Orinnari v. Aki, Feb 2020
Case
With Nico0078 presiding, on 11th February 2020, Orinnari charged Aki with Abuses of Power. Orinnari later withdrew the charges but the case proceeded regardless. Aki was found guilty of Abuse of Power and sentenced to be removed from the politics Discord channel and for his citizenship to be suspended until he writes a satisfactory 400-word apology.
Proceedings
Orinnari:
If it pleases the court, I'd like to bring a case against current councillor Aki for severe misuse of power.
SpaceVolcano:
The courts will hear the case of Orinnari vs Aki in the matter of Misuse of Power. Nico0078 Will be presiding.
Nico0078:
Ok gentleman, court is now in session and therefore I would like to call upon Orinnari to issue his opening statement. The court also requests that Aki changes his name at least for the duration of the trial since it is currently inappropriate for a courtroom setting.
Orinnari:
Just as an aside, this case is not to character assassinate, he's apologised and I don't wish to reopen any wounds, nor do I wish to penalise, criminalise, or excise him. This case is about establishing a precedent: to enforce a hitherto implicit and all too often breached standard of conduct for those with vested powers. And thus the charges I lay before the court are of Abuses of Power.
Nico0078:
Noted. Will this conclude your opening statement?
Orinnari:
Yes
Nico0078:
Aki, how do you plea in regards to the charge of Abuse of Power?
Aki:
NOT GUILTY
Nico0078:
Since the defendant has pleaded not guilty to the charge of Abuse of Power, I would now like to call on Orinnari to present any evidence supporting the prosecution.
Orinnari:
The situation that gave rise to the abuse of power was a spat between bgbba and myself: we had a disagreement and it got a little heated, but it resolved itself pretty quickly and without council intervention, and indeed the previous conversation returned to normal and ended in a hesitant agreement.
Almost half an hour later (which was an hour and a half after the argument had resolved), the defendant comes in guns blazing about how people need to "suck orins dick in order for him to listen or care about you", which begins a short back and forth before I accuse him of white knighting for bgbba, and then the defendant wields his vested powers to solve a personal dispute.
Here is a screenshot of that moment. As you can see, it shows the defendant viewing his removal of me as winning the argument, and indeed goes on to threaten Aleh with removal for daring to question him.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/348687557455904778/679453588082130955/unknown.png
Here is the reason given, which shows that the kick was certainly due to the argument and not any kind of unrelated reason.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/348687557455904778/679453937665048576/unknown.png
This is a screenshot of the apology he made to me where he admits to weaponising his vested powers.
And here is a small exchange that at the very least implies that he's aware of the illegality of his actions
In conclusion, the defendant did not step in to prevent ongoing abuse or to calm a situation down, no, he deliberately reignited the situation and wielded the powers vested in him by the people of Yoahtl to settle personal differences and then proceeded to brandish said powers against another resident.
Aki:
R u done
Orinnari:
Yes
Nico0078:
I would now like to call upon Aki to present any evidence or witnesses he may have for his defense.
Aki:
kk bby
Ok unofrtnuately a ton of evidence was deleted a fwew weeks ago during the bg purge, but nevertheless we can all agree that there has been constant FIGHTING and dumb shit between bg, orin and myslef
While orin might want to pretend like hes always the victim, theres always been this contentious point when hes in yoahtl discord about if his feelings will be hurt or whatever. Ive heard many a vc where people are terrified of starting another orin fighrt
I oick Feathercrown as a witness
Nico0078:
Very well then, the court calls upon Feathercrown as a witness in aki's defense.
Feathercrown:
Ok so
I was in VC with Justmatter and... someone else, possibly space or neotide
They were arguing with Orinnari, Ori was using text chat and they were using their mics
Eventually Justmatter decided to end the comversation because it was getting a bit too heated
It took at least 15 minutes for JustMatter to give up and stop responding to Orinnari, at which point Ori then continued in the text chat for a good while
This is despite being told that debating the topic further was clearly causing both parties distress
I submit this testimony as evidence that Orinnari has a history of escalating and extending arguments, which may warrant legitimate moderator actions
Although I personally did not see the incident this case is about so I cannot comment on it directly
Nico0078:
Thank you Feather, Aki is there any more evidence you would like to give in your defense or anyone else you would like to call as a witness?
Aki:
In short, theres multiple cases or orinnarri insulting me for defending bg, calling me a low minded drone and a white knight. I've been defamed and in a moment of anger I wanted to get the inevidabkle over with. Either Orin was gonna leave on his own or he was gonna get kicked. I replied to the convo much later because I wanted to say something and I apologized as an attempt to bridge the gap between orin and I but clearly he still holds anger with me and wants to annoy me as evidenced by the marketplace message. I am willing to hear a plea bargin since I suspect that orin will request my removal from the community, along with a subsequent lawsuit from just matter. Just know I did nothing to corrupt yoahtl nor did i want to make yoahtl worse
Nico0078:
Am I correct in the assumption that this concludes your defense?
Aki:
yes
Nico0078:
Very well, Orinnari do you wish to cross examine either the defendant himself or the witness he called?
