Michigan Student Assembly representatives are planning to file an appeal today against a Central Student Judiciary decision that restricted MSA from voting to allocate money for a student chapter of the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan.

A group of MSA members is asking MSA Student General Counsel Jesse Levine to file an appeal against the CSJ decision. The details of the appeal, however, are uncertain because Levine and various pro-PIRGIM members of MSA have different ideas of what the appeal should say.

Matt Hollerbach, an MSA representative who wrote the initial draft of the appeal, said the intent of the appeal is to show that CSJ went beyond its delegated powers when it prevented MSA from voting to fund PIRGIM.

“The issue at play here is the balance of power between CSJ,” Hollerbach said.

Hollerbach’s appeal would charge the CSJ of three offenses. The first point raised against the CSJ’s decision is that it has constructed guidelines in a very specific way that is not required by precedent set in U.S. Supreme Court cases University of Wisconsin v. Southworth I or II. The second point raised is that the guidelines are at a much higher standard than what MSA should have to meet. The final issue Hollerbach brought against CSJ is that once the guidelines are in place, MSA will not be able to consider requests for money from the discretionary fund unless an MSA committee or commission is sponsoring that request.

“It is my contention that all of these points constitute CSJ overstepping their power, but it is only the third point that Levine 100 percent agrees with; he said he will consider the others,” Hollerbach said.

The complex and maze-like battle involving MSA, CSJ and PIRGIM all began when PIRGIM asked for funding from MSA’s discretionary fund.

Due to the political stances that PIRGIM has taken in the past and its history as a lobbying organization, some MSA members were hesitant to fund the student chapter out of fear that it may jeopardize MSA’s tax-exempt status.

PIRGIM sought $20,000 from MSA’s discretionary fund to pay for a yearlong trial period. These hopes were dashed, however, when MSA Chief of Staff Elliot Wells-Reid filed an injunction with CSJ to prevent the assembly from voting on PIRGIM and CSJ upheld the injunction.

Wells-Reid did this in part because he was concerned that there were no guidelines in place, Hollerbach said.

CSJ is ordering the assembly to implement guidelines that are stricter than is required by legal precedent, and if implemented, these guidelines risk imposing unreasonable expectations and regulations on the assembly, Hollerbach said.

Pierce Beckham, the chief justice of CSJ, said the guidelines are needed to ensure MSA’s political neutrality.

Beckham said PIRGIM, unlike most student groups, did not provide its own spending guidelines when it requested money.

Student groups apply for money through the Budget Priorities Committee and the Community Service Commissions of MSA; those student groups have guidelines that they follow, and those guidelines are reviewed, Beckham said.

“The problem with the PIRGIM funding account was that there were no guidelines,” Beckham said. He added that, because of its lack of guidelines, PIRGIM could potentially support political issues or lobby, which could threaten MSA’s tax-exempt status.

While supporters of PIRGIM were discouraged by the injunction, some said they are more troubled with the manner in which they said they thought CSJ handled the injunction.

Hollerbach said an appeal is necessary to prevent future control over the assembly by CSJ.

“The concern is that, if the assembly doesn’t appeal, there is a precedent that the judiciary can make sweeping decisions that would change how MSA works,” Hollerbach said.

“In the orders given in its decision, the judiciary assumed legislative power granted to the assembly,” he said. “It was a breach in the separation of powers; CSJ was trying to legislate from the bench.”

Donica Varner, assistant general counsel for the University, said PIRGIM’s status as a lobbying group remains a concern.

“They said that, going forward, they wouldn’t engage in lobbying, but I think it is indisputable that they are a lobbying organization,” Varner said.

Students for PIRGIM Committee Chair Carolyn Hwang expressed confidence in PIRGIM’s future and said that, despite the efforts of some MSA members and the CSJ, the pilot program will exist at this time next year.

“If the process of the appeals is fair and just, we will be able to win,” Hwang said.