People of the Republic of Atlasia v. Snowstalker

[Oakvale]

This been seen.

Mr. Attorney General, the Constitution requires that a jury be empaneled from the population of the region in which the alleged offences in question were committed. While this seems like something of an oversight on behalf of the framers given the national implications of the issue at hand, in what region would you allege said offences were committed?

[Oakvale]

Official Atlasia Supreme Court Release
Nyman, DC

People of the Republic of Atlasia v. Snowstalker

The Supreme Court of Atlasia has discussed this matter and designated Associate Justice Oakvale to preside over the trial of Snowstalker, who stands accused of three Acts of Treason by the Attorney General.

The Court reminds the defendant that he has the right to legal counsel as guaranteed in Art. III, §2 of the Constitution. If he wishes to waive this right he should inform the Court of this.

These proceedings shall be governed according to  Art. III, §2 the Constitution of Atlasia, in conjunction with the Re-Consolidated Criminal Justice Act (2013).

The details of the trial will be announced as soon as the Attorney General and Mr. Snowstalker have been informed of the proceedings.

[Oakvale]

A criminal case requires a jury as empaneled according to the relevant regional law. As the Northeast lacks a specific act relating to this, federal law took precedence - a jury of five impartial jurors is required.

To select this jury, a standard method was used - a number was assigned to each citizen of the Northeast region as registered in the Census Bureau, with the exception of Averroes Nix, who has left the region but not yet been formally noted as such in the census posts, and then a random sequence of numbers in this range was generated using random.org's random number generator.

The results of this random selection were:

Dallasfan65
Barnes
IceSpear Bore
Nathan Chairman Sanchez
Afleitch

I will be contacting those selected to confirm whether they are willing to serve, and if they are not, a replacement will be selected using the same method. I will entertain any serious objection to the credibility or impartiality of these jurors from either party.

[Oakvale]

You have my assurance that the jury selection was random. The President has had no input. I did have to run the random.org sequence generator twice, since the first time I had mistakenly used a voter pool that included Averroes (his registration not have been updated on the main voter roll).

However, I said I would take any reasonable complaint into consideration, and will consult on your objection.

[Oakvale]

After consideration of the defendant's complaint regarding the objectivity of juror IceSpear, I have upheld the complaint. bore has been selected to replace him.

[Oakvale]

If I don't hear from Barnes and Nathan by Tuesday they'll also be replaced.

[Oakvale]

Nathan has been replaced with Chairman Sanchez due to inactivity.

The jury is now full, and the trial can proceed.

[Oakvale]

Oh good, an oath. I hate law. Jurors, please all repeat the following -

"I swear (or affirm) that I will well and truly try the matter in issue between the parties, and give a true verdict according to the law and evidence, so help me Dave."

I'm willing to register in the Northeast and serve if need be. Snowstalker deserves a fair trial and I am willing to help in giving him one.

Is there any legal precedent for jury selection working in this manner?  I could be wrong, but doesn't Nathan's replacement need to be selected randomly?

To answer to your second question is "no". Sanchez is, to all appearances, impartial and willing to serve which is more than can be said for most eligible citizens. The answer to your first question is "yes, there is".

e: Loathe as I am to justify the pragmatic decisions of this Court to the citizenry on technical grounds, here is your requested legal precedent -

I'm hereby dismissing Frodo as a juror on the grounds of inactivity and have selected a replacement: Purple State. I have sent him a PM to report to the courtroom and swear in as soon as he is able, and the trial can begin.

[Oakvale]

*bangs gavel*

I'd like to thank the members of the jury for having sworn in. The trial has now begun, and I'll ask the prosecution to present their case to the Court.

[Oakvale]

Thank you, Mr. Attorney General. Unless you wish to call any witnesses I'll allow the defendant to present his case.

[Oakvale]

Alright, defendant must present his case.

[Oakvale]

The Court notes that the defendant has plead no contest. Strictly speaking a jury verdict isn't strictly necessary but since we went through the trouble of contacting them regardless I'll ask for their (what is now) non-binding decision.

[Oakvale]

I'd like to thank the jurors who voted, although given the defendant's nolo contendere their decision is as mentioned not binding on the court's judgement.

Does either party wish to be heard in regard to sentencing?

[Oakvale]

Supreme Court of Atlasia
Nyman, DC

People of the Republic of Atlasia v. Snowstalker

Sentencing.

(The presiding judge, Justice Oakvale, sentenced the defendant after he plead no contest to the charges against him.)

The Court has heard both the defendant and the prosecution regarding sentencing in this matter, and thanks both sides for their willingness to actively participate in this case. I also wish to extend my personal thanks to the members of the jury who were unfailingly courteous and understanding throughout the process, although given how the events of this case transpired their input unfortunately proved unnecessary.

Treason is perhaps the most serious crime an Atlasian citizen can commit. It represents not just an attack on a government, or even a nation, but the fundamental bedrock principles of democracy. It is for this reason that it is the only crime against the state for which legislation allows the Court to impose severe sentences on the perpetrators. The defendant, Snowstalker, a previously respected Attorney General, Senator and Governor of some fame throughout the nation, and someone who the Court respected for his apparent facility on legal matters, degraded and disgraced his office and attempted to pervert and subvert the constitutional framework through overthrowing a democratic government, directly leading to the so-called Crisis of recent weeks, civil unrest, mass casualties, and economic turmoil the likes of which have not been seen in many years. The defendant publicly rejected the legal government of Atlasia and the rule of law, and declared himself as the new leader of the nation in what was transparently and explicitly an attempted coup d’etat. The defendant, who has not contested the charges against him, promptly fled the country in an effort to escape justice, although the Court notes that he has, at least, addressed this Court in an effort to mitigate the punishment for his crimes.

Snowstalker, having plead no contest to the three charges of treason against him, is hereby sentenced  to a ban of three years on voting in elections in Atlasia, one year for each count against him, and to a ban on holding office in Atlasia for the remainder of his natural life.

*bangs gavel*

[Oakvale]

The Court thanks the Registrar General for bringing the issue to our attention, but as the presiding Justice it is my opinion that the terms of Mr. Snowstalker's sentence are severe enough that there is no need to address this attempted violation by increasing the penalties levied. I commend him for his vigilance and trust that any attempts made by Mr. Snowstalker to vote in the future, while his sentence remains in effect, will be similarly ignored.

We cannot comment on Mr. Winfield's question about potential prosecution of other persons.