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Murray State student Ali Khatib and Racer Academy student Jesus Figueroa Martinez have filed a lawsuit against Bob Jackson, University president, over his “failure” to correct an “erroneous decision” made by the Student Government Association Judicial Board.

The lawsuit was filed by Khatib and Martinez in Calloway County Circuit Court on Wednesday, April 9, roughly one month after Khatib won the Student Government Association election by two votes over incumbent Brendan Hawkins.

“This lawsuit was filed because we believe that our rights were violated by a recent decision made by the Student Government Association’s Judicial Board,” Khatib said. “The Board’s decision restricted student participation in SGA elections and voided (the) announced election – extraordinary measures that hold broader implications for the future.”

Hawkins challenged the result of the March 10-11 election. The SGA Judicial Board heard the challenge in a March 31 trial where they ruled in favor of amending the SGA Constitution and overturning the results of the recent election due to a grey area in what defines an eligible voter, according to Chief Justice Piper McClain. The uncertainty stems from whether high school students enrolled in dual credit classes with the University should be eligible to vote in SGA elections. According to the Judicial Board opinion, 31 votes came from Racer Academy students and 15 votes from faculty who are also taking classes.

As a result, Khatib’s presidency was voided, and a new SGA election is scheduled for April 14-15. All executive board positions must be voted on again.

The lawsuit asserts that the Judicial Board “incorrectly concluded that only vague and limited information from the SGA Constitution was available to define an ‘eligible voter.’”

According to Article VII, Section 1 of the SGA Constitution, “any students enrolled in a college shall have the privilege of voting for…all SGA officer positions.”

Following the Judicial Board ruling on March 31,  undergraduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of seven credit hours in order to be eligible to vote in SGA elections, as per Article 1 Section 2 of the SGA Constitution.

The lawsuit states in the first count that Khatib’s procedural due process rights were violated due to the Judicial Board’s “failure to dismiss the Petition” which was “in violation of the rules of the Election/Ways and Means Committee authorized by the SGA Student Senate Bylaws.”

Also in the first count, the lawsuit asserts that “the judicial board does not have authority to amend the bylaws, and amending the bylaws would violate the separation of power within the SGA.”

The SGA is composed of the Student Senate, the Judicial Board, the Campus Activities Board and the Residential College Association, according to the SGA Constitution.

The lawsuit states that Hawkins’s petition was filed “outside of the set time period in which to challenge an election,” thus violating Khatib’s right “to have timely and sufficient notice of any challenges to his position.”

The lawsuit also states that Jackson, “as the Chief Executive Officer of the University, is responsible and required to correct errors within the University that violate the policies of the Board of Regents.”

The lawsuit states that due to Jackson’s refusal to take action to rectify the Judicial Board’s decision, “Khatib has been denied his position and the rights and benefits that go with the position of SGA President.”

According to Section 5.19 of the Board of Regents Policy Manual, the SGA president receives a $4,000 scholarship if they are an in-state student and a $6,000 scholarship if they are an out-of-state student.

The lawsuit states, “Khatib is entitled to a writ of mandamus ordering Jackson to enforce the policies of the Board of Regents and uphold the SGA election results.” A writ of mandamus is a court order that compels a government official or agency to perform a duty and typically is used when no other legal remedy exists.

The lawsuit also questions the impartiality of a Judicial Board member involved with the vote on Hawkins’s petition “on the basis that he was a member of the same fraternity as the incumbent candidate; however, the J Board willfully, wantonly, or negligently failed to exclude the member from voting despite the apparent conflict in interest.”

The second count addresses the violation of the due process rights of Figueroa, a Racer Academy student at the University who plans to attend as a freshman in the fall. “Figueroa was not provided sufficient notice that the J Board was considering restricting his right to vote in SGA elections,” according to the suit.

While Figueroa voted in the March 10-11 SGA election, he is not allowed to vote in the April 14-15 SGA election due to taking less than seven credit hours.

In Count 3, Section 72, the lawsuit states the Judicial Board’s decision “implicitly vacates all recent SGA elections for nearly a decade; thus, voiding all acts of said SGA bodies (including appointments to the J Board)” and states that the Judicial Board’s decision to require voters to be enrolled in at least seven credit hours lacks “a rational basis” in Section 75.

The petitioners request that the University “immediately suspend the SGA from…holding a new election” and provide a writ of mandamus ordering Jackson to “approve, ratify, and confirm the March 10-11, 2025, SGA election results” and “confirm Jesus Figueroa Martinez’s right to participate in any SGA election as a student of Murray State.”

“We hope to ensure that all students are treated fairly and in accordance with due process, and that the University respects the outcome of a fair election that was conducted without irregularities,” Khatib said.

Dominik Mikulcik, the plaintiff’s attorney from Pruitt Law, said every student is entitled to receive due process and be treated fairly by the University.

“Unfortunately, due to a scheduling issue, the Court is unlikely to hear this matter before the scheduled SGA election, and consequently, Mr. Figueroa Martinez would be unable to participate in selecting the students that would be representing him in the fall semester,” Mikulcik said.

The lawsuit is set to be heard in Calloway County Circuit Court on April 21.