The jury have voted 4 Guilty and 1 Not Voting, thus a verdict of Guilty has been rendered by the jury.
Certain important facts stuck in my mind when I decided what punishment to render in this case. In bolstering the defendant's case for a weaker sentence, it must be said that he has shown some remorse for his commission of the crime after being caught. Additionally, he was clearly wronged in some way by the former Attorney General of Atlasia, who has received a just punishment for his misdeeds.
However, he did actually vote with this identity, "The Populist", so it cannot be said that he did not intend to injure anyone with its creation. Moreover, certain crimes, like the creation of fake identities have occurred from time to time in Atlasian history, and any punishment which might deter the future actions of those who wish to pursue the same path is certainly desirable. But yet, there is no reason to punish one person for prior actions which he has no responsibility for.
In Atlasia v. Keystone Phil (overturned on appeal on different grounds), the only other case on record concerning violation of CCJA, Sect. 1 Cl. 3, Justice Ernest determined that the punishment should be a one-week ban from voting and a six-month ban from holding office. I see no reason why the defendant should be punished different than Keystone Phil was in that case, save for the fact that he actually voted with the fake identity, whereas Keystone Phil did not.
This, to me, leads to a conclusion that benconstine's punishment should be a good bit stronger in terms of a voting ban than the punishment of Keystone Phil. Deterring the creation of fake identities is certainly the crux of the statute involved, but I believe that deterring the actual usage of a fake identity to vote, the most treasured of institutions in Atlasia, deserves a punishment beyond mere creation and that the punishment should lie within the actual voting ban, rather than the holding of office.
Therefore, I sentence the defendant, benconstine, to a ban from voting for a period of thirteen (13) weeks commencing on January 19, 2009 and a ban from holding office for a period of twenty-six (26) weeks commencing on the same date as above.If the defendant wishes to appeal his conviction to the Atlasian Supreme Court, the rules of CCJA, Sect. 8 shall apply to all matters.Sam Spade
Associate Justice of Atlasia
