Proposed temporal residency requirements for judges

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michelmanen
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Proposed temporal residency requirements for judges

Post by michelmanen »

I deeply resent any attempts to maliciously misuse and misapply the concept of "customs and traditions of the CDS" in order to retrospectively manufacture a new qualification requirement for judges based on length of residency which, in effect, would create a category of second-class citizens. Such a position, reminiscent of Orwell's famous [u:2wq0trvn]Animal Farm[/u:2wq0trvn] statement that "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others" is unacceptable under both CDS and international law. I, for one, will vehemently oppose it as a violation of my rights as a citizen under the Constitution.

On a more personal level, I deeply regret to see that, further to a private conversation I had with Beathan resulting from his offer to have me visit his new premises, he proceeded to use the information I shared with him regarding my application for a judgeship position to intentionally and maliciously devise an argument designed to stall and delay any possible consideration of my application based on the spurious grounds that I have not been a CDS citizen long enough to be fully steeped in its "customs and traditions".

This woefully transparent attempt to stall and block any possibility of allowing our judiciary system to come into force is entirely consistent with other comments Beathan made during our discussion which directly and unambiguously clarified his intention to use any and all procedural tactics at his disposal to prevent a functioning judiciary to operate before the next elections, at which time he hopes that a newly-elected RA would have the required majority to repeal the Judiciary Act. A transcript of our conversation is available for anyone wishing to verify the veracity of my statements.

Given the fact that Beathan opposes so passionately and strenuously our legitimate and democratically voted upon Judiciary Act because, in his words, it violates his “ethics”, I would be quite interested to learn more about an ethical system which allows him to reject the notion of the rule of law, yet permits him to use information entrusted to him in good faith during a friendly, private conversation to ex post facto manufacture a perceived "need" for a new temporal residency requirement for judges whose only purpose is that of deliberately stalling and blocking the consideration of my application for judgeship in order to ensure that our judiciary cannot begin operating before his attempt to take over the RA at the next elections. Such tactics, reminiscent of the 1930s Weimar Germany, far from being ethical, must be condemned in the strongest terms by all CDS citizens, whatever their position may be on the nature and content of the Judiciary Act.

I hereby publicly call on Beathan to cease and desist forthwith from advocating and militating in favor of positions which are clearly unconstitutional (residency requirements creating second-class citizens) and which undermine and trivialize our democratically legitimated political process (blocking the operations of the judiciary; attempting to take over the RA on spurious grounds).

A mature, self-confident democracy must be able to defend itself whenever the basic principles of democratic legitimacy and the rule of law upon which rests its very existence find themselves under direct, deliberate and dire threat from within. We cannot allow our own respect for these self-same principles to allow individuals clearly animated by their own "ethics" to use the very rules they intend to denigrate, disregard and destroy in order to eviscerate everything we stand for and have worked so hard to achieve over so many months.

I, for one, will not stand for it.

I will not allow a small minority, however vocal, to undermine our collective efforts to build a unique 2L community, legitimated democratically, respectful of the rule of law, animated by ethical principles of mutual regard and respect which do not allow betrayals of trust to masquerade as principled positions of care and concern for the customs and traditions of our community.

For the sake of the safety and survival of these same customs and traditions so irresponsibly invoked in order to veil the violation of these very same principles, neither should any of you.

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Post by Beathan »

I did not know that Michel's application was a secret. In fact, I assumed that he was applying when Ash stated that he knew of at least two people applying. I asked Michel if this were so, and he confirmed it, without telling me that the private conversation should be kept private. In fact, the conversation continued even when another person arrived. I would have mentioned Michel's application regardless of my conversation with him. I would not have mentioned it if he had told me to keep his confidence.

Further, I am simply following Claude's observation that there is something special about CDS culture which, as new citizens, we might not know or fully grasp, but which should inform the work of any judge. I think this is a legitimate concern. No one should join the CDS expecting to be a judge and for the purpose of being a judge. I don't think the CDS should want any such person to serve as judge.

I myself have been interested in a judge position here. I think it is probably the role I could best fill, if I am honored with any role beyond citizen and gadfly. However, I have taken Claude's observation seriously. Thus, my observation that -- as citizens, we should have full citizenship rights, but as new and untried citizens, we should not expect to hold any particular offices. I don't see this as putting me at a disadvantage or making me a second-class citizen. Rather, I think I am a full citizen with things to look forward to as I grow into this community.

