The Student Judiciary elected Nick Checker to its chief justice position for the next school year Tuesday.
Checker, who served as the vice chief justice in the 2012 spring semester, said one of his main goals as chief justice will be to encourage groups to use the judiciary’s outreach consultant when coming before it.
The outreach consultant position, typically filled by a law student, is designed to assist students or groups who will appear before the SJ through informing them of processes, preparing briefs and representing them in hearings.
While the consultant has been under utilized in recent years, Checker said it could be a valuable resource to groups.
Current Chief Justice Kate Fifield, who has served in the position for the past few years, said she is confident in Checker’s abilities to lead the judiciary and is “excited for the future of the organization.”
“He has shown a great capacity to learn, which I think is one of the most important qualities of a leader,” Fifield said. “He comes armed with a lot of natural talent that will serve him well.”
The judiciary also appointed Kenny Ho to the vice chief justice position and re-appointed Mickey Stevens chair of the Student Election Commission.
Stevens, who has chaired the SEC for the past year, said continuing as chair will allow him to facilitate the growth of the commission.
He said he would like the SEC to “change the culture of elections on campus” and be able to effectively emphasize to candidates that violating election rules is not worth the potential repercussions.
“I have a lot of heart left for [the position] that I have gained over the year,” Stevens said. “It has been a little bit of a baby to me, and I would love to keep nurturing it to make sure that it grows well.”
Also at the meeting, the judiciary approved changes to elections rules. Under the new regulations, candidates will not be allowed to use aerosol or spray chalk for campaigning purposes and will not be allowed to campaign inside university buildings.
