SA Court refuses petition on dismissal of Annunzio

By Tammy Sholer

A second petition was submitted to the Student Association Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of former Senate Speaker Joe Annunzio’s impeachment.

Chief Justice Carolyn Eichner said she received Annunzio’s second petition Monday. The petition claims that the SA Senate cannot impeach a senate speaker, only remove him.

Eichner said the second petition is based on the same logic as Annunzio’s first petition that was dismissed by the Supreme Court Feb. 23.

She said she confirmed her decision not to hear Annunzio’s second petition with Justices Ed Gill and Alan Marcus, both of whom were not available for comment.

The court already addressed the constitutionality of the senate’s procedures of impeaching Annunzio Feb. 12, Eichner said. Several days after Annunzio’s impeachment, Annunzio filed his first petition with the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of his impeachment.

The Supreme Court cannot hear the same petition twice, Eichner said. “I think Joe is dissatisfied with the issue,” she said.

Annunzio said the Supreme Court does not want to hear his case because he would be reinstated as senate speaker and that would pose problems for the senate.

Eichner said SA President Pro Tempore Jamie Pennington used the word “impeach” during Annunzio’s impeachment process, but the senate clearly does not want Annunzio as speaker or he would have been re-elected as speaker at Sunday’s senate meeting, she said. An election was held Sunday to fill the vacant post of senate speaker.

Annunzio said there is no provision in the SA Constitution that allows for the speaker to be impeached. His second petition states “In Article IV … in the SA Constitution, the speaker of the senate shall be elected by and from the senate, and may be removed from the office by a two-thirds vote of the senate.”

Since Annunzio was impeached and not removed from his previous position, he said he believes the actions of the senate were unconstitutional.

If the court does not hear the petition, Annunzio said he will discuss the issue with Michelle Emmett, University Programming and Activities director, and Jon Dalton, vice president for student affairs.

The supreme court has the final decision in an internal matter of the SA unless a student’s welfare or safety is in danger, Emmett said.

Dalton said, “Certainly I think policies and procedures should be followed.” He said, however, that the administration will not become involved with internal affairs of the SA.

The only time the administration would interfere with internal affairs is if illegal actions were taking place, Dalton said.