Orinnari:
I would like to cross examine the defendant
Nico0078:
Ok so the cross examination will work like this: You will ask Aki a singular question and he will give a straightforward answer to said question. You are only to respond to his answer with your next question. If I feel either of you are getting too far off topic or this devolves into you two arguing we will immediately move on to closing statements.
Aki needless to say you will have the opportunity to cross examine the prosecution if you so wish and the same rules will apply
Aki:
I understand
Nico0078:
Orinnari, You are free to start your line of questioning
Orinnari:
How would the defendant describe the state of the argument between bgbba and myself at the time of his intervention? As in, had it concluded?
Aki:
No, it never gets concluded. Each argument is a further permutation of a pevious one. The only time it concluded is when you left yoahtl
Orinnari:
Okay.. I'd like to announce that I no longer with to pursue charges against the defendant for abuses of power =/
Aki:
I further wish for the prosecution to continue the case
Nico0078:
So let me get this straight, the prosecution wishes to drop the case and the defense wishes for the case against them-self to continue?
Aki:
Yes
Nico0078:
Orinnari, Before I officially close the case I would like you to state for the record the reason you have come to this conclusion.
Orinnari:
I started this case because I wanted to quickly and quietly set some precedent, but now it's just me having to endure character assassination and I can't help but feel that what they've been saying it true. He has an agenda, see how he wants this trial to continue. I've done my civic duty, I've made obvious something that shouldn't have happened. But I can't, I wont sit here and be told how I'm a horrible, horrible person that's poisoning the community and requires extra special tongs to deal with and that the only solution is my absence. No, this is not my duty.
Nico0078:
Understood. Even though the prosecution has dropped the case the courts will still continue this trial to its completion due to the precedent this case sets.
Seeing as our prosecution is no longer part of the case we will be skipping the rest of the cross examination and moving to the defense's closing argument. Aki you may give your closing statement now.
Aki:
I wish it didn’t come to this. Use due process next time and let’s remember WAFFLEO
Nico0078:
After carefully reviewing all the evidence in this case, I find the defendant Aki guilty of Abuse of Government Power.
Given the overwhelming evidence the prosecution has brought forward. It is clear to see that the defendant not only kicked Orinarri from the Yoahtl Discord; but also admitted it and threatened to do the same to another Resident of Yoahtl that dared to speak up against what had happened. These actions were also proven, by the defendant’s own admission, to be taken out of anger and did not serve any official government purpose.
The defense failed to bring forth any actual evidence, and merely relied on vilifying a Citizen of Yoahtl based on instances in the past. At no point did the defense give any proof that there was a need for any moderator action at the time of the kicking, and the witness called wasn’t even a witness to the incident this case is about. Furthermore, the defense showed throughout the trial that they did not take this case seriously, as obviously seen in the low quality of the defense itself as well as the incoherent closing statement given. The defense stated it “did nothing to corrupt yoahtl” but misuse of powers such as this is exactly what leads to the corruption of governments and to countries as a whole. Abusing the powers entrusted in you against the very Citizens you are supposed to be representing is conduct unbefitting any Citizen of Yoahtl, much less that of a Councilor.
Ideally the sentence for this behavior would be the immediate removal of government office, but since the defendant no longer holds his council seat a more creative sentence must be adopted. The defendant is hereby stripped of his access to the politics channel, since that is where the argument which led to this abuse of power took place, as well as his Citizenship. The defendant will also write a 400-word apology letter to the Nation of Yoahtl expressing his regret for failing the people in the job they entrusted him with; as well as giving a sincere explanation of the problems that such abuses of power cause. If at any point in this letter I detect the slightest hint of insincerity, the defendant will be forced to rewrite it. However, once I am satisfied that the letter is indeed sincere, the defendant will have their Citizenship reinstated as well as regain access to the politics channel; and I will consider their sentence completed.
Aki:
So I’m going to lay out exactly what I’m apologizing for. No, I’m not going to spend this essay attacking Orin or the government, or trying to justify my actions. Even though I tried arguing otherwise, I recognize that my actions have had a negative impact on the community as a whole. Everyone in Yoahtl should be angry at my actions and the disservice I did to the community and the office of councilor as a whole. Do I recognize that my conduct in the trial was terrible and my reaction to the charges were equally atrocious? Some, including Orin, have a reason to think that I won’t do better, but I do want to express that I will do better and I do solemnly apologize for my conduct those few days. Finally, I wanted to say exactly how I would do better in the future as well as in action. Everyone in yoahtl who I attacked and spoke ill of will get a personal apology, specifying why I feel sorry and exactly what I’m apologizing for. Even if they don’t want one or don’t think it’s sincere, I’ll act and express myself befitting to the responsibility entrusted in me. Drama is really poisonous to any community, especially one where tensions seem to run so high, so I promise to do my part to reduce the tension and stop inflaming it. AND, I won’t kick people if I were to be entrusted with that power again, nor move people in vc beyond demonstrable reasons. Since I seem to have the same continual issues with the same people, I won’t be interacting with certain people in the community in order to alleviate those tensions. Even though I won’t be interacting it doesn’t mean I won’t listen to their concerns in the future and improve. Exceptional behavior should be expected from me going forward, and I promise to deliver. Don’t expect this to happen again.
Formerly Chucks,
WackyAki