TimS
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Citizen
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Post by TimS on Apr 8, 2021 19:20:44 GMT -5
Civil Case Form
1. Name of Plaintiff: Tims
2. Name of Defendant: Feirmont, in his position as Chief Executive of Spiritus
3. Please explain very briefly what the case is about: The Regional Flag Act requires that the flag of Spiritus be flown on the region's page, and can only be changed by the Chief Executive for up to 7 days. The flag currently being flown on the region's page is not the flag of Spiritus, it was put there by Feirmont in violation of the Regional Flag Act's rules regarding how long the flag can be changed for.
4. Which of your legal right(s) do you believe has been violated?: The right to enjoy and be proud of the flag of Spiritus on the region's page instead of being embarrassed at the eyesore it currently is, and the right to have a government that complies with the laws of the region.
5. What remedy are you seeking (leave blank if unsure): An injunction from the court ordering that the flag be changed back to its proper form, as defined in the Regional Flag Act.
6. Does any evidence in this case need to be submitted in private because it is classified or highly personal?: No.
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Rogamark
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Chief Executive
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Post by Rogamark on Apr 8, 2021 19:29:37 GMT -5
Before we get into things... Plaintiff is well known to this Court as the Attorney General of this fine region. Has he resigned from this position, or is this an attempt at autolitigation?
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TimS
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Citizen
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Post by TimS on Apr 8, 2021 19:35:21 GMT -5
There has been no resignation. The Judiciary Act created the position of Attorney General to have automatic standing in criminal cases and to express the opinion of the Government in cases when the Government is not a party, but while the Attorney General may be positioned to also defend the Government against lawsuits there is nothing that requires the Attorney General to do so, nor is there anything that precludes the citizen who holds the position of Attorney General from suing the Government on his own behalf.
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Rogamark
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Chief Executive
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Discord ID: Rogamark#1427
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Post by Rogamark on Apr 8, 2021 19:42:50 GMT -5
Yes, there is that. I would like to hear from the government on this: who will be representing the government, and does the government have any objections to this unusual constellation? There is indeed nothing inherently unlawful about it, I just want to make sure there are no privilege issues to run into headlong as we proceed with the case.
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Feirmont
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Legislator
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Nation: Feirmont
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Post by Feirmont on Apr 9, 2021 21:37:34 GMT -5
I will be representing myself, and I have no objections.
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Rogamark
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Chief Executive
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Discord ID: Rogamark#1427
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Post by Rogamark on Apr 9, 2021 23:17:42 GMT -5
Very well, then we need to deal with some pre-trial matters. The case is accepted and before the Chief Justice.
Jurisdiction is clear, this is a civil case about the Flag Act, a duly passed piece of statutory legislation which we have jurisdiction to interpret and enforce. All parties are citizens - officials, indeed - of Spiritus.
Standing is a little more complicated. Section 4(a) of the Judiciary Act provides that plaintiffs must show "that the result of the case would directly impact them". There is no legal "right to enjoy and be proud of the flag of Spiritus on the region's page instead of being embarrassed at the eyesore it currently is" per se; however, the Flag Act was created in recognition of the fact that the region at large does have an interest in the display of the correct flag. And a case for a "right to have a government that complies with the laws of the region" can surely be made. Further, I believe that an overly narrow interpretation of standing requirements in this type of civil case - essentially an enforcement action - does not track with either legislative intent, nor common understanding. I therefore find that in this case Plaintiff is indeed directly impacted, and thus has standing to bring this lawsuit.
The thrust of the remedy sought is also quite clear, and suitable for the violation alleged: Plaintiff wants the government to display the flag that the Flag Act designates as the official regional flag, and wishes for the government to desist from allegedly unlawful changes.
I'll outline briefly the next steps according to the Procedural Rules of the Court: I will ask Plaintiff to give an opening argument, wherein he briefly explains what he intends to prove, and how he will go about it (i.e. what evidence he will introduce). After that, Defendant is given the opportunity to do the same, present a defense, and likewise explain what evidence he wishes to use. After that, we'll decide how to examine the evidence.
Parties are reminded that, if a fact is claimed by a side, and at the end of the trial there is no objective evidence before the Court to either prove or disprove it, we are bound to accept the claimed fact as true if it has not been contested or rebutted by the other side. Interested members of the public are reminded that they may submit amicus curiae briefs in the courtroom gallery commenting on the court case. The best time to do so will be after all the evidence is presented and before closing arguments have been given. Briefs filed after closing arguments will not be taken into consideration, but there will be enough time at the appropriate point.
Are there any pre-trial motions? If not, I'd ask the parties to state that they are ready for trial, after which I will ask Plaintiff to give his opening argument.
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TimS
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Post by TimS on Apr 10, 2021 15:18:39 GMT -5
No pre-trial motions from me, I am ready to begin.
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Feirmont
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Legislator
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Post by Feirmont on Apr 18, 2021 10:16:24 GMT -5
No pre-trial motions for me either, I am also ready.
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Rogamark
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Chief Executive
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Discord ID: Rogamark#1427
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Post by Rogamark on Apr 18, 2021 11:21:39 GMT -5
Very well, we shall now hear opening arguments. Mr. Oms?
