The Court of Apolytonia is in Session: Case 2

[Epistax]

DO NOT POST REPLIES!
before reading this opening post

Rules of the Court

1. No one will post any message within this thread until invited explicitly by the Senior Justice, or as allowed by these rules.
2. The case will begin with the Complainant or their representative being invited to post. He or she may then take as many posts as are required to present their case. The Complainant would be advised not to go on indefinitely and to be respectful of the court's time.
3. The Complainant will explicitly state when they are finished.
4. The Senior Justice will then invite the Respondent or their representative to post.
5. The Respondent may begin by asking the court to dismiss the case. If such motion is made, the Senior Justice will communicate with the other justices. Once 3 justices have agreed, the Senior Justice (or another appointed by him or her) will post that decision. Assuming the case continues...
6. The Respondent will be invited to post their defense. The Respondent will follow the same guidelines as the Complainant.
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10. The cases are finished.
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This court will be in session until declared closed by the Senior Justice.

[Epistax]

Complainant: Skywalker
Respondent: UnOrthOdOx
Defendant: Timeline
Senior Justice: Epistax

Issue: The defendant's conduct during the first term in respect to the words of the Code of Laws have come into question. A possible violation of Article II, "Length of Office Terms",

A member can run for a different office at the end of his term, but he cannot change offices during it.

.

The defense feels that the defendant's actions were in the best interests of Apolytonia, and that the charges are outdated.

[Epistax]

The Complainant may now speak. Say when you are done.

[Kuciwalker]

First, I'm not going to debate in a "legal" way, though I can when I want to. I'm going to see if I can set a precedent, because I think that letting courts devolve into what they've become in the real world would be BAD.

Anyway, I don't think that anything can or should be done about what happened. I think that the court should rule what Timeline did illegal, so it doesn't happen again. It will lead to many blatantly political maneuvers that can do nothing but harm for the Demo Game. Whether what Timeline did was in the best interest of Apolytonia then is unimportant, because it sets the stage for less benign things.

I say what Timeline did constitutes "changing offices". The Code of Laws specifically state that "A member can run for a different office at the end of his term, but he cannot change offices during it."

Also, in response to the statement that the charges are outdated, I again point to the fact that I'm not seeking a penalty, just a decision on how to apply this part of the Code of Laws in the future.

FINISHED

[Epistax]

The respondent may now speak. Note when you are done.

[UnOrthOdOx]

At this time, I would like to move that this case be dismissed on the basis that the alleged violation occured before the court was assembled, and therefore the court should have no jurisdiction over it. There is nothing in the CoL forbidding the court from ruling on the past as of yet, but the Impeachment ammendment which is currently winning in it's poll includes:

The Code of Laws can never be amended retroactively and be made to apply to an act committed prior to the amendment.

While not in actual practice yet, this ammendment has been subject to many weeks of debate, and the public has clearly made a point that they wish this to be included. A precidence can be set when and if such a violation occurs in the future, and since the plaintif is seeking nothing more than clarification of that particular section, it can be handled in a number of other ways, including much of the reform currently taking place, or another ammendment to clarify if truly needed. There is no need to drag the court into this.

Finished

edit: got my legal jargon backwards, I am defending, not skywalker

[Epistax]

As a dismissal of claims requires a 3/5 judge approvement, this hearing is hereby stalled while we evaluate.

This case may reopen at a later time, as will be posted and PMed to the participants.

THIS THREAD IS CLOSED

All messages beneath this one shall be ignored until further notice.

[Epistax]

A point of inquiry to UnOrthOdOx:

When did Timeline resign and when was the second election held?

A justice felt that this information was important to validating the case, so it is asked to UnOrthOdOx. No replies from anyone else will be accepted.

[UnOrthOdOx]

He was Elected (the poll opened) on 6-25-02 and can be found here:
http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=53935

To the best of my knowledge, he resigned as soon as Space05s 6-22 (or 2300 BC) left, and Timeline announced his candidacy, appointing Jonny as his replacement/assistant. But, I may be mistaken, and don't have that much time to search through all that old stuff.

[Epistax]

A RULING HAS BEEN MADE

We, The Court of Apolytonia, have determined in a four to zero vote (one abstaining) to dismiss Case #2 as invalid. We have ruled that since the law the defendant was accused of breaking was not enforce at the time of the fracture in question, that the law has no bearing, and the court cannot impose a law before that law becomes ratified.

Case Topic: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...24#post1186261




THIS CASE IS HEREBY CLOSED