UCI Law SBA Executive Board,

AFFIRMING UCI Law's Student Bar Association ("SBA") as the predominant organization in representing the entire UCI Law student body within the Law School, to alumni, the main UC Irvine campus, and to society at large;

UNDERSTANDING that controversy may arise where the rules are unclear as to what powers are vested in SBA's Executive Board ("the Board"), and that community relations and decorum can be maintained through pre-established protocol to resolve any dispute in regards to the Board’s decisions;

RECOGNIZING that as it stands, there exists no protocol to resolve any challenge as to whether the UCI Law SBA Executive Board has acted within the scope of its Constitution or to address any grievance brought by a student against SBA or its Board;

We, the undersigned, call for a popular vote on an amendment to add the following language to the SBA Constitution:

Section 1: Grievances - Any current UCI Law student may challenge any action or decision by the SBA Board by pursuing the following procedure:

1. Write a letter expressing your concern and submit it to the SBA President.

2. Schedule a meeting and discuss your concern with the entire SBA Board. This meeting should take place at the next scheduled SBA meeting or within 5 school days of the written grievance, whichever comes first.

3. If your grievance is not resolved after the meeting with the SBA Board, schedule a hearing before an arbitration panel consisting of:

a. The Dean of Student Services if they are available for the hearing, or the next ranking staff-member who fulfills similar functions if they are not,

b. The Director of Student Life if they are available for the hearing, or the next ranking staff-member who fulfills similar functions if they are not,

c. A Student Ombudsman, who is to be elected by the student body along with the rest of the SBA Executive Board, but is not a voting member of the Board and does not fulfill any other regular SBA Executive-related duties..

Alternately, a tenured-faculty professor may serve as a substitute for any of those positions for any reason with the mutual consent of the SBA Board, the party filing the grievance, and the faculty member who they wish to select. This meeting should take place within five school days of the discussion with the SBA Board.

4. Any decision reached by the hearing before the arbitration panel will be presented at the next scheduled SBA meeting.

5. The SBA Board will make every necessary and reasonable effort to accommodate the ruling of the arbitration panel.

The numbering of these sections may be re-ordered accordingly to maintain consistency with the SBA Constitution.