Crim214-2

*See:* Case history

# Brief for the King, submitted by Skeeve
```

Kings Brief against Tharun For Perjury, Impersonation, Assault and Obstruction of Justice

**First charge:** Perjury to a Justicar.

When questioned on the events of the death of his fan, Fen, Tharun stated he did not know why his fan was slain by Deokoria.

Tharun says, "I'm not sure, you should ask her that."

Deokoria was questioned and stated the reason for the death of Fen was he was impersonating a High Priest of Tempest. She declared him a heretic and slew him on the spot. Sharl of the clerics guild also witnessed this.

**Second Charge:** Impersonation of a High Priest.

Tharun later admitted to putting Fen up to the impersonation and supported his fan in this act. This admission was heard by all of Sable.

**Third Charge:** Assault of a Justicar.

Wyden was in the tavern praising the goddess Erosia in the tavern when he was stuck with the inability to speak. The only one in the tavern with the ability to do that was Tharun. In a later statement, all of Sable heard, Tharun admitted taking the ability to speak from Wyden.

**Fourth Charge:** Obstruction of Justice.

Tharun made statements designed to take the time of the Justicars. These statements were from the result of the death of his fan. Several days were spent on investigation of crimes he claimed others committed against him when the real crimes were the ones he committed. The previous charges show the extent of those crimes.

When asked off the record about some of the charges against him he avoided or refused to answer. He later admitted to "wasting the Justicars time" in a statement heard by all of Sable.

Note: The statement referred to was also posted on one of the many public boards for all to read. It admitted to the above crimes and was posted by Tharun himself. The witnesses of the post and the admission to all of Sable included several Justicars and prominent members of the Kings court.

Tharun is guilty of all crimes in this brief and readily admitted to them on several occasions.

**Recommendations:**

Prosecution recommends a healthy fines for Perjury, Assault and Obstruction of Justice paid to the Justicars. Also recommend fines be paid to the Temple of Tempest for Impersonation of a High Priest of that religion.

# Brief for the Defense, submitted by Tharun
```

**First charge: - Perjury to a Justicar.**

*Plee Submitted - Not Guilty*

The honourable justicar Skeeve argues, that when asked why my fan was killed by Deokoria I stated "I'm not sure, you should ask her that." It is clear that I said "I'm not sure", which is the truth. There are any number of possible reasons for such an action. Although the fact that my fan committed heresy would be high up on a 'list of possible reasons' it would only be one item on the list. It would have been impossible for me to be CERTAIN of her reasons, so I stated that I wasn't sure, and suggested the justicar speak to Deokoria.

I spoke no untruth, thus I was not lying, thus I can not have committed perjury.

**Second Charge - Impersonation of a High Priest.**

*Plee Submitted - Not Guilty*

Comments:

The honourable Justicar Skeeve argues that I aided and abetted my fan in impersonating a High Priest of Tempest. Clearly, aiding and abetting someone in a task is not the same as doing it onself, so it looks as if I was charged with the wrong crime. The justicar provided evidence that I did assist my fan, and this crime, if it is such, I will admit to.

**Third Charge - Assault of a Justicar.**

*Plee Submitted - Guilty*

Comments:

The fact that the victim was a Justicar was irrelevant, it was due to a personal dispute un-related to his official position as a Justicar. This does not make the crime any the less heinous, however the charge of 'Assault of a Justicar' implies that the person was acting in their official capacity at the time, which they were not.

**Fourth Charge - Obstruction of Justice.**

*Plee Submitted - Not Guilty*

The Justicar Skeeve states:

```
"Tharun made statements designed to take the time of the Justicars.
These statements were from the result of the death of his fan.  Several
days were spent on investigation of crimes he claimed others committed
against him when the real crimes were the ones he committed.  The
previous charges show the extent of those crimes."
```

It is an established fact, as admitted by the Justicar above, that my fan was in fact killed by Deokoria. I freely admit that I reported this event to the justicars. I did not realize, and do not believe, that I was committing a crime in doing this. I did not realize that Deokoria had legal grounds to slay my dedicated fan. It must be understood that a fan is very close indeed to a bard, much closer than, say, a familiar is to a mage, thus if one of our fan's are harmed then we take it very seriously. I, at the time, felt that I was justified in reporting my fan's death to the justicars.

