The Judicial Branch
Student Tribunal
Catelyn Kostbar
Chancellor
Catelyn Kostbar is currently a senior at Kansas State with a major in English Literature and Pre-Law. On April 30, 2009, she was approved unanimously by the Student Senate to serve as the Chancellor of the Student Tribunal for the 2009 – 2010 term of office. Previously, she served as Associate Justice of the Student Tribunal for two years, as a member of the Elections Review Committee for the spring 2009 elections, and as a member of the Attorney General Nominee Interview Committee in the spring of 2008. Outside of student government, she will be serving her second year as an Ambassador for the English Department and fourth year in the KSU Pre-Law Club. She plans to attend law school after graduation from Kansas State.
Ronnie Hernandez
Associate Justice
Ronnie Hernandez is currently a junior at Kansas State University with a major in Criminology and Pre-Law. He will be serving his second year as Associate Justice of the Student Tribunal for the 2009 – 2010 term of office. He was approved unanimously by the Student Senate on April 30, 2009. Previously, he served as the Chairman of the SGA Elections Review Committee for the spring 2009 elections, as a Judge of the KSU Parking Citations Appeals Board for the 2007-2008 term of office, and as a Judicial Branch member for the Attorney General Nominee Interview Committee in the spring of 2009. Outside of the SGA Judicial Branch, he served as Student Representative for the Dorothy L. Thompson Civil Rights Lecture Series Committee for the fall of 2008. From November 2007 to January 2009, he served as an English/Spanish Interpreter for the Riley County District Court; where he was appointed and sworn in by District Court Chief Judge, Paul Miller. He plans to attend law school after graduation from Kansas State.
Christopher Jones
Associate Justice
Chris Jones is a senior at Kansas State with a major in Biochemistry and Pre-Medicine. He will be serving his first year as Associate Justice of the Student Tribunal for the 2009 – 2010 term of office. He was unanimously approved by the Student Senate on April 30, 2009. Outside of the SGA Judicial Branch, he volunteers at Mercy Regional Health Center and is a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity.
Pinakin Sukthankar
Associate Justice
Pinakin Sukthankar is a senior graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry, where he’s working on trying to develop novel Biomaterials for the symptomatic cure of Cystic Fibrosis. On the 30th of April 2009, he was unanimously approved by the Student Senate to serve the office of the Associate Justice of the Student Tribunal for the 2009-10 academic year. Prior to presiding on the Student Tribunal; Pinakin served as a Graduate Student Senator, for which he was elected by his constituents for the tenure of 2008-09. During this period he was a part of select group of student leaders that lobbied on behalf Kansas State University at the state capitol in Topeka for increased state reserve fund allowances. He was also detrimental in introducing legislation in the SGA condemning the November 2008 Terrorist attacks in Bombay and commending the US and Indian Governments in their joint effort against terrorism. He also served on the Leadership Committee of the Graduate Student Council during 2008-09. Outside the purview of the SGA, Pinakin is a member of Alpha Chi Sigma – a professional chemistry fraternity and an avid member of the Kansas State University Parachute Club.
Pinakin completed his B.Sc. in Chemistry and his M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Bombay, where he served as a representative on the Collegiate Student Council in 2001-02. From December 2004 to May 2006, he also worked as a Research Associate at the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay in the Dept of Chemistry. Pinakin comes from a family with a tradition of Jurisprudence and he intends to read and practice Intellectual Property law after completing his PhD.
Jared Wilmoth
Associate Justice
Jared Wilmoth is currently a senior in Pre-Medicine, Biochemistry, and Chemistry at Kansas State. He will be serving his second year as Associate Justice of the Student Tribunal for the 2009 – 2010 term of office. He was approved unanimously by the Student Senate April 30, 2009. Previously, he served as a Student Senate Intern for the 2007 – 2008 term.
Duties of Student Tribunal
Duties of Student Tribunal:
- Interpret the KSU SGA Constitution, By-Laws and legislation, upon written request by the Student Body President, Chair of Student Senate, or by presentation of a petition signed by 50 members of the KSU SGA. The interpretation should be (in order of priority):
- Based primarily on the common understanding of the words and phrases.
- Logically consistent with the remainder of the document.
- Consistent with prior interpretations.
- In the best interest of members of the KSU SGA.
- Try bills of impeachment passed by Student Senate, with the exception of judicial boards.
- Hear appeals of decisions form the Housing and Dining Services Judicial Boards, ad hoc boards, SGA Elections Committee, and Student Review Board, with the authority to modify or overturn the decisions of such judicial boards.
- Hear in the first instance disciplinary cases involving special circumstances or situations for which jurisdiction is not otherwise described.
- Consider appeals of decisions originating under the Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment, Policy Prohibiting Sexual Violence, and Policy Prohibiting Racial or Ethnic Harassment when appeal is beyond the administrative process desired.
- Hear appeals from any committee created according to the legislative powers granted in Article V of the SGA Constitution when legislation specifies such an appeal.
Student Tribunal shall be composed of two faculty members appointed by Faculty Senate and five students appointed by the Student Body President in consultation with the Attorney General, as follows:
- One off-campus student unaffiliated with an organized living group.
- One student from a Fraternity or Sorority which is a member of The Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council or Black Panhellenic Council.
- One student from the KSU Association of Residence Halls (KSUARH).
- Two at-large students, one being designated as Chancellor.