That said, I will not cease my role of gadfly merely because Michel tells me to cease and desist. Rather, I observe that if that is what we have to look forward to in terms of free speech in the CDS under a Michel Manen judgeship, we should consider his appointment very carefully.

Beathan

Last edited by Beathan on Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Ashcroft Burnham »

[quote="Beathan":ipfg16rq]Further, I am simply following Claude's observation that there is something special about CDS culture which, as new citizens, we might not know or fully grasp, but which should inform the work of any judge. [/quote:ipfg16rq]

"Might" is not good enough to cast aside good people. Was not one of your criticisms of my qualification procedures that it would prevent good people from being judges? Does the temporal reuqirement that you propose not do the same, only more so?

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Post by Beathan »

No -- it only prevents those people from becoming judges [i:s4e3g914]right now[/i:s4e3g914]. Both Ash and I have been told that we don't understand critical things in CDS's history or how things used to work. The difference is that I accept this criticism and consider it a problem for my present service in the community. Ash does not. Maybe Ash gets the CDS cultural better than I do and he is on strong ground in disregarding this criticism. I know that I am not, and I continue to work to remedy this limitation.

I think that Gynn would be a great judge at present. From a brief conversation I had with Luda, I think she might be a good choice, too. Moon also strikes me as having the right sort of temperament and character. Justice, of course, also does. I see no shortage of talent in the old guard.

We should work to be citizens first and foremost -- officeholders only afterwards and in service to the first.

Beathan

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Post by Patroklus Murakami »

Aah, the scales begin to fall from the eyes as Beathan's true purpose is revealed... very gratifying.

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Post by Beathan »

Pat --

What true purpose is that? To repeal the Judiciary Act? I didn't know that purpose was unclear. To what other purpose do you refer?

I have never made a secret of my opposition to the Judiciary Act. Far from it. I have also never made a secret of my hope that, if the current RA does not act, the next one will be constituted differently and will.

As for the other "tactics" Michel Manen refers to, I can think only that he means my telling him that, as far as I knew, the PJSP lacks a quorum to act on judicial appointments, so that there will not be a full judiciary immediately upon consideration of applications. However, I am not on that organization and admit that I might not know what I am talking about it. In any case, I don't have any authority to raise procedural roadblocks to the implementation of the Judiciary Act.

All I have is my ability to reason and to express my reasons in posts. That is all I have done. That should be a right guaranteed to all citizens, within the forum moderation guidelines of the SC. If this is somekind of quasi-criminal offense in the CDS, then I don't know what kind of democracy it is, or even if I could recognize it as a democracy. Fortunately, I don't think that most of the community sees things this way -- or that the law does.

In the end I am both saddened and reminded of a litigation adage: "When the facts are on your side, pound on the facts; when the law is on your side, pound on the law; when neither are on your side, pound on opposing counsel." I am pounded on enough iRL as a real opposing counsel. I am saddened to find that violence, albeit rhetorical violence, remains the last resort of failed argument in SL.

Beathan

Last edited by Beathan on Tue Dec 05, 2006 11:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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michelmanen
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`Quis custodiet custodiens?'

Post by michelmanen »

Beathan's approach to selection of Judges - based on his personal evaluation of specific individuals' abilities to be "great judges" and his use of an ex post facto manufactured need for a residency requirement creating second-class citizens, is entirely consistent with his acknowledged preference of a system of government similar to Khomeiny's islamic theocracy. All that remains is for him to become Grand Ayatollah, devise artificial requirements as to who may or may not apply for judgeship positions and public office, and ensure that the SC is solely in charge of our legal system for us to attain his "ideal" form of "democratic" government.

The problem with setting aside the rule of law and devising a system institutionalising the existence of a "guardian of quality", where quality is defined not by impartial and anonymous assessments but rather by subjective and individual preferences, has been aptly summarised by Horace more than two millenia ago in his famous quip: `Quis custodiet custodiens?' How will we ensure that these guardians are of the appropriate quality? How will we ensure that the principles they use in judging quality are well attested and good? What do they mean by `quality'?

