Article One. Name.
The official name of this organization shall be the Case Western Reserve University School of Law Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (hereinafter referred to as Case Law SALDF).
Article Two. Purpose.
The Case Law SALDF is dedicated to providing a forum for education, advocacy, and scholarship aimed at protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system, and raising the profile of the field of animal law.
Article Three. Criteria for Membership.
Membership in Case Law SALDF shall be open to all students currently enrolled in the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, regardless of gender, race, creed, age, color, national origin, physical disability, or sexual orientation. Individual membership in the Animal Legal Defense Fund is encouraged but not required for all Case Law SALDF members.
Article Four. Officers.
The Officers of Case Law SALDF shall be President, Vice President, Treasurer, & Secretary. The Secretary will be responsible for communicating with the designated contact person at the Animal Legal Defense Fund.Qualifications for persons who are eligible to serve as officers of Case Law School SALDF are as follows:
· registration as a student at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law,
· membership in Case Law SALDF,
· attendance at a minimum of two meetings of Case Law SALDF,
· agreement to uphold the goals and purposes of Case Law SALDF, and to comply with the mission and goals of the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
In the event that an officer, for whatever reason, expected or unexpected, is unable to continue in the capacity of their office, the vacated office shall be filled within two weeks.
Article Five. Elections.
Officers shall be elected each school year by a majority vote of the membership of Case Law SALDF, shall serve a term of one year, and may be reelected. In the event that no candidate attracts the requisite number of votes for election, a run-off shall be held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes.Students interested in serving as officers shall so inform the Case Law SALDF no later than one week prior to the election. In electing officers, each member shall have one vote.
Article Six. Meetings.
Regular meetings of Case Law SALDF shall be held at least once each semester.
Decisions at meetings shall be made by a majority of the members, with every present party agreeing to, dissenting to, or abstaining from every action there decided. A necessary quorum for all decisions shall be at least 51% of all members present at the meeting and must include at least one officer.
Article Seven. Affiliation with the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Activities of the Case Law SALDF shall at all times be consistent with the mission of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (hereinafter “ALDF”). No litigation will be initiated, endorsed, or supported in the name of the Case Law SALDF, without prior approval of ALDF. All public policy positions taken by the Case Law SALDF shall be consistent with the mission of ALDF: “to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals.” The Case Law SALDF will not purport to speak for ALDF or commit it to any position on any matter of public policy or law on behalf of ALDF without ALDF’s prior written consent.
Article Eight. Amendments.
Any two current members shall be entitled to propose amendments. Proposed amendments shall be consistent with these By-Laws, and shall be communicated to the ALDF and all current SALDF officers, who shall schedule a meeting for the purpose of approving these amendments. If the date of submission of these amendments is near the date of a regular or special business meeting, then no additional meeting need be scheduled. A two-thirds majority of all chapter members must vote on any amendments to this constitution.
