Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Tuesday, September 09, 2025 — Houston, TX

Vote yes on U-court amendment to ensure a sound judicial system

By Staff Editorial     2/7/12 6:00pm

The SA election does not simply concern elected positions; there is also an important amendment that Rice students can vote on. One of these concerns the University Court requirements for office. As the rules currently stand, a U-Court judge can also sit on a college court. This inherently creates conflict of interests if U-Court heard a case from college court on its appellate jurisdiction, especially if the student

holds a position of leadership on one of the two levels. It would be comparable to a United States Supreme Court judge sitting on a state's bench, something that would be completely unthinkable. This amendment alleviates these sorts of conflicts of interests. Rice is privileged to have a student-run court system but we must acknowledge

that undergraduates are also capable of the same biases as anyone



else. The Thresher heartily endorses this amendment to make our judicial system more fair.



More from The Rice Thresher


Comments

Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.