www.wmitchell.eduRatified March 15, 1990
As Amended:
December 1995
November 2000
November 2001
March 2002
October 2003
October 2007
February 2010
ARTICLE I: PURPOSE
The purposes of the William Mitchell Law Review include: presenting articles of local and national interest to the legal community; providing a program that will enable students to enhance their legal research, writing, and analytical skills; and providing a critical scholarly forum for legal debate.
ARTICLE II: ORGANIZATION
A. The Law Review. The Law Review shall consist of the Board of Editors, Assistant Editors, Staff members, Operations Manager, Faculty Advisor, and Authors.
B. The Board of Editors. The Board of Editors shall consist of one Editor-in-Chief, four Executive Editors, eight Editors, and any other persons elected to the Board of Editors pursuant to Article V.
C. The Executive Board. The Executive Board shall consist of the Editor-in-Chief and the Executive Editors.
D. Assistant Editors. The Assistant Editors shall consist of those students who have been elected as Assistant Editors.
E. Staff Members. The Staff shall consist of those students who have been elected as Staff members.
F. Operations Manager. The Operations Manager is an employee of the Law Review. The Operations Manager shall be appointed by the Editor-in-Chief.
G. Faculty Advisor. The Faculty Advisor shall be that member of the Faculty who, with his or her consent, is elected by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Editors to serve in an advisory capacity in the operations of the William Mitchell Law Review.
H. Author. An Author is any person who has had a manuscript accepted for publication in the William Mitchell Law Review.
I. Other. The Board of Editors, by a two-thirds vote, may elect and designate other members of the Law Review to positions on its Board or the immediately succeeding Board, provided the criteria for such positions are enumerated clearly and are not otherwise inconsistent with the organizational scheme set forth in this Constitution.
ARTICLE III: POWERS AND DUTIES
A. Editor-in-Chief.
1. General Duties. The Editor-in-Chief shall have the ultimate responsibility for the efficient operation and management of the Law Review, and the screening of manuscripts for publication. The Editor-in-Chief shall attend and conduct all meetings of the Executive Board, the Editorial Board or Staff of the Law Review. The duties of the Editor-in-Chief do not terminate until the final issue of the volume is published.
2. Powers Regarding Publication. The Editor-in-Chief shall have the power to make the final decision regarding whether any manuscript shall be published and whether any issue of the Law Review is ready for publication. Any decision may be overridden, however, by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Editors.
3. Powers Regarding Assignments. The Editor-in-Chief shall have the power to assign Law Review-related work to any member of the Board of Editors, Staff, or Operations Manager. In exercising this power, the Editor-in-Chief shall from time to time consult with the Board, shall make every reasonable effort to consult with the individual to whom the assignment is to be made prior to making the assignment, and shall make every reasonable effort to make all assignments on a fair and equitable basis, taking into consideration the current Law Review-related workload of the individual to whom the assignment is to be made. Any decision may be overridden, however, by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Editors.
4. Voting. The Editor-in-Chief shall have one vote.
B. Executive Editors.
1. General Duties. An Executive Editor shall have the general duties of an Editor, manage articles as assigned by and in cooperation with the Editor-in-Chief, and screen manuscripts for publication. The scope of these responsibilities shall be determined by the Editor-in-Chief with the advice of the Executive Editor. Each Executive Editor shall be responsible for editing a reasonably proportionate share of the articles or student works. Executive Editors shall attend all regularly scheduled and special meetings of the Executive Board, Board of Editors, and the staff. Executive Editors' duties do not terminate until the final issue of their volume is published.
2. Voting. The Executive Editors shall have one vote each.
C. Editors.
1. General Duties. Each Editor shall be responsible for editing manuscripts, supervising student written manuscripts, and participating in the summer staff writing competition. An Editor must complete all assigned work in a timely manner. Each Editor shall attend all regularly scheduled and special meetings of the Board of Editors and the staff. Editors' duties do not terminate until the final issue of their volume is published.