The Justicar goes on to state:

```
"When asked off the record about some of the charges against him he avoided
or refused to answer."
```

The above statement is completely irrelevant to the charge in question, Neither I, nor any other citizen, is required to answer an 'off the record' question.

Skeeve goes on to state that:

```
"He later admitted to "wasting the Justicars time" in a statement heard by all
of Sable."
```

I would like to take this opportunity to retract that statement. It was made at a time of great mental strain and I was clearly unbalanced at the time. It is a well known fact that I was thrust into the realm of Mortis seven times around the time of this admission, obviously this upset the delicate balance inside my brain causing me to do bizarre things such as admit to this supposed crime which I did not commit. If the Judge cares to examine the cases I've asked the Justicars to investigate, I hope that he will find them to be just causes. The only times I have been involved in Justicars affairs are as follows:

- I was a witness to the murder of a fighter by the name of 'Saint'
- I reported the death of my fan, which is discussed above
- I was a witness to the murder of a psion by the name of 'Bluejay'

I don't believe that any of these are so trivial that they did not warrant any investigation, and that I was wasting the time of the Justicars by reporting them. If one can be prosecuted for reporting a murder, then it casts serious doubt as to what type of crime would be serious enough to warrant an investigation.

If the justicar has any further evidence that I have tried to 'obstruct justice' it was not submitted so I can not respond to it.

```
"Note:  The statement referred to was also posted on one of the many
public boards for all to read.  It admitted to the above crimes and was
posted by Tharun himself."
```

The only things I 'admitted' to in these posts for which I have been prosecuted are the muting of Wyden, to which I am pleading guilty, and 'wasting Justicar time' which I have withdrawn.

The crimes for which I have been charged allegedly took place in the year 206. That is over eight years ago now. Although it is unfortunate that I have had this hanging over my head for so long, it has given me the opportunity to prove that I am by no means a 'wicked' person. In this entire time I have not been charged with, nor investigated for a single crime. Surely if I was the criminal that Skeeve intimates I am I would have committed many more crimes since this time. Instead I have been a good, upstanding citizen, and am well known and respected for my column in the Sablean Times. Even if I am found guilty of any of the above crimes, I hope my eight years 'good behaviour' will count for something.

Furthermore, as indicated above, around the time at which these crime supposedly took place it is a well documented fact that I died in mysterious circumstances seven times. This was massively upsetting to myself, and I would be grateful if the judge were to take these seven deaths into consideration when deciding on punishments for any crimes I am found guilty of.

The fact that it has taken eight years until I was prosecuted is perhaps worrying. During this time I have been refused employment within government service (for example the STEA), because of these charges hanging over me. Throughout this time people have been able to use these charges as an argument against my good character. Although I wouldn't dare suggest that the Judge do anything, it might perhaps be prudent to set a maximum time in between a person being charged with a crime, and them being prosecuted for it. Perhaps similar to the amount of time the defendant has to prepare their defence brief after the prosecution brief has been submitted.

Respectfully yours,

Tharun Cranbourne, Bard

## Judgment: Crim214-2j

**CHARGES:**

1) Tharun is charged with perjury.

2) Tharun is charged with impersonation of a High Priest.

3) Tharun is charged with assault of a justicar.

4) Tharun is charged with obstruction of justice.

**CHARGE #1:** Perjury

**Findings of Fact:**

1) When asked why his fan was killed, Tharun answered: "I'm not sure, you should ask her (Deokoria) that."

2) Tharun knew why his fan was killed.

3) Tharun's fan was killed for impersonating a high priest.

**Discussion:**

When one is asked a question in a legal proceeding, the interviewee has a duty to tell the truth to the best of his or her ability. One cannot escape this duty through the use of circumlocution, vague language, or deliberately evasive or incomplete responses. The fact is that Tharun knew quite well why his fan was slain. The only reason he avoided giving the true answer is because he knew the reason was totally justified. Thus, his lack of a complete answer constitutes perjury.