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TimS
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Citizen
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Post by TimS on Apr 24, 2021 19:06:33 GMT -5
May it please the Court, This case is about the violation of the Regional Flag Act. The Act describes what image is used as the flag of Spiritus 1 and mandates that this particular image must be flown on the region's page. 2 The Act provides for one limited exception to this rule, allowing either the Chief Executive or the Delegate to temporarily change the flag but for no longer than seven days. 3 Feirmont, the Chief Executive, has violated this rule. The facts of his case are simple, and I do not believe they are really in dispute. I shall now provide a summary of the events of the past several weeks, and I trust that the defense will fill in any holes that I leave out. The Chief Executive has been changing the flag on a weekly basis for the past several weeks, as can be seen from his national happenings. Every week, the Chief Executive has changed the regional flag twice. Here are just a couples examples of the flags that have been flying over Spiritus because of this, starting with the one that has been flying over the region for the past seven days. I believe, though this I cannot prove, that every week for the past several weeks the Chief Executive changes the flag back to the proper flag, as defined by law, then changes the flag to something like one of the above examples. The question in this case is simply whether the Chief Executive need only ensure that the proper flag of Spiritus is flown over the region only once per week, and the rest of the time can change it to anything. He cannot. The Regional Flag Act is certainly vague in several areas, and it is fair to say that this is one of them. But I do not believe that the Act functions as a timer that can simply be reset by posting the real flag briefly before immediately changing it again. The intention of the Act is clear from the first reading, to define what is the flag of the region, and mandate that it be flown. An exception was left in to allow for special events, of course, but this exception cannot be expanded to destroy the entire purpose of the Act, such a result would be absurd and is clearly not what the intention of the Act was. The Chief Executive has had the flag be something other than what it should be as defined by the Act for far longer than seven days, and this cannot be allowed to continue. I thank the Court for its time. 1 "2. The regional flag is the flag located at this URL: i.imgur.com/Lh4LnVa.png. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the URL may be changed if it becomes broken."2 "3. The regional flag is the flag of the NationStates region of Spiritus, and must be flown on the region's page."3 "5. The Chief Executive or Delegate may temporarily change the regional flag for up to 7 days."
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Rogamark
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Chief Executive
Posts: 736
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Discord ID: Rogamark#1427
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Post by Rogamark on Apr 24, 2021 19:14:46 GMT -5
Thank you very much. We shall now hear from the defense.
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Rogamark
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Chief Executive
Posts: 736
Likes: 73
Gender: Male
Discord ID: Rogamark#1427
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Post by Rogamark on May 10, 2021 9:07:36 GMT -5
Okay, this isn't working. Parties who need a continuance may at any time ask for one, and the Court will be generous, but there are limits to presuming the Court's generosity. This is a nudge with a clock, the deadline for a defense is now Monday March 17th, 6pm EST. Allowing for a hair over one more week is me basically granting a motion for a continuance preemptively, because I understand Defendant is traveling. Defendant is reminded of the option to appoint another citizen of Spiritus as defense counsel, should that be more convenient.
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Feirmont
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Post by Feirmont on May 17, 2021 17:47:14 GMT -5
Your honour,
I know this post is past the deadline, but if it pleases the court to wait 24 hours I will have my argument ready before this time tomorrow (the 18th).
Of course, I humbly ask this after the court's long awaited response from myself, and take full responsibility if the courts deny this request.
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Rogamark
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Chief Executive
Posts: 736
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Gender: Male
Discord ID: Rogamark#1427
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Post by Rogamark on May 17, 2021 18:08:08 GMT -5
I understand this is due to time zone confusion. One (1) more day, Tuesday March 18th, 6pm EST.
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Feirmont
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Legislator
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Nation: Feirmont
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Post by Feirmont on May 18, 2021 13:06:54 GMT -5
Your Honour,
The purpose of this case is that "[...][the flag of Spiritus] was put there by Feirmont in violation of the Regional Flag Act's rules regarding how long the flag can be changed for.". First, the prosecution is correct in stating the flag has been changed twice on a weekly basis (that is, put back to the mandated flag as per the Regional Flag Act, see example images below).
Now, I agree with the Plaintiff that the Regional Flag Act is certainly vague, but the fact of the matter is the defendant did nothing to be in violation of the Regional Flag Act. Point-by-point:
1) The Flag was flown each week on the region's page, as per Section 3. 2) Section 5 allows the Chief Executive to temporarily change the flag, which given the flag was changed back to the mandated flag from Section 2 each iteration, this 'temporariness' has been achieved.
Further, the flag was changed to something different each week, with a different element or style on the temporary flag. This shows that although the flag was temporarily changed on the whim of the Chief Executive, the flag was different each time, meaning each of the different flags were put up temporarily within the allotted 7 days as per Section 5.
Also, who is to say the changes were not a part of a special event of sorts? A regional change of something in the Regional Message Board, a planned event, or even simply changing the flag temporarily could fall into the definition of a 'Special Event'. In fact, every temporary change of the flag still had Spiritus related imagery. This does not destroy the purpose of the Act, if one of the purposes of the Act is to allow these changes in the first place.
The Chief Executive diligently followed all of the Sections outlined in the Regional Flag Act, and did everything to ensure that the Act was followed. The purpose of the Act is to ensure that the flag cannot be changed permanently by any person. The temporary changes by the Chief Executiver do not reflect a permanent change in the flag, and the initial purpose of this case is moot: the flag was changed to a temporary flag, changed back to the normal regional flag after the maximum seven days, and changed to a new temporary flag, and therefore is not in violation of the Regional Flag Act.
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