The Duke Student Government Judiciary ruled Tuesday morning there was no substantial evidence to convict the Duke College Republicans of discriminating against junior Justin Robinette on the basis of his sexual orientation.
In a 3-to-1 decision, the Judiciary said College Republicans removed Robinette as club chair for valid reasons related to unprofessional conduct, as stated in the articles of impeachment. This ruling most likely means that College Republicans is no longer at risk of losing its charter for constitutional violations.
Robinette filed a complaint with the Judiciary April 15, shortly after resigning from his position. He declined to comment on the hearing.
“The actions of the DCR Executive Board stemmed from a growing dissatisfaction with the leadership of the plaintiff, and this Court believes that the ensuing results, however drastic, reflect that dissatisfaction, and do not contain any discriminatory agenda or intent,” the Judiciary’s majority opinion reads. “There is no strong evidence showing that this dissatisfaction is due to the discrimination of the plaintiff’s sexual orientation, but rather purely on the quality of the plaintiff’s leadership.”
As a result, it is unlikely that DSG will consider revoking College Republicans’ charter, which was in question when the Judiciary met for Robinette’s hearing Monday night. The DSG Senate holds the rights to the charter and could revoke it for unconstitutional behavior, but as of 2 a.m today, the governing body does not have a discussion of the sanction on its agenda for tonight’s Senate meeting, DSG Executive Vice President Gregory Morrison confirmed.
“Given the judiciary ruling, there’s no grounds to [revoke or question the charter], but something could be done in the theoretical sense,” said Morrison, a junior.
Associate Justice Carissa Mueller, a junior, dissented from the majority ruling because she thought the College Republicans did create a hostile environment toward members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community. She added that she believes Robinette’s sexual orientation played a “necessary role” in the impeachment.
“Specifically, I believe that the testimonies given and evidence offered indicate a preponderance of communication between members of the DCR that are offensive to members of the LGBT community. I further find that these comments were sometimes general derogatory comments and other times made specifically about Robinette, who was openly homosexual to a number of members of the DCR,” she wrote.
The justices spent more than 15 hours weighing the case, beginning Monday night. The Judiciary received statements from 22 individuals, and both sides testified separately.
Former College Republicans vice chair Cliff Satell, a junior, testified for Robinette.
In an interview with The Chronicle Sunday, Satell said he was approached by current College Republicans Chair Carter Boyle, a junior, prior to Wednesday’s impeachment meeting. Satell revised his statement Tuesday, noting that it was former executive director Sam Tasher, a first-year law student and Trinity ’09, who approached him. Satell said Tasher found out Robinette was gay the weekend before the impeachment and referred to Robinette’s orientation in a negative tone, implying that Tasher told others.
“Look at the facts—they took 12 to 14 hours to deliberate, so obviously they were split for a very long time,” Satell said. “I never had experience with the [DSG Judiciary] before, and they don’t really have standards so they could do whatever they want. They can pick and choose whatever they want, and because of that I knew [the case] was very open ended.”
Although the Judiciary has made its decision in the case, Robinette still faces financial allegations from College Republicans members.
In an interview Sunday, Robinette said he was falsely accused of misusing club funds.
“There was no inappropriate use of funds and I will work with OSAF in clarifying and explaining any of the purchases,” Robinette said in an interview Tuesday.
Boyle said Sunday that Robinette used club funds to purchase clothing for himself, adding that the club was in the process of conducting an audit. The embezzlement charges, however, do not appear in the articles of impeachment.
Robinette independently contacted junior Max Tabachnik, incoming chair of the Student Organization Finance Committee, requesting an audit Monday. Tabachnik informed Robinette an investigation was already underway, following a request that had been made over the weekend.
Tabachnik said SOFC found that College Republicans made no violations of SOFC’s financial protocol, but noted that SOFC could not account for separate violations of University or internal club protocols.
Chris Roby, director of the Office of Student Activities and Facilities, said College Republicans adviser Peter Feaver, Alexander F. Hehmeyer professor of political science, submitted a separate audit request to OSAF to determine if the club violated University financial policy. The results confirmed the group had not violated University protocol.
The audit notes that College Republicans may have other policies restricting OSAF’s access to certain financial transactions.
“Internal guidelines of DCR might add a policy layer to the group’s financial activity, but my staff is unable to speak to or make decisions regarding those policies,” OSAF Business Manager Jessica Brinker wrote in an e-mail to Roby. “Such would be the responsibility of the DCR Treasurer.”
Former College Republicans treasurer Trent Serwetz, a junior, resigned Thursday. The position remains vacant.
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