2. Voting. Editors shall have one vote each.
D. Assistant Editors.
1. General Duties. Each Assistant Editor shall perform 50 hours of collateral service per semester. An Assistant Editor shall perform 100 hours of collateral service (two semesters) unless the Assistant Editor is a senior who is graduating after the first semester. Each Assistant Editor shall complete publication work assigned by a member of the Editorial Board. Assistant Editors shall attend all staff meetings.
2. Voting. Assistant Editors shall not have the right to vote.
E. Staff Members.
1. General Duties. Staff members must complete a publishable student Note, Case Comment, or Case Note during the course of the Volume to which the person was elected. The term "publishable" shall mean that the work has been through the number of drafts required by the Executive Board. Each Staff member shall complete publication work assigned by a member of the Editorial Board including 10 authority checks and 35 collateral service hours or as required by the Editorial Board.
2. Voting. Staff members shall not have the right to vote.
F. Operations Manager. The Operations Manager shall perform all management and business-related duties assigned by the Editor-in-Chief. These duties shall include the keeping of all Law Review accounts and the distribution of published Law Review issues. The Operations Manager shall attend meetings of the Board as requested by the Editor-in-Chief or by a majority of the Board.
ARTICLE IV: OPERATION OF THE LAW REVIEW
A. Vote Required. Unless otherwise specified in this Constitution, all business of the Board of Editors shall be transacted by a majority of the Board of Editors.
B. Meetings.
1. Board of Editors. The Board of Editors shall meet on a regular basis.
2. The Board of Editors and Staff. Members of the Board of Editors shall have the responsibility to meet with their assigned staff members or candidates on a regular basis.
3. Recording Secretary. A recording secretary, elected from among the Board members, may make a record during Board meetings of the result of all official actions that require a formal vote.
4. Confidentiality. Subject to the additional limitations in Article V, section E, all discussion and the tally of any votes shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person other than Board members; provided, however, that the results of official actions taken by vote shall not be confidential.
C. Selection of Manuscripts. Any unsolicited manuscripts and student works shall be selected for publication by a majority vote of the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall determine the screening process for unsolicited manuscripts and student works by a majority vote of the Executive Board. Once any manuscript (solicited, unsolicited, or student work) has been selected for publication, only the Editor-in-Chief (or Author before typesetting) has the authority to withdraw the manuscript from publication.
The Executive Board shall continue the process of selecting manuscripts for publication after that Board's volume is full and until a new Executive Board is selected for the next volume. The purpose of continuing the selection of manuscripts for publication is to ease the transition between Editorial Boards.
D. Author Integrity. The Law Review shall make every attempt to respect and preserve the content and writing style of an author's manuscript. The primary responsibilities of an Editor are (1) to insure that the author's statements, if necessary, are supported by authority; (2) to insure that the manuscript conforms to Bluebook standards; (3) to insure that grammar and punctuation conform to acceptable standards. Any changes in content and style shall be presented to the author as suggestions for change.
ARTICLE V: ELECTIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS
A. Time. Elections to the Board of Editors shall take place no later than five weeks prior to the commencement of final examinations of the spring semester. The elections shall occur in the following order: (1) Editor-in-Chief, (2) Executive Editors, and (3) Editors.
B. Procedure.
1. In general. Any member of the current Editorial Board who is also a candidate for a position as Editor-in-Chief, Executive Editor, or Editor on the next Editorial Board shall not participate in the selection process for any Editorial Board positions, provided, however, that the candidate must apply and be interviewed in the same way as other candidates. Participation in the selection process includes interviews of candidates, discussions concerning candidates, and voting.
2. Editor-in-Chief. The ballot for Editor-in-Chief shall consist of all eligible candidates who have applied for the position. Each member of the Editorial Board shall have one vote. The candidate receiving the majority of votes shall be elected Editor-in-Chief. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the candidate receiving the fewest votes, as well as any candidate receiving no votes, shall be removed from the ballot and another ballot shall be taken.
