In re Office Vacancies and Resignations

In re Office Vacancies and Resignations, 16-005 (2016) is a case in which the Supreme Court of Saginaw Valley ruled 5-0 that the association is required to replace Representatives who resign or who are removed.

The advisory ruling said that the plain meaning of Article I, Section 7, Subsection 2 of the Student Association Charter is so obvious, that nothing more needs to be said.

"In the event that a representative is unable or unwilling to fulfill his or her duties, the Association shall elect a new member from the student body of Saginaw Valley State University," the charter reads.

Chief Justice Michael Westendorf delivered the opinion of the court. In the shortest authored opinion in the court's history, Westendorf quoted the charter and then added the latin legal phrase "Res ipsa loquitur," meaning: "the thing speaks for itself."

Previously, the association had not been replacing every Representative who had resigned, treating the association as a mass collection of students as opposed to one of individual seats.