2009-02-24 - Supreme Justice Announces Bombshell

"Good evening, people of Coruscant, and Citizens of the Republic.
Today I come before you with the title of Supreme Justice elect, but moreover, I come before you as a Citizen of the Republic-- at the end of the day, that is only what we are. Citizens, of the worlds that we all call home, united under the banner of democracy and freedom that the age-old Republic has afforded us. We enjoy the civil liberties of the free, the voice of a voting public, and the right to unite ourselves under those we elect to speak on our behalf. We have excitedly anticipated the direction of our leadership for a great amount of time, and I believe we have been awaiting a time where the glory days of yester-year would shine through again. Believe me, the shoes of former Supreme Justice Doraman Palpatine, or Supreme Justice Sho'lar Vreeth, are no easy pair to fill-- but it is now, more than ever, that our leadership needs to be strong, and needs to profess without the fear of uncertainty, the direction and path that our Republic shall take into the future ahead of us all.
With this anticipation comes the expectations of the people who have seated myself, or any elected official, in their position of representation. Our voice is merely the echo of those who we serve. Democracy gives a voice for change; those who are elected, are the ears to hear it.
The Republic has fallen on diseased and necrotic days. Our leaders are gunned down and murdered, or embroiled in scandal. I believe in the progressive change our ranks have seen in the past months, and we can only go upward, and onward. But there are issues that must be taken care of before the sapling can spring from the deadened limb of the sycamore. Citizens of the Republic, and those who enjoy our worlds, are held to standards that are high-- and are held to laws that are there, for the protection of our people, and freedoms. It is of little consequence perhaps to the person who goes about their business, unhindered, abiding by the laws we have-- but it is those very laws that ensure that both you, and I, can live without fear.
The Republic has extended one single group of individuals with autonomous status within the confines of the Republic Law. This courtesy has been afforded for thousands of years, to a group who has, until recently, been seen as the pillar of peace and justice in the Republic. The Republic's greatest protector, working silently in a capacity to ensure that those with the desire for ruin, do no harm. I am left with a difficult choice, something both Supreme Justice Palpatine and Supreme Justice Vreeth, had attempted to embark upon. I am left with weighing the actions of this group, and the possible but often not, positive outcomes of their work; and I am left to consider the detriment of their work, and the outcomes upon the people of the Republic. It is a set of circumstances that I would not wish upon anyone, for it is a decision that has the capacity to change the face of the Republic like no other.
The Jedi Order has operated within the Republic unquestioned, but will no longer remain so. It has operated with complete and total autonomy to the penalties and punishments imparted by Republic Law for crimes that, according to the tomes of our historical law: "...conform to ancient Jedi custom and high-minded principle." I doubt that were the members of the Jedi Order, and the benevolent Jedi Council to truly search their conscience, they would deem any number of actions over the last months, honestly undertaken with this high-minded principle in mind. We are in the days where the very emotions that the Jedi edicts counsel against, are used, and brought to the forefront and spurred as motivation to make disastrous choices.
Were any other Citizen guilty of acting in this capacity, they would be tried and punished to the full extent of Republic Law.
As Supreme Justice of the Republic, I hereby announce that as of today, the Supreme Court of the Republic will no longer recognize the Jedi Order and its members as being autonomous to Republic law. The Supreme Court of the Republic will consider the "positively-autonomous" status of the Jedi Knights, repealed. It is not my authority to extend this order of repeal to all the courts within the Republic, but it is within my authority to institute it for the Supreme Court. Should cases of crime reach the circuit of the Supreme Court, individuals claiming Jedi Autonomy will find no shelter for their actions. Additionally, crimes committed on Coruscant by members of the Jedi Order, will be prosecuted to the full extent of the Republic Law, within any court, without autonomy. I cannot, nor will not, extend or force such status to other Republic worlds; nor will I advocate for such. I ask that each planetary leader of the Republic consider the Jedi, and their merits, their contributions, and do what they deem best for their own people.
Those things that have been broken, can be remade and reforged-- it is my true and sincere hope that The Order of the Jedi Knights takes this opportunity to self-examine and repair the bridges that have become impassible; to reform the friendships and the alliances of those whom would never have doubted a solid course of sailing behind the banner of the Jedi Order. This order of repeal will be passed into law, and shall remain until such time as former glories of the Jedi Order are no longer former, but dawn with the fury of a new day's sunrise. In this removal of their amnesty, it is my true hope that it will be a reckoning of reform; a chance to prove that I am wrong, and the amnesty should never have been removed. It is a chance, Citizens of the Republic, for the Jedi to show us why it is we rest such unanimous faith in them. It is a challenge that, should I know the Jedi well enough, they will rise to with the fervor of a thousand suns, blazing back into the favour of the light to turn away the darkness from our days."
Category:February 09 GNN Posts