The Court has the authority to exercise its appellate jurisdiction
According to the IUSG Constitution, the Supreme Court will handle appeals in cases where other courts have already made a decision, and it will be the first court to hear cases that haven’t been handled by any other court. The Court handles all cases arising under the IUSG Constitution and Bylaws.
The Standing Rules of the Court outline in great detail how to engage in the appeal process. Please refer to these rules for a comprehensive overview. This page, on the other hand, provides a general overview and responds to relevant questions about the appeal process and subsequent public hearings.
Filing an appeal
Below is a checklist you should use when filing an appeal.
I emailed my appeal document to the IUSG Supreme Court (court@indiana.edu).
Appeal Technical Requirements
My appeal is properly formatted, meaning it is double-spaced, has one-inch margins, and a font size no smaller than 12.pt font (excluding footnotes).
My appeal is no longer than ten (10) pages long, excluding accompanying evidence, exhibits, or the abstract.
I included an abstract at the beginning of my appeal that briefly outlines all its arguments.
I (and all other Appellants) have signed the appeal document.
Appeal Substantive Requirements
I included a specific identification of what I’m appealing to the Court.
I included a specific request for relief, meaning a specific request of action to be taken by the Court and a clear statement of what I want the Court to do.
I have included all relevant facts, exhibits, or evidence surrounding the appeal.
I have included all the arguments that I wish to be included in the case.
I included specific references to the IUSG Bylaws and/or Constitution which form the basis of my appeal and desired relief.
My appeal uses accessible language for the common reader.
I included a brief definition via footnotes of any legal or technical terms I refer to in my appeal (footnotes are no smaller than 8pt font).
Submitting a reply brief
Below is a checklist you should use when submitting a reply brief.
Reply Brief Overview
I received a request for a reply brief from the IUSG Supreme Court.
My reply brief follows all technical and substantive requirements outlined in the Standing Rules of the Court.
I filed my reply brief within forty-eight (48) hours of the request from the Court.
I emailed my reply brief to the IUSG Supreme Court (court@indiana.edu).
Reply Brief Technical Requirements
My reply brief is properly formatted, meaning it is double-spaced, has one-inch margins, and a font size no smaller than 12.pt font (excluding footnotes).
My reply brief is no longer than ten (10) pages long, excluding accompanying evidence, exhibits, or the abstract.
I included an abstract at the beginning of my reply brief that briefly outlines all its arguments.
I (and all other Appellees) have signed the reply brief.
Reply Brief Substantive Requirements
I included all relevant facts, exhibits, or evidence surrounding the appeal.
I included all rebuttals and counterclaims that I wish to be included in the case.
I included specific reference to the IUSG Bylaws and/or Constitution which form the basis of the arguments in my reply brief.
I have not introduced any new allegations of wrongdoing in my reply brief.
My reply brief uses accessible language for the common reader.
I included a brief definition via footnotes of any legal or technical terms I refer to in my reply brief (footnotes are no smaller than 8pt font).
Frequently Asked Questions
No! The Supreme Court is made of students who study a variety of different majors, many of whom have no training in law or policy. Given that many Justices may not even understand specific legal terms, the Court does not expect other students to either. In fact, the Court prefers (and requires) that any filed documents are comprehensible for the common reader.
An appeal is a formal request submitted to the IUSG Supreme Court which relates to a violation of the IUSG Bylaws and/or Constitution. The Appellant (appealing party) may also include accompanying evidence in their appeal document. The majority of appeals relate to election results, however, the Court has also accepted appeals related to internal concerns within IUSG.
All appeals must include a request for relief from the court. A request for relief is a specific request of action to be taken by the Court and a clear statement of what the Appellant wants the Court to do. For example, an Appellant could request the Court to re-evaluate election results or halt the functioning of a branch of IUSG.
A reply brief is the formal response of an Appellee (opposing party) that is submitted to the Court. It presents arguments against all claims made in the appeal document and may also include counterevidence. It cannot introduce any new allegations of wrongdoing.