The ballot for Editor-in-Chief may be a separately held election. Upon the selection of the new Editor-in-Chief, he or she may choose to be present at the election of the rest of the Editorial Board members for that year. The new Editor-in-Chief has no vote regarding the selection of the new Editorial Board.
3. Executive Editors. The ballot for Executive Editors shall consist of all eligible candidates who have applied for the position. Each member of the Editorial Board shall have a number of votes equal to the number of Executive Editor positions available. Editors shall cast only one vote for each candidate. The candidates receiving a majority of votes shall be Executive Editors. If the number of candidates receiving a majority of votes exceeds the number of positions available, the candidates receiving the most votes shall be Executive Editors. If the number of candidates receiving a majority of votes is fewer than the number of positions available, then the candidate receiving the fewest votes, as well as any candidate receiving no votes, shall be removed from the ballot and another vote shall be taken.
4. Editors. The ballot for Editors shall consist of all qualified candidates who have applied for the position. The voting shall be conducted as described in the voting procedure for Executive Editors.
5. Assistant Editors. Any person who has been a staff member in good standing and who applies for a position as Assistant Editor shall be selected as an Assistant Editor.
6. Staff Members. The Staff members shall be elected each summer. The Editorial Board shall determine a reasonable basis upon which to evaluate staff candidates. Vacancies caused by resignation or removal may be filled at a special election as determined by the Board of Editors.
7. Ties. If a tie occurs on three successive ballots for the position of Editor-in-Chief, Executive Editor, or Editor, the current Executive Board shall break the tie by vote. If a tie continues to exist after the Executive Board vote, the current Editor-in-Chief shall decide the winner.
C. Duration. The Board of Editors, upon election to the above-described positions, shall serve on the Law Review for a period commencing immediately after being elected and ending at such time as its designated volume is completed. When an elected Board commences its term before a prior Board has completed its volume, each board shall be responsible for its own volume except that the incoming Board shall be responsible for the physical publication of the outgoing Board's final issue. "Physical publication" shall mean the work required to publish an issue after the final changes are received from authors and includes page proofing, book proofing, printing, and any other required work. This responsibility should not preclude one Board from assisting another Board in any way that is beneficial to the organization as a whole. Also, despite the requirement of working on the previous Board's final issue, the outgoing Board is ultimately responsible for publishing its volume including its final issue.
Staff members, upon election, shall serve on the Law Review for a period commencing on the date of election and ending at such time as their designated volume is completed.
The Faculty Advisor shall serve on the Law Review for a period commencing on the date of election and ending upon resignation or removal by a majority vote of the Board.
D. Qualifications.
1. Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief must have served as an Editor or must have been a Staff member in good standing within the meaning of Article III. The Board of Editors shall elect the Editor-in-Chief based on their consideration of the following factors: (1) the quality and extent of a candidate's prior service; (2) the extent of work on and completion of a student Note, Case Comment, or Case Note; (3) the attitude and willingness of a candidate to assume additional Law Review work during the previous year or years of membership; (4) the consistency with which a candidate has met deadlines; (5) the ability of a candidate to work well with others; (6) the quality of a candidate's prior work in writing, editing, and authority checking; and (7) any other factors that the Board of Editors finds important.
2. Executive Editors. The qualifications for Executive Editor(s) shall be the same as those for Editor-in-Chief.
3. Editors. The qualifications for Editor(s) shall be the same as those for Editor-in-Chief.
4. Assistant Editors. Assistant Editors must have been staff members in good standing.
5. Staff Member in Good Standing. For the purposes of this section a Staff member in good standing must have completed a publishable Note, Case Comment, or Case Note. The term "publishable" shall have the same meaning as set forth in Article III, section E, subdivision l. In addition, Staff members must have satisfactorily performed publication work. Among the factors to be considered in evaluating a Staff member's performance shall be, although not necessarily in this order of priority, the following: (1) the quality and quantity written; (2) attendance at Law Review meetings; (3) the amount of publication work performed; (4) attitude and commitment to the Law Review; (5) length and amount of time spent on Law Review-related work; and (6) knowledge of proper citation form.
