Irvine : Editor Wants to Go to Court Over UCI Seizure

The editor of a UC Irvine student newspaper, which was confiscated earlier this week by student government officials because it published student election endorsements, said Thursday he will take his fight to court, provided he can get an attorney.

Approximately 3,000 copies of La Voz Mestiza, published by Chicano students at UCI, were seized by Associated Students president Julie Justus for about 21 hours Tuesday after it was learned the paper had endorsed a particular slate of candidates.

Balloting in a second election was under way this week because results of the original vote, taken two weeks ago, had been invalidated as a result of election fraud. Justus said La Voz Mestiza, which is funded solely by the student government organization, had violated student election rules by publishing the endorsements.

The papers were returned to news racks after polls closed Wednesday.

Gaspar Copado, editor of La Voz Mestiza, said the temporary confiscation violated the publication’s constitutional right to free speech. “I think my First Amendment rights were violated,” he said. “I was very upset.”

Justus, however, said that because the paper receives $3,593 a year in student funds, student government is the publisher and was within its rights when it impounded the papers. “That is a 100% A.S. (Associated Students) UCI publication and we’re the publishers,” she said. “Those funds are contingent upon their abiding by our constitution, rules and election code.”

Copado has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union with a request for the group to provide an attorney. If one is provided, he said, he will file suit against the associated student government. Rosa Martinez, an ACLU spokeswoman, said Thursday afternoon that no decision had been reached on whether to take the case.

Balloting in the second election ended Wednesday, Justus said, but students won’t know the results until this afternoon. Justus said the ballots cannot be counted until after the student council certifies that the second election is free from tampering.