**Holding:**

*Perjury:* Guilty

**Sentence:**

Tharun will pay a 5 orb fine to any justicar, and is sentenced to 1 year of community service. During this year, anyone can give him trash that he must take immediately to the Sable Garbage Dump and dispose of. He must do so until 11:59pm, Soujourn, 9, 215.

**CHARGE #2:** Impersonation of a High Priest

**Findings of Fact:**

1) Tharun's fan impersonated a High Priest of Tempest

**Discussion:**

Tharun's only defense to this charge is that the act in question was committed by his fan, not himself. The flaw in this defense is that it is very well known that a bard has absolute, nearly slavish control over his or her fans. Thus, it would be impossible for his fan to impersonate a High Priest of Tempest without not just the consent of Tharun, but the active participation and assistance of Tharun.

**Holding:**

*Impersonation of a High Priest:* Guilty

**Sentence:**

Tharun will pay a fine of 13 orb to any justicar. The justicar will tithe 1 orb to each of the 13 deities.

**CHARGE #3:** Assault of a Justicar

**Findings of Fact:**

1) Tharun muted Wyden

2) Wyden was preaching about Erosia at the time, and was not acting in an official Justicar capacity.

**Discussion:**

Tharun has admitted to assaulting Wyden in this manner. As muting is a particularly heinous assault, it is more egregious than usual. However, the fact that Wyden is a justicar does not exacerbate this incident. As Tharun noted in his defense brief, Wyden was not acting in any official capacity as a justicar at the time of the muting. Because of this fact, Tharun's action was not, in the eyes of the court, an attempt to harm the legal system in any way. Although muting was an aggravating factor in this act of assault, Wyden's status as a justicar was not. The mere possession of that job title does not make someone more needy of protection in the eyes of the law (assuming they are not at that time working in their official capacity).

**Holding:**

*Assault of a Justictar:* Not Guilty

*Aggravated Assault:* Guilty

**Sentence:**

Double the standard assault fine (to be delivered by any justicar).

**CHARGE #4:** Obstruction of Justice

**Findings of Fact:**

1) Tharun was making enormous demands on the time of Justicars.

2) Tharun admitted that he was deliberately taking their time.

3) This case has been pending for over 8 years before a prosecution brief was actually filed.

**Discussion:**

Tharun admits to having deliberately attempted to dominate the time of justicars. His main defense is that he "retracts his admission". That is simply not something this court will lend any credibility to. Since he does not offer any concrete evidence of coercion, it can only be assumed that his admission was a true one. For why would someone admit to a crime they were not guilty of just on a whim?

Tharun makes this point in his brief: "Neither I, not any other citizen, is required to answer an 'off the record' question". This is most certainly the case. Although a Justicar does not have to perform all interviews or questionings in the actual Justicar offices, no citizen is required to answer "off the record" questions if they do not choose to. In fact, a citizen may demand that all questionings take place via a means that is recorded. This means either in a Justicar office with a recorder there or via the postal service. The citizen cannot choose which of these methods. If the citizen demands a "recorded" method of questioning, he or she must submit to which ever the Justicar chooses. It is a right of the accused to have their words dutifully recorded if they so wish it.

Tharun further argues quite convincingly that the prosecution brief was filed over 8 years after the acts in question took place, and that this had an abnormally detrimental effect on his pursuit of happiness within Sablean society. This is most certainly an egregious infringement upon the accused civil rights. Had the defendant filed a counter suit against justicar Skeeve \*at the time of his brief's filing\*, it is quite possible that he would have had a winnable case. However, once this matter is closed, no such counter suit will be entertained.

**Declaration:**

From this day forward, all accused shall have the right to request, in writing via mudmail sent to (justicar), a **WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS**. The writ of habeas corpus, if granted, will force the prosecution to file its prosecution brief immediately, or all charges against the accused shall be expunged. Frivolous requests for the writ of habeas corpus can result in the accused being held in contempt of court, with severe commensurate penalties. However, if the prosecution is dragging its feet and taking an abnormally long time to file the prosecution brief, the defendant deserves an opportunity to have his or her case brought to trial, so his or her fate can be decided one way or another.

**Holding:**

*Obstruction of Justice:* Not Guilty (by reason of the inordinate delay in the filing of the prosecution brief)