here to witness;
Whereas, the Vice President of Student Affairs was the only witness of the previous impeachment process five years ago, and his guidance to the Senate and the Supreme Court was necessary;
Whereas, the Constitution grants the President no authority in the impeachment process beyond presiding over a hearing in the event the Chief Justice is the subject of impeachment;
Whereas, the process being left up to the interpretation of a single individual has allowed the process to deviate from the SGA Constitution, which has caused procedural errors;
Whereas, after the conclusion of the recent impeachment process, an unexpected variation in the process was identified that highlighted the need for clearer constitutional guidance and stronger accountability structures to support fair and consistent proceedings;
Whereas, an opportunity to rectify decisions made with procedural errors must exist to ensure fairness and accountability within the entire SGA.
Now, therefore, I, Chase Patterson, President of the Student Government Association at Xavier University of Louisiana, in accordance with the SGA Constitution, hereby issue the following directive to become effective immediately:
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1) An in-depth process to carry out impeachments in accordance with Section IX.10, Clause 5 of the Constitution will be placed in the SGA Bylaws.
The Senate Committee on Judicial & Rules must submit the formal impeachment charges that they wish to file to the Supreme Court at a regular meeting of the Senate for the one- fifth (1/5) vote of the Senate to commence. This vote is strictly prohibited from occurring outside of a regular scheduled meeting of the Senate and must occur in the presence of the Vice President of Student Affairs or their designated representative, and the advisors of the accused body.
An impeachment hearing will occur at the next regular meeting of the Senate and will be presided by the Chief Justice. The meeting will conclude after a three-fourths (3/4) affirmative vote from the Senate to convict and remove an officer is announced by the Chief Justice. this vote is strictly prohibited from occurring outside of a regular scheduled meeting of the Senate and must occur in the presence of the Vice President of Student Affairs or their designated representative, and the advisors of the accused body.
The aggregate result of the vote (total votes for and against impeachment) shall be publicly announced. Individual senator voting records shall remain confidential.
During the proceeding, the Supreme Court shall preside by maintaining procedural fairness, clarifying constitutional questions, facilitating senator-led questioning, and officially announcing the result of the Senate’s vote. The Supreme Court shall remain impartial and shall not cast a vote for removal.
2) If a senator has a direct conflict of interest or bias that could impede impartial voting during an impeachment proceeding, they shall disclose the conflict and recuse themselves from voting. A neutral proxy, appointed by the Vice President of Student Affairs and confirmed by the Senate, shall temporarily assume their voting role for this hearing only.
3) Justices who identify bias or conflict of interest must disclose this and recuse themselves from impeachment proceedings.
4) the results of the impeachment hearing will only be communicated to the Student Body by the Vice President of Student Affairs or their designated representative, which cannot be a student.
5) An impeached officer may appeal to the Supreme Court solely on procedural grounds within seven (7) days of the Senate’s impeachment decision. The Supreme Court will then review the impeachment process for constitutional adherence and procedural fairness, but it
shall not reconsider the evidence or merits of the case itself. The Supreme Court’s decision on procedural validity shall be final.
i. If the Supreme Court finds the impeachment process invalid after appeal due to procedural or constitutional violations, the impeached officer shall be immediately reinstated to their office. The Supreme Court shall issue a written judicial memo detailing the reasons for invalidation and corrective actions required. The Senate may, at its discretion, initiate new impeachment proceedings only after fully addressing procedural violations identified by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s decision shall be final and binding, and all involved bodies must comply immediately.
6) This executive order shall permanently remain in effect and in full force unless it is modified, amended, rescinded, or suspended by the SGA President, which must be done by executive order.
It is ordered.
Chase Patterson
President, Student Government Association