In order for an appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court, an Appellant must first submit an appeal document to court@indiana.edu. Once the Clerk of the Court determines that an appeal has been properly filed, the Justices of the Court vote whether to accept or reject the appeal. If they reject the appeal, then the process ends. If they accept the appeal, the process continues.
Once the Court has accepted an appeal, they reach out to the Appellee for a reply brief. The Appellee has exactly forty-eight (48) hours after receiving a request from the Court to submit their reply brief. This is a strict deadline.
After receiving both the appeal and reply brief, the Court schedules a public hearing to hear oral arguments from both sides. You can read the Standing Rules for Public Hearing here.
Following a Public Hearing, the Court deliberates in private and publicly releases a formal decision at the soonest possible date. All decisions of the Court are final.
A properly filed appeal must adhere to the technical and substantive requirements of an appeal as well as follow the statute of limitations listed in the IUSG bylaws. Here are the technical and substantive requirements of the Court:
Technical Requirements
double-spaced;
one-inch margins;
no smaller than 12pt. font size (excluding footnotes);
abstract briefly summarizing the arguments made
no more than ten (10) one-sided pages in length, excluding accompanying pieces of evidence, exhibits, or the abstract;
and must be signed by the appellant(s).
Substantive Requirements
a specific identification of the subject of appeal to the court
a specific request for relief
all relevant facts, exhibits, or evidence surrounding the controversy;
all arguments to be included in the case;
specific references to the bylaws and/or Constitution which form the basis of the appeal and desired relief
accessible language for the common reader, meaning use of any legal or technical terms must include a brief explanation via footnotes (no smaller than 8pt font size).
If the Clerk of the Court determines that a reply brief was improperly filed, the Appellant will have onlyone chance to re-submit a revised version to the Court.
A properly filed reply brief must adhere to the technical and substantive requirements of a reply brief and be submitted on time (within forty-eight (48) hours of the request from the Court). Here are the technical and substantive requirements:
Technical Requirements
double-spaced;
one-inch margins;
abstract briefly summarizing the arguments made
no more than ten (10) one-sided pages in length, excluding accompanying pieces of evidence, exhibits, or the abstract;
and must be signed by the Appellant(s).
Substantive Requirements
all relevant facts surrounding the controversy;
all rebuttals and counterclaims to be included in the case
specific references to the bylaws and/or Constitution which form the basis of the rebuttals and counterclaims
may not introduce any new allegations of wrongdoing
accessible language for the common reader, meaning use of any legal or technical terms must include a brief explanation via footnotes (no smaller than 8pt font size).
Injunctive relief is a declaration from the Court which prohibits a party from acting in a certain way. If an Appellant desires injunctive relief, this request must be included in the initial appeal document. In order to grant injunctive relief, certain conditions must be met:
Grounds for Injunctive Relief
that the facts of the case are more likely than not to be true;
that these facts would indicate a violation of the IUSG Student Government, Bylaws and/or Elections Code;
and that the absence of injunctive relief would cause immediate and/or irreparable harm to the Appellant, other interested parties, and/or the student body.
A public hearing is an opportunity for the Appellant and Appellee to present oral arguments. During a public hearing, the Justices ask both parties clarifying questions to further understand the matter of appeal.
After thoroughly reviewing the appeal document, reply brief, oral arguments, and relevant bylaws, the Court deliberates privately to form a final decision. Upon the conclusion of a vote, one Justice is nominated to write the decision that the Court will publicly release.
The IUSG Bylaws and Constitution also include really helpful information. Ultimately, all documents presented to the Court must present an argument which heavily relies on the Bylaws and/or Constitution. You may also find it helpful to review previous decisions of the Court to evaluate existing precedent. You can find previous decisions by looking through the IUSG folder linked here.
Finally, the Court has made checklists (which can be found here) to help ensure you’re on the right track for filing an appeal/reply brief.
You can reach the Chief Justice and the Clerk of the Court via court@indiana.edu. If there is a question that the Court cannot answer due to conflict of interest, they will refer you to one of the faculty advisors of IUSG.
