Because Weber State University has a senate, student government and an official university constitution, WSU also has a supreme court in order to uphold the values that are part of the constitution.
WSU’s supreme court, which is a branch of the Weber State University Student Association, is made up of a chief justice, two associate justices and a parliamentarian.
For the 2023-24 school year, the Chief Justice is Raissa Rohbock, a criminal justice student who became involved through connections in her department. Through meetings with former members of the WSU supreme court and an interview process, Rohbock was eventually appointed the chief justice for WSU’s supreme court.
“This is an appointed position. Just like the United States Supreme Court… I went to this lunch, I met senators, I met the vice president, and they were really interesting,” Rohbock said. “So I started to look into forms on the website, and then I found the judicial branch. So I applied. I went through an interview process. After the interview, I went through a second review process. I went to a meeting with the advisor and then I got appointed.”
The purpose of this supreme court, much like the United State’s supreme court, is to uphold the values that are outlined in the constitution and to override any decisions that have not aligned with WSU’s constitution.
“We have a supreme court so we can actually have a student government because when we just have leaders that are being elected and appointed, there’s no checks and balances… We can have a president that would only be there for tuition waiver, or any other reason and nobody will be able to remove them from office… we can actually make people accountable…we are what holds everybody accountable to actually do their duties,” Rohbock said.
The WSU supreme court works through appeals, just as SCOTUS does. Students who feel that they were not given justice by the WSU senate are able to submit an appeal that can be viewed by the supreme court. After which, a decision on whether or not the decision was justified can be made.
Students who feel the need to make an appeal can do so in a few ways. Firstly, they can meet with their academic advisor who can send the supreme court an email. Secondly, they themselves can email the supreme court with an appeal. Or, they can file an in-person appeal during their weekly office hours on Thursday’s from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Finally, they can contact WSU’s student body president, Ashley Potokar.
Though WSU’s supreme court has been around for a long time, but this year they’ve introduced a new position: the parliamentarian. This position, currently held by Zachary Oveson, acts as a liaison between WSUSA and the supreme court in order to avoid any potential biases that could be held between the two groups. This position was created in order for a more just justice system to be in place.
WSU’s supreme court can be contacted for appeals or other interests through [email protected].
“[Students] can come to us anytime. We’re here to serve them. We’re here to help them. And I can’t wait to get more people to be involved with leadership and lift the supreme court,” Rohbock said. “I’m just very excited for what the future holds on the supreme court.”
