NationStates Jolt Archive

Imperial News Network
The television screen turned on, showing a majestic courthouse built during the early 19th century, the first symbol of the Imperial justice which had taken from the Western Mountains to the eastern coast. The front of the courthouse was cordoned off by a large force of Imperial Police, and throngs of protestors, chanting with signs and lighters. The noise level was overpowering enough so the correspondant had to yell into his microphone. The signs were basically unreadable from the sheer commotion on camera, and a news van tried to block the protestors from the correspondant.

"Hello, everyone, this is Victor Atreides reporting from the--" A particularly loud scream interrupted him, and he continued, "Reporting from the Miana Central Courthouse. There's a lot of commotion here today, as the trials of the sixty Libertarian MPs. They are being charged with, among other things, capital corruption, larceny, and conspiracy. If convicted, they could face up to 90 years in prison. Look now -- there's Marcus Harkonnen, the lead defense lawyer for the defendants."

The camera swerved and focused on an extremely tall man, dressed in a fine suit. Nearly blocking him from view was an escort force of Imperial fighting men, mostly preventing the cameras from seeing the shackled, disgraced MPs. Losing 60 seats in Parliament would cause the Libertarian Party to fall from it's majority of 52%, to a mere 24% of the seats. Seeing as the LP has a fragile lead in Imperial Politics, this would devastate the current order and create a new order...

Courtroom 9, "La Villa Strangiato"
"Order in my court room, damnit." the Judge said, smashing his new, shiny, metal gavel against the old-fashioned wooden podium/desk/thing.

The largest courtroom in the Miana Central Courthouse, nicknamed "La Villa Strangiato" by someone a long, long time ago, seated over three hundred spectators in a collosseum style seating arrangement. The court had filled up rapidly, armed guards waiting for anyone to try something stupid in the audience.

The chatter died down as the Judge slammed his gavel again, and he said, "Court is now in session, so shut the hell up. This case is State vs. John Smith et al, docket number MM129560. Will the defendants please rise?" Judge Allman said, looking irritatedly at the massive crowd in his courtroom.

The sixty defendants, their lawyers, their lawyer's paralegals, and the paralegal's assistants rose, to much clattering of objects and shuffling of paper. A few chairs got knocked over hastily, making the Judge rap the gavel again. He likes that shiny gavel. Anyway, the Judge sighed, looked at the first disgraced MP.

"Starting with the first defendant, John Smith. How do you plead?"

Every single one of them said not guilty, unsurprisingly, and the lead lawyer for the defense team, Marcus Harkonnen, said, "I would like to move the court's attention to the defense application for release on recognizance."

The Judge shuffled to the paper, and said, "Denied. Anything else?"

Harkonnen stumbled verbally, and said, "Your Honour, but..."

"Denied."

After catching himself, the lawyer said, "Very well, our petition for a change of venue. I would like to call for this discussion to take place in chambers." Harkonnen braced himself for the inevitable denial, but the Judge said, "Fine. Don't bring the rest of your entourage. Mr. Harkonnen."

The lead prosecutor and the lead defense lawyer left their tables, scooting past paralegals and other inferiors, heading into the Judge's chambers.

Judge Allman's Chambers
"Your Honour, we filed a motion for change of venue. As you already know, the trial cannot be held if there is no way of obtaining an impartial jury. Surely with the phenomenal media coverage this case has got in Whyatica, Velkya, hell every allied state in Northeast Haven, there will be no method of getting an impartial jury. My clients have been vilified through the Empire, not even one of the colonies can host this trial. Your honour, it is a vast injustice to have this trial here--" Harkonnen said, and the Judge put his hand up.

"What would you propose we do, then, Counselor? Relocate the trial to another nation?""

"Yes, your honour. I have ben in contact with lawyers from the nation of Yafor 2 that are willing to try to have the trial there."

The Judge thought to himself, and the prosector remained silent as a decision that could change Imperial politics forever was made..

Ajer, Yafor 2

"And thus, under the law, as a representative of the law of the heavens and the earth, as the man who will reveal the decision to the public, from the Third Undercourt, Parliament District, that the defendant, after careful examination, is guilty to all alleged crimes and, as the law requires, is undergoing the punishment of three years in prison and six years of community service under the oversight of the IYAF, who are gladly taking him in. Thank you. Court dismissed." As the judge finished speaking, Landrian Dimoral quickly rose from his seat beside the plaintiff and sped towards the massive wood double-doors, ignoring the calls of congratulations from the oak benches in the back of the court.

