The Central Judiciary
The Central Student Judiciary (CSJ) at the University of Michigan is the judicial branch of the Central Student Government. Often hearing cases involving election disputes, CSG constitutional issues, and reviews of decisions made by student groups on campus, the CSJ is the highest adjudicating student body at the University of Michigan. Although CSJ requires potential parties to make a good faith effort to handle conflicts within their own organization, the Court is available for both arbitration and to hear challenges to a student group’s decisions. CSJ is composed of nine justices, only four of which can be from any one college of the University, ensuring a diversity of views and opinions on the court.
CSJ Manual of Procedure
Central Student Judiciary utilizes the Manual of Procedure for its hearings. It can be found here:
Joining CSJ
The Central Student Judiciary consists of nine Justices selected among the students. No more than four Justices may be enrolled in any one degree-granting unit. An appointed Justice serves until they complete the degree program(s) they are enrolled in at the time of confirmation.
If you are interested in joining CSJ, you may submit your application below.
Any questions regarding the process may be directed to the CSJ Chief Justice at csg.chiefjustice@umich.edu.
While CSJ's decisions are based on the CSG Constitution, the CSG Compiled Code, and some United States law, the Court also considers group regulations (e.g. student organization constitutions) and the Standards of Conduct for Recognized Student Organizations when making decisions. Although the applicable sources of law are varied, no legal training of any kind is required to bring a case before CSJ. Ensuring that the process and outcome is fair, rather than technically perfect, is the first priority. To ease the process, CSJ can appoint student counsel to represent a party, or they may retain their own representatives.
Any student who feels she has been wronged may bring her case to CSJ. Disputes between students or student organizations should be brought to CSJ when the parties cannot reach an agreeable outcome, when all other channels have been exhausted, or it is not clear who the moderator should be. CSJ hears cases the entire school year and is accessible to answer questions about whether or not we can hear your case. Review the Constitution and the Compiled Code to see if your claim is legally sound. If you still have questions, e-mail the Court for insight into your situation. If you are ready to state a claim, please see the CSJ Manual of Procedure and bring the appropriate forms to the CSG Office, located in room 3909 of the Michigan Union.
This page is intended to provide a jurisprudential resource for CSJ justices and the Michigan student body. The Court looks forward to working to ensure all students on campus have meaningful access to justice.
File a Case or Motion
Form 51-1 (Standard compliant form for CSJ)
Please fill out the form by hand, scan it and email it to the Chief Justice in order to file a complaint.
Form 51-2 (Make a motion in a pending case)
Please fill out the form by hand, scan it, and email it to the Chief Justice in order to file a motion.
CSJ Cases
Year | Case | Title |
|---|---|---|
2009 | F-09-001 | Stenvig v. MSA – Brief of Plaintiff’s Counsel |
2009 | F-09-001 | Stenvig v. MSA – Final Order |
2009 | F-09-001 | Order Denying TRO Petition |
2009 | F-09-001 | Plaintiff’s Complaint |
2009 | F-09-001 | Resolution F-09-008 |
2009 | F-09-002 | Yousuf v. Election Director – Complaint |
2009 | F-09-002 | Yousuf v. Election Director – Final Opinion |
2009 | F-09-002 | Yousuf v. Election Director – Pretrial Conference Opinion |
2009 | F-09-002 | Yousuf v. Election Director – Pretrial Injunction Order |
2009 | F-09-003 | Yousuf v. Talley – Appellant’s Amended Petition for Appeal |
2009 | F-09-003 | Yousuf v. Talley – Appellant’s Brief |
2009 | F-09-003 | Yousuf v. Talley – Elec Bd’s Decision |
2009 | F-09-003 | Yousuf v. Talley – Final Opinion of the Court |
2009 | F-09-003 | Yousuf v. Talley – Order Denying Requested TRO |
2009 | F-09-003 | Yousuf v. Talley – Order Setting Appellate Hearing |
