Petition to The Court of TNP

[Cathyy]

I petition the Court in the following manner, in anticipation of the fulfilment of threats made by Hersfold, both PM of the region and Root Admin.

1) Under article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution the following is enshrined:

Each Nation's rights to free speech, free press, and the free expression of religion shall not be infringed, and shall be encouraged, by the governmental authorities of the region. Each Nation has the right to assemble, and to petition the governmental authorities of the region, including the UN Delegate, for the redress of grievances. The governmental authorities of the region shall act only in the best interests of the Region, as permitted and limited under this Constitution

I believe it is likely that my rights under the Constitution are imminently to be affected by the actions of Hersfold.

I petition the Court to serve Injunction on the PM to prevent any actions which would impinge on my rights under this section, including specifically the right to free speech and the redress of grievances.

2) I further petition the Court in respect of my rights under Article 1, Section 8 as follows:

8. No Nation shall be ejected from the region, or banned from any forum, except as expressly authorized by this Constitution or the Legal Code. Should any official of a government authority of the region with authority to act, declare that the immediate ejection or banning of a Nation is an urgent matter of regional security, the ejected or banned Nation shall have prompt and immediate recourse to judicial review of the matter. The UN Delegate shall not exercise the power of ejection or banning unless expressly authorized by a specific action of a government authority of the region pursuant to this Constitution or to the Legal Code.

I request that the Court serves notice on Hersfold (PM and Root Admin) that he may not act in such a way as to ban me from the forum, as seems his inclination, in a manner which is not authorized by the Constitution.

 

[Hersfold]

I request that this petition be denied, on the following grounds:

1. The actions which Cathyy is objecting against have not yet occurred, nor is it a definite fact that they even will occur, unless Cathyy can prove to the Court that she is capable of predicting the future without fail.

2. Cathyy has been informed in this post that in the event of this ban, attempts would be made to allow her uninterrupted access to the forum.

3. The actions that may be taken against Insane Power relate in no way to the office of the Prime Minister - it is a purely moderation decision that will be carried out, if it is carried out, in my capacity as Root Administrator.

4. It is impossible to determine if Cathyy and Insane Power are not in fact the same person, or, if they are not, if one or the other is using the other's account. The two accounts, as of this moment, are using the same IP address. I am willing to provide evidence to this effect should the Court require it.

5. This board is the property of whomever holds the #1, or Root Admin, account. It is the full right of that person to do with the board as they wish in order to enforce the Terms of Service and Use set down by the provider of this forum service. Should that include an IP ban of an account, the #1 account has full right to do so according to Invisionfree.

6. The ban that may occur is not intended to remove Cathyy's access from the forum, but that of Insane Power, who is not a Regional Assembly member and probably not even a member of The North Pacific.

Should the Court require further reasons to dismiss this petition, I am certain I could find more. For the time being, however, I will leave this to the decision of the Court.

The United Federation of Hersfold
Prime Minister of The North Pacific
Root Forum Administrator of The North Pacific Regional Forums

 

[Cathyy]

I request the right of reply to Hersfold's post but am desisting from doing so in deference to the Court's right to manage cases as it sees fit.

I request that due notice be served to me if my request for rebuttal be granted.

 

[Byardkuria]

The Court takes notice of the issue, and will work on it in the coming days.

(OOC - my RL schedule is a bear until Friday, so I don't know how much I'll get done between here and there. But then I have 3 of 4 days off, so I can for sure wrap it up then.)

(XOOC - this is why an Associate Justice woul dbe neat. )

 

[Byardkuria]

If anyone needs to discuss this further, do so in the split out thread.

/click.

 

[Byardkuria]

IN THE MATTER FILED BEFORE THIS COURT BY CATHYY, MAY 29, 2006 -


The Court hereby denies the petition, reading as follows:

I petition the Court in the following manner, in anticipation of the fulfilment of threats made by Hersfold, both PM of the region and Root Admin.

1) Under article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution the following is enshrined:

Each Nation's rights to free speech, free press, and the free expression of religion shall not be infringed, and shall be encouraged, by the governmental authorities of the region. Each Nation has the right to assemble, and to petition the governmental authorities of the region, including the UN Delegate, for the redress of grievances. The governmental authorities of the region shall act only in the best interests of the Region, as permitted and limited under this Constitution

I believe it is likely that my rights under the Constitution are imminently to be affected by the actions of Hersfold.

I petition the Court to serve Injunction on the PM to prevent any actions which would impinge on my rights under this section, including specifically the right to free speech and the redress of grievances.

2) I further petition the Court in respect of my rights under Article 1, Section 8 as follows:

8. No Nation shall be ejected from the region, or banned from any forum, except as expressly authorized by this Constitution or the Legal Code. Should any official of a government authority of the region with authority to act, declare that the immediate ejection or banning of a Nation is an urgent matter of regional security, the ejected or banned Nation shall have prompt and immediate recourse to judicial review of the matter. The UN Delegate shall not exercise the power of ejection or banning unless expressly authorized by a specific action of a government authority of the region pursuant to this Constitution or to the Legal Code.

I request that the Court serves notice on Hersfold (PM and Root Admin) that he may not act in such a way as to ban me from the forum, as seems his inclination, in a manner which is not authorized by the Constitution.

The denial in this case is predicated not upon the merits of this particular petition, but rather upon the fact that enjoining a party from performing an action which is already expressly forbidden by the law of the region is, in effect, creating a double jeopardy situation, inasmuch as the offending party is already liable under existing law. The addition of a contempt citation for the same action is of no utility, and would appear to violate Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution of the North Pacific -

6. No Nation shall be held to answer for a crime in a manner not prescribed by this Constitution or the Legal Code. No Nation shall be subjected to being twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.  No Nation shall ever be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against itself.

Emphasis added by the Court

The appropriate use of an injunction is to prevent a party to proceedings from performing actions which, while not strictly illegal, could potentially damage the possibility of a fair and thorough trial for the involved parties. If the filing party believes that there is imminent danger to their liberites, they are welcome to file a request for a protective order from the Court. Such an order, however, will be judged upon a basis of demonstrated aptitude, motive, and predisposition to causing injury, rather than preventing a potential injustice in the absence of the aforementioned factors.

Entered this second day of June, Two Thousand Six,

Byardkuria
Chief Justice of the North Pacific

EDIT - added constitutional citation re: double jeopardy - 6-2-06 1221 US Central