It didn't particularly matter that he had won yet another case. Landrian had an utterly stellar record, a spotless, off-the-charts resume, and plenty of name recognition. One more victory was not going to change that. He had things to do, things that would make him known not simply in the Grand Democratic Duchy, but also abroad, in Haven and Atlantian Oceania. These were things that no menial congratulations, no small victory in insignificant cases, no petty trials, would or could delay. He was off to the big scene and this was the scene upon which he had always dreamed of being upon. The world was his oyster and he wasn't about to let meaningless court battles get in his way.

"Where are you rushing to, my boy?" Landrian quickly turned back to face the man standing against the door to another, smaller, room, a smirk written on his face. "Boreltar." Landrian breathed with a sigh of relief. "I thought I'd missed you." He easily put down his briefcase, stuffed with case notes, important files, crucial evidence, and other lawyer things, and faced the other man full in the face. Boreltar was grinning, now, an open, laughing expression, one which gently mocked the young trial lawyer. It was not a cold, dark mockery, but more a joyful, joking sort of expression. Landrian could sense something beneath it, though.

"At that speed you were rushing, you actually did, Dimoral." The sarcastic grin was gone from the other man's face, replaced with an expression totally indicating "business". "But enough of idle chatter. Come inside." The older man beckoned Landrian into the closed room. Inside, it was like nothing the young trial lawyer had ever seen, except in the offices of high society businesses. A small gray table, around which were a group of black felt chairs highlighted the center of the room. At the forefront of the table was a large screen, on which was playing the Imperial Yaforite News Service. About half the chairs were filled with bulky lawyers carrying brand new cell phones.

"What is this place?" Landrian asked, surprise and confusion written equally upon his face. The other man brought a finger up to his lips and pointed the the television. The announcer began to talk. "And thus, the movement of the trial of over MPs from Whyatica to Yafor 2 is seen as a shocking new precedent for trials in both nations." Landrian looked at the other man, mouthing "it's done, then?" and taking Boreltar's nod very seriously. This was big business and Landrian was well on his path to being known internationally. This was quite a trial, after all.

"This move has not only legal implications, but political ones as well. Whyatica, as a country, has undergone change in liberal doses for years, now. This affair, highly publicized throughout the nation and even Haven as a whole, adds to the directions Whyatican politics have been heading. Down. The choice of Yafor 2 as the host nation..." The reporter droned on, but Landrian had tuned out. This was big stuff and he was at the forefront of it. In the center of it.

[OOC:Sorry for the slightly-garbled nature of the post - I was pretty distracted while I put it together. You know the rest. Contact me if you need more. After all, IRC and MSN are very useful.]

Ajer, Yafor 2
A crowd of mainly Whyatican men lined a row in front of the Third Undercourt, Parliament district, chanting and screaming their various slogans, waving signs and shouting at others. Thousands of people, barely held back by Yaforite court police, all screaming at each other and in the general vicinity of the street, where several police cars had a path cleared for a slow coming convoy of SUVs, carrying the defendants that had made everyone riled enough to take the five day journey to Yafor 2. Many of the waving signs had badly spelled anti-Parliamentary slogans in both English and Whyatikans, which made it nearly impossible for any Yaforite to read signs in the latter language. Hundreds of police officers stood waiting, distrustful of the foreigner Whyaticans, who normally wouldn't even be in Yafor if it wasn't for the agreement between the governments.

The Duchy was a far ways away from anywhere - Most Yaforites hadn't heard anything about the Imperial scandal and the politics of the Empire, only major quakes in the domestic occurances ever made it outside of the Northeast Haven news networks. The fastest passenger planes took five days to get from mainland Whyatica to Yafor, making several stops along the way in Colombo Island and Whyatican Arabia. Thanks to that little fact, the numbers of Whyaticans present in Yafor were remarkably few, as not many wished to pay the several thousand Credits necessary for the trip and room.

As the vehicles pulled up and the police unloaded their passengers, the crowd became even more feverish, throwing eggs and rocks and nobody knew what else, and the police continued their protective escort, trying to prevent the MPs from getting more crap on them than the proverbial crap that would be heaped on them at trial..

crappy post, i know, but i'm tired and lazy