Severisen for Justice

Hello.

First off, I'd like to thank HuAt for taking the time to run in this election. It's always good to see people who want to take a role in their region. I wish him the best of luck.

I think some of you may know me, though to some of you I may be a new face. In either event, I'd like to introduce myself to you and tell you a little bit about why I think I'd make a good justice for The North Pacific.

10 years, 1 month ago I was browsing Fark.com and I saw a link to "some better game designer than us" which caught my attention. I clicked it. Now some of you probably see "FARK" and either cringe or cheer at what that means. I'm not sure if it is disappointing, but I never was a farker on NS. Regardless, I created my nation and moved to a region that fit my personal interests. I was a native of that region for 8 years before moving to the wider world. I became a raider with The Black Hawks, among other orgs, and met some pretty cool people (like General COE's cousin, and that Mall fellow who comes around every so often).

About a year ago I joined Osiris to be the leader of its military. I did that for a while, and then joined Balder and led its military concurrently. In April 2014, I was elected delegate of Osiris. I led Osiris until late July, when my term finished. During my term I joined TSP as a citizen, TEP as a citizen, and TNP as a member of the RA. Since then, I've become a defender with The Eastern Pacific Sovereign Army as its General, and have various roles in TEP and Osiris.

Most of my experience has been in military Gameplay, either as actual R/D or as Intel/Security. The relevant experience I do have as a Justice would be as a Temporary Hearing Officer here in TNP. As you can see HERE, I was appointed a THO by the court in order to deliver that ruling, and I wrote the decision with the guidance of Justices Kiwi and SillyString. I'm familiar with the laws of TNP, as well as the expectations of the court. This opinion was published in July and there have been only two rulings since, despite items being brought before the court. I have offered to serve as a THO in the court whenever she may need me.

If I am elected, there are a few qualities I can bring to the court that will provide some much needed direction.

First, I'm generally easy to get along with. I work well with others. Despite having shifted my alignment in military Gameplay, I retain the relationships I had with raiders, and have expanded the relationships I have with independents and defenders. I take the time to really listen to people, hear what they're saying, and provide the most sound advice I can. I know the court has had a history of personality conflicts getting in the way of productivity, but I will work with my fellow justices on a professional level and not let that get in the way of a functioning court.

Second, I am active every day on NationStates. In addition to being on NS and the various fora of the regions I'm in, I'm also available on IRC and Skype fairly consistently. I'm sure the people who have worked with me in the past can vouch for the fact that I am never very delayed in a response to messages left for me.

Because I'll be here with regularity, while court proceedings are underway, I'll be sure to keep the public informed to the greatest extent possible as to the status of each item on the court's docket.

Third, I do what I say I'm going to do. When I take a position, it's not because of a title or because I want any recognition. I have a desire to do the job that I'm applying for. If elected Justice, there will be no special election to replace me. You'll have timely, fair, and consistent decisions from a court with Severisen.

I thank you all for reading my thread, and would be open to any questions you have of me. I look forward to serving TNP in any capacity I can.

Honestly, at this point I will vote for you on the virtue that you haven't yet harassed me with campaign telegrams or personal messages.

Haha, thanks, Raven. I'd hope there were other reasons you'd vote for me as well! Glad to see you around, though.

I wish you all the best!

Thank you, Speaker.

Full support. I have that gut feeling you'll become one of the most important Justices in our history.

I appreciate your support, and I will strive to meet your expectations.

Good luck Severisen!

Good Luck Severisen.

Thank you both!

As a side note I have added a paragraph in my second point with regards to court communication and transparency. Happy holidays, all!

Good luck, Sev!

Thank you, Roman.

Best of luck to you, Sev. I really like the organization of your campaign and I think that you have a very strong stand in this election. Good luck!

~ Tomb

Thank you, Tomb.

If elected, do you intend to seek the Chief Justice Position? If not, who among the current court would you support as Chief Justice?

How do you feel about the current productivity of the court? If elected, do you have any ideas for how to increase the productivity of the court?

What do you think is the best court opinion of the last year? The worst? Why?

Thank you for your questions, Mr. Vice Delegate.

In response to your first question, I think the Court needs someone who is able to give it direction, and solve this problem of inactivity. I hadn't considered seeking the position of Chief Justice, because it seems odd for someone brand new to the court to take on the leadership role right away. That being said, I think I'd be able to 'right the ship' as it were. If my fellow Justices give me a chance, I'd take on that responsibility.

In response to your second question, I quote from my OP here: "This opinion was published in July and there have been only two rulings since, despite items being brought before the court." There was a little hint of frustration there, and I wouldn't have considered running if I hadn't felt I could help fix it.

I understand that I am not able to see the private section of the court, so it's not entirely fair for me to say that nothing has been done, one thing I'd like to see better done is communication between the private halls and the public courtroom. I'd remedy that for one with regular update posts.

I'd like to set a specified window of time to which a request of the court would be first responded. Something on the order of 24-48 hours. A simple post thanking the petitioner for his/her request. At that time, a thread would be created in the private hall, and messages sent to the other Justices, both on Forum PMs and Nation Telegrams, as well as over IRC/Skype if possible. Once hearing their opinions and having a discussion, we would proceed from there. If I were Chief Justice, I'd make it clear to the other Justices that this does not have to be done by me, and would encourage either of them to take that initiative. Perhaps that was a reason for the inactivity. As the discussion goes on, I'd encourage/make a post in the request thread every 48 hours as to the status of the request. I think people understand that things can take time, especially in a global game like this. What I think the heart of the problem is that people are having with this bench is that there is no visible activity, and this communication would go a long way to helping that potential misconception.

On to your third question. I have been part of TNP for only 6 months, so I had to re-read some of the decisions. I think the Scope of the FoIA was one of the most important decisions of the Court this year. The decision answered a question that would shape a number of decisions throughout the rest of the year. I agree FoIA should apply only to the Executive, and that the private deliberations of the court should remain so. I think the result of the discussions from private chambers often end up in the public decisions and proceedings of the court regardless. The decision impacted the future ruling of Scope of the Executive in which it was determined the Security Council was not subject to FoIA requests, as well as clarificiations about the meaning of Private Citizen in the FoIA.

I would consider the inaction of the Court to be its worst decision (pun?). But if we're strictly speaking on the eight rulings that were made this year, I would say that the ruling that sticks out to me is the Rejected Regional Assembly Applicants ruling. The court was stuck between a rock and a hard place on this ruling. The fact that Treize was allowed to keep his RA membership after it was discovered that he was illegally admitted to the RA never did sit quite right with me, but I understand the Court's predicament. I think it allows the potential for abuse in the future that he was allowed to keep his seat due to his good behavior.

I hope this answers your questions. I also encourage anyone else to ask any questions they may have.