Acting chief justice discontinues pursuit of confirmation

The acting chief justice nominated by Student Body President Juan Soltero in May decided against pursuing a confirmation from the Student Government Senate.

Mariloly Orozco was nominated following the impeachment trial of ranking Student Government Chief Justice Sarah Heikkinen.

“We think she’ll do a great job,” Soltero said at the May 19 senate meeting. “We hope the transition begins soon.”

However, Soltero said Wednesday that Orozco will discontinue her role as acting chief justice.

Orozco was to be confirmed at Tuesday’s senate meeting, but her confirmation was removed from the agenda.

Senate President Pro Tempore Matthew Diaz said the Senate Executive Committee met and interviewed Orozco and decided they were not “in full support of the nomination.”

Diaz said that Orozco’s confirmation had been postponed to the beginning of July to give senators the chance to talk with her and learn more about her.

“I discussed with Ms. Orozco the nomination, and there have been a couple of concerns from senators,” Soltero said. “We decided to no longer pursue her confirmation.”

He said he could not comment on Orozco’s behalf as to why she decided not to pursue the nomination, but that it might be because she plans to graduate at the end of the fall semester.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Diaz said he encouraged the senate to meet with Orozco directly and that she would be “more than happy to speak with any of you to voice your concerns, if you have any.”

Orozco was not available for comment Wednesday.