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UW School of Law
Federalist Society

Constitution of the Federalist Society at the University of Washington School of Law

Prologue

The Federalist Society at the University of Washington School of Law (?Society?) is a conservative/libertarian student organization organized in accordance with the regulations of the University of Washington. The Society honors, respects, and supports the Constitution of the United States of America.

Article I

Section I - Purpose

The purpose of the Society is to foster critical thought and debate about the application of classically liberal principles to the law. The Society embraces the principle that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to the integrity of the Constitution of the United Sates of America, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is -- not what it should be. The Society seeks both to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application through its activities. This entails reordering priorities within the legal system so as to place a premium on individual liberty and the rule of law. It also entails restoring recognition of these norms among lawyers, judges, law students, and professors.

Section II - Membership

Membership in the Society is open to any student at the University of Washington, one need not be a law student, as well as any interested faculty, alumni, or administration member. ?Active members? are those that are current on all national and local dues.

Section III - Faculty Advisor

The Faculty Advisor of the Society may be any licensed member of the Washington State Bar Association. Thus, in the absence or unavailability of a suitable Faculty Advisor, the Society may turn to the Bar as a whole.

Article II

Section I - Officers

The Society shall have the following officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. All officers must be active members of the Society.

Section II - Duties

The Society Officers shall have duties described below and any other duties that the President shall from time to tome decide is expedient for the Society.

A. President - The President shall be the chief executive of the Society. He shall call and preside over all Society meetings and Executive Board meetings. He shall supervise all club activities. He shall have veto power concerning Society expenditures which can be overturned by two thirds of all active Society members. He shall serve as a liaison to any such other organizations as the Executive Board deems necessary. He shall have the power to appoint any such assistants as he deems necessary to assist him in fulfilling the duties of his office.

B. Vice President - The Vice President shall assist the President and shall preside in case of his or her absence or disability. He shall reserve rooms of Society meetings. He shall maintain all official records of the Society, including a mailing list of all members and historical records. He shall supervise the committees through their respective Chairmen.

C. Secretary - The Secretary shall take minutes of all Society meetings, maintain all Society correspondence, and notify members of upcoming meeting. The Secretary shall notify the members of upcoming meetings in any manner the Executive Board may deem appropriate, including posting notice of such on the bulletin board, and using posters, notices, or other communications.

D. Treasurer - The Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of the Society and shall present and supervise the budget. He shall be responsible for any fund raising activities and for the collection of local dues.

Section III - Vacancies in Office

In the event that any officer is unable or ineligible to fulfill his term for any reason, an election for that office shall be held during the next regularly scheduled Society meeting following the vacancy. During the vacancy, the office may be filled on an interim basis by Presidential appointment.

Article III

Executive Board

The members of the Executive Board shall be the four elected officers and the chairpersons of the committees. The Executive Board shall administer all routine business of the Society. A majority vote of the active Society members is sufficient to overturn a decision of the Executive Board.

Article IV

Section I - Committees

Committees shall be organized to administer various phases of the Society. The Executive Board shall, as the need arises, establish committees consisting of Society members at large. The President shall appoint Committee Chairpersons, to take effect upon approval of the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall chair any committee formed concerning the finances of the Society.

Section II ? Responsibility

All committee chairmen shall be immediately responsible to the Vice President who shall coordinate the committees and shall assign to the committees any responsibilities delegated by the Executive Board.

Article V

Section I - Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting shall be held in May of each year. The Treasurer shall report the status of the budget at that time. Officers for the next year shall be elected at this meeting. The newly elected officers shall assume their responsibilities on June 30.

Section II - Elections

The procedure of all elections shall be as follows:

A. Two weeks before the election, the Secretary shall post notices announcing the upcoming election and application deadline on appropriate bulletin boards. Any active member interested in elective office must notify the current President by the stated deadline. Any active member may run for the offices of Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, with the officer of President reserved for 2 L's only.

B. The President shall prepare ballots with candidates' names, organized by the office they seek. Nomination from the floor shall be only for candidates on the ballot.

C. Each candidate on the ballot for President shall have four minutes to make a campaign speech. All other candidates on the ballot will have two minutes to make a campaign speech. The President shall time each speech.

D. Each person desiring a ballot must first be verified by the Treasurer as an active member, whose dues are current, before receiving a ballot. No proxies shall be allowed, and any member arriving after the commencement of campaign speeches may not vote. All voting is by secret ballot.

E. All voting for the office of President shall take place before speeches and voting for the office of Vice President, and so on. The President shall excuse the candidate before each vote to allow the members to discuss the candidate's merits.

F. The President and two active members, selected by those attending the meeting, shall tabulate the ballots. No write-in candidates shall be allowed. For any office for which there are two or fewer candidates, the race is decided by a plurality. If there are more than two candidates, a simple majority must be achieved. Absent a majority, a run-off election shall be conducted between the top two vote recipients. In the event of a tie, the President shall cast the deciding vote.

G. No candidate for office shall preside over an election meeting.

Article VI

Amendments and Bylaws

Any active member of the Society may propose amendments or bylaws to this Constitution. Amendments shall take effect upon ratification by two thirds of the active members. Bylaws shall take effect upon approval of a majority of the active members.

Article VII

Parliamentary Authority

The President may use any rules of order deemed necessary when presiding over Society meetings.

Article VIII

Ratification and Effective Date

This Constitution shall take effect immediately. Each active member of the Society may receive a copy of the Constitution as well as any amendment or bylaws subsequently adopted in accordance with Article VI.