2009 | F-09-003 | Yousuf v. Talley – Respondent’s Brief |
2009 | F-09-003 | Stenvig v. Election Director – Order Denying TRO Petition |
2010 | W-10-001 | Students for Progressive Governance Petition – Amendment |
2010 | W-10-001 | Students for Progressive Governance Petition – Final Order |
2010 | W-10-001 | Students for Progressive Governance Petition – Hearing Granted |
2010 | W-10-001 | Students for Progressive Governance Petition – Resolution W-10-021 |
2010 | W-10-001 | Students for Progressive Governance Petition – S4PG Petition Statistics |
2010 | W-10-001 | Students for Progressive Governance Petition – Uniqname Verification E- mail |
2010 | W-10-002 | Pannuto v. Mahanti – Complaint |
2010 | W-10-002 | Pannuto v. Mahanti – Executive Order W-10-001 |
2010 | W-10-002 | Pannuto v. Mahanti – Final Order |
2010 | W-10-002 | Pannuto v. Mahanti – Order Denying TRO Petition |
2010 | W-10-003 | McKinney v. Election Director – Appellant’s Petition |
2010 | W-10-003 | McKinney v. Election Director – Elec Dir Order |
2010 | W-10-003 | McKinney v. Election Director – Plaintiff’s Filing Before Elec Bd |
2010 | W-10-004 | Petition for Rehearing of Talley – Final Order |
2010 | W-10-004 | Petition for Rehearing of Talley – Petition |
2010 | F-10-001 | Timothy Bekkers (Advisory) |
2011 | F-11-002 | Mandell et al v. UEC |
2011 | F-11-002 | Pre-Trial Conference Opinion |
2012 | W-12-001 | Parikh v. UEC (Final Opinion) |
2012 | W-12-001 | Tylus v. UEC – Joinder Opinion |
2012 | W-12-001 | Parikh v. UEC Pretrial opinion |
2012 | F-12-001 | CSG v. RSG |
2013 | W-13-001 | Liu v. Rackham Student Government |
2013 | W-13-002 | Central Student Government v. Rackham Student Government |
2013 | W-13-003 | Advisory |
2013 | W-13-004 | Osborn v. UEC (Stay of Enforcement Order) |
2013 | W-13-005 | Osborn et al v_UEC et al_Final Opinion |
2013 | W-13-006 | YouMICH v UEC Final Opinion |
2013 | F-13-001 | Advisory |
2014 | W-14-003 | Injunction |
2014 | W-14-003 | Advisory |
2014 | W-14-002 | Hockstad et al. v. UMEC Opinion |
2015 | W-15-002 | Diaz v. Lin (Final Opinion) |
2015 | W-15-002 | Diaz v. Lin (Pretrial Motion) |
2016 | W-16-001 | Petition of Benjamin Reese (Advisory) |
2016 | W-16-001 | Petition of Benjamin Reese (Petition) |
2017 | W-17-001 | Roth v. Schafer (Final Opinion) |
2017 | W-17-001 | Plaintiff Brief |
2017 | W-17-001 | Defendant Brief |
2017 | W-17-001 | Plaintiff Response |
2017 | W-17-001 | Amicus Brief: Brodkin and Hansel |
2017 | W-17-001 | Motion to Dismiss (Final Opinion) |
2017 | W-17-001 | Defendant Motion to Dismiss |
2017 | W-17-001 | Complaint |
2018 | W-18-001 | Nwansi & MomentUM v. University Elections Commission & MVision |
2018 | F-18-001 | Ashman v. ESG (Final Opinion) |
2018 | F-18-001 | Ashman v. ESG |
2019 | Hoggans v. Fallman | |
2019 | Hoggans v. Major | |
2019 | Hoggans v. Omran | |
2019 | Hoggans v. Wang | |
2020 | Mulholland v. Wang Pre-Trial Judgement | |
2020 | Mulholland v. Wang Advisory Opinion | |
2020 | Mulholland v. Wang Opinion | |
2020 | 20-001 | Schuler v. Ziel Opinion |
2020 | 20-001 | Plaintiff Supp Brief, Schuler v. Ziel |
2020 | 20-001 | Amended Brief for Respondent Ziel |
2020 | 20-001 | Respondent Brief Schuler v. Ziel |
2020 | 20-001 | Amicus Curia brief in re Schuler v. ziel |
2020 | 20-001 | CSG Amici Schuler v Ziel |
2020 | 20-001 | Fadanelli-Martire Amicus Brief |
2020 | 20-001 | Brief Amicus Curiae of Executive body of the Literature, Scient and the Arts' Student Government |
2021 | W-21-001 | An Advisory Opinion of the Election Court |
2021 | F-21-001 | Elections Court Advisory Opinion - Fall 2021 |
2022 | W-22-001 | Election Court Opinion (Kuzuchowski v. Dettling) |
2023 | W-23-001 | Election Court Advisory Opinion (Candidate Spending Limits) |
2023 | W-23-002 | Election Court Advisory Opinion (Withdrawn Candidate Vote Redistribution) |
2023 | Mahfet v. Independence Union | |
2023 | Mahfet v. Forward Together | |
2023 | Mahfet v. Respect | |
2023 | Mahfet v. Minkin Final Judgment | |
2023 | Brief Amicus Curia of James Adam Rowe In Support of the Defendant in Mahfet v. Independence Union Party | |
2009 | W-09-001 | Hull v. MSA - Final Order |