E. Notice and Interviews. The date of any elections shall be set by the Board of Editors but in no case shall an election be held without notice of such election being posted in a conspicuous place at least fourteen days prior to the final election. In addition, candidates for the Board of Editors shall be interviewed by the Board of Editors, judged by staff performance, and any other criteria the Board of Editors deems appropriate. Candidates for the position of Operations Manager may be interviewed in a manner to be determined by the Editor-in-Chief.
F. Secret Ballot and Confidential Discussion. All votes at elections shall be cast by secret ballot. All discussions concerning candidates shall remain absolutely confidential and no member of the electing Board of Editors shall relate any of the discussion to any person. The tally of the election votes shall remain confidential and shall not be communicated to any person provided, however, that the results of elections shall not be confidential.
ARTICLE VI: SANCTIONS
A. Grounds for Removal and Probation. Grounds for sanctions include, but are not limited to, violating the student honor code, plagiarism, deliberate falsification of authority, failure to complete work promptly, and producing low quality work.
B. Procedures for Imposing Sanctions. The Editor-in-Chief may be sanctioned by a two-thirds vote of the Editorial Board. Sanctions upon other members of the Law Review shall be imposed by the Editor-in-Chief, provided the person to be sanctioned receives written notice seven school days prior to the imposition of the sanction.
The person sanctioned may petition in writing to the Editorial Board for an appeal of right within seven school days after the imposition of the sanction. The Editorial Board, after hearing the appeal, may overturn the sanction by a two-thirds vote.
C. Sanctions to be Imposed. Sanctions the Editor-in-Chief has the discretion to impose include: a letter of reprimand; a probationary period; masthead removal for one or more issues; sacrifice of any credits not yet earned; expulsion from the Law Review; and forfeiture of tuition fellowships derived from Law Review.
The following sanctions may be imposed by the Editor-in-Chief with prior approval of the Editorial Board: reporting the person to the Dean; recommending expulsion from school; and reporting the person to the appropriate municipal or state authorities.
ARTICLE VII: MASTHEAD DESIGNATION
The names of persons elected to positions on the Law Review shall appear with their respective title on the masthead, unless they have been duly removed from such position or it has been adjudged, as a condition of probation, that they not appear on the masthead.
ARTICLE VIII: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
Members of the Law Review having a grievance against the Law Review may submit the grievance in writing to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief shall attempt to resolve the grievance. If the grievant is not satisfied with the decision of the Editor-in-Chief, the grievant may present the grievance in writing to the Board of Editors for its consideration and resolution.
ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS
The Constitution shall remain in effect and may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Editors, provided that no amendment shall be effective unless submitted to the Board of Editors in writing and proposed as an amendment to the Constitution at least one week prior to the day of voting.
Amendment I
The Board of Editors and Staff of the William Mitchell Law Review shall avoid the appearance or actual occurrence of favoritism in the selection of manuscripts for publication. Specifically, if the impartiality of a member of the Executive Board, in voting on any manuscript pursuant to Article IV, section C of this Constitution, is impaired in any manner and for any reason, that Executive Board member shall disqualify him or herself from such voting.
Amendment II
The Board of Editors shall hold a write on competition each year after the commencement of final exams in the spring semester. The write on competition shall consist of 5 subject matters: Torts, Property, Contracts, Civil Procedure and Criminal Law. The write on paper shall be a maximum of 20 pages. It must consist of a minimum of 8 pages of text and 8 pages of footnotes. The write on candidate may use his or her own discretion for anything after 8 pages, not to exceed 20 pages. The write on competition shall include a blue book competency portion. The write on candidates will receive a mock paper from the Board of Editors. The candidates shall run an authority check on the mock paper. The mock paper shall be changed to be a difficult authority check.