Supreme Court of Saginaw Valley

The Supreme Court of Saginaw Valley is a group of SVSU and Student Association alumni, attorneys, and civic leaders that issues advisory opinions which seek to guide the association when it comes to interpreting the organization’s governing documents, such as the Student Association Charter and Student Association By-Laws.

The primary goal of the court is to inspire the association to establish an independent judiciary. The court's members are appointed by the remaining members of the court, with the advice of the Student Association President.

The court is an independent organization and is not affiliated with SVSU or the association.

Question-and-Answer Sessions
Question-and-answer sessions serve as the time for parties of cases to present their legal arguments to the justices. The sessions are granted by right to the petitioner, plaintiff, defendant, and amici in each case. In every case thus far in the court's history, no party has requested a question-and-answer session.What's your why?



Conference and Assigning Opinions
Upon the grant of a petition or the certification of a question, and each party or amici having the chance to speak on the matter, a case is submitted for Conference. The Conference is the formal meeting of the court on each case and is held in secret. There, the Justices discuss and vote on the case. Cases are decided by majority vote of the Justices. After the vote, The chief justice assigns the opinions of the court between the justices, even if he is not in the majority. Opinions of the court serve as the ruling voice of the court on a particular case. In each case, each justice may publish a concurring or dissenting opinion, by right.

Vacancies
The chief justice is responsible for contacting the Student Association President in the case of a vacancy on the court. He must deliver a physical letter via U.S. mail, per the court's rules of procedure, and solicit the advice of the president. In the case of a vacancy in the chief justice position, this responsibility falls to the most senior associate justice. Senior is determined by length of service, and then age. The most senior justice presides over the secret ballot vote to fill an associate justice vacancy on the Court.