Khomeiny's islamic theocracy has failed to provide an adequate solution to this age-old question. The consequences are plain for all to see in the rights and freedoms "enjoyed" today by the citizens of Iran. The combination of democratic legitimacy and the rule of law, whilst far from ideal, have gone a long way in addressing the very real dillemma so aptly articulated by Horace. The strength, resiliency and vitality of such a system has been demonstrated in its ability to ultimately withstand life-treatening challenges from well-meaning utopias whose predictable and pervasive means of acquiring and maintaining power have been the silencing, enslavement, and destruction of millions of human beings.

At this point in time, I am reminded of Robert F. Kennedy's speech on the death of Martin Luther King - given only a few months before his own assasination. I find his summation to be quite appropriate in our current context and well worth quoting at length:

"[W]e have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love - a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people."

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Re: `Quis custodiet custodiens?'

Post by Publius Crabgrass »

[quote="michelmanen":3o80td59]Beathan's approach to selection of Judges - based on his personal evaluation of specific individuals' abilities to be "great judges" and his use of an ex post facto manufactured need for a residency requirement creating second-class citizens, is entirely consistent with his acknowledged preference of a system of government similar to Khomeiny's islamic theocracy. All that remains is for him to become Grand Ayatollah, devise artificial requirements as to who may or may not apply for judgeship positions and public office, and ensure that the SC is solely in charge of our legal system for us to attain his "ideal" form of "democratic" government. [/quote:3o80td59]

Strike the residency requirement and SC oversight, and you get fairly close to the present system.

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Post by Beathan »

Great - so I am Khomeiny and Michel Manen is Robert F Kennedy. Why don't we expand that and say that I am also Lee Harvey Oswald and the Judiciary Act is JFK (with other critics thrown in as the "second gunman.")

This is not argument. This is character assassination. It goes beyond ad hominem attacks and strikes a blow to the heart of civilized discourse and public debate.

To this I note that I have never put myself forward as someone to "personally qualify" any judges -- or to impose any litmus tests on judges beyond character and temperament. I don't want the power. I consider it anti-democratic, and reject it for that reason. In fact, it is the elements of the current system that approach personal qualification -- or self-selection -- of the judiciary, without democratic oversight or control, that cause me the most heartburn.

However, Michel Manen can call me and my proposal whatever he wants. I render both myself and my ideas up to the judgments of my peers, and I will stand by the results, rather than rage and whistle against the wind and will of public opinion.

Beathan

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Re: `Quis custodiet custodiens?'

Post by Diderot Mirabeau »

Michel,

What is it about having to wait for a few months before being considered for a possible life-time position of judge that is so terrible for you to contemplate?

I assume you joined this community for the sake of participating in a grand experiment in territorially based, democratic self-governance in a virtual world and not simply to get a job as judge?

One of the characteristics I like to see in a person serving in a government capacity is a certain degree of modesty regarding one's importance for carrying out the job and an ability to put one's own person aside in favour of the overall cause. I have to say I haven't seen that much among those who aspire to be our judges lately but perhaps it is I, who have been looking selectively.

Last edited by Diderot Mirabeau on Tue Dec 05, 2006 6:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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"Alea jacta est"

Post by michelmanen »

Beathan wrote:

[quote:1q8xj5ts]I will stand by the results, rather than rage and whistle against the wind and will of public opinion. [/quote:1q8xj5ts]

Quite an ironic reversal of positions from the very individual whose avowed purpose is to manipulate "the wind and will of public opinion" in order to ensure that our democratically legitimated legal system is still-born...

At the very least, this exchange of views has forced everyone to put their real cards on the table, so that we all may know where we each truly stand.

Let the dice fall where they may...

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Temporal residency requirements for judges

Post by michelmanen »

Diderot, I will not take your comments personally since you clearly are unfamiliar with the sequence of events, which unfolded as follows:

1. In a conversation with Ashcroft a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I strongly believed in the notion of active participation of citizens in the public life of their community. I was then asked if I wanted to put my principles into practice and apply either for a judgeship or for a position on the PJSP. I asked him where the need was greater, and he stated: "The PJSP".

2. I proceeded to contact Gwyn and applied for a position on the PJSP.

3. Following a recent discussion with Beathan and Noble, where it became clear to me that the lack of applications for judgeship positions would be used as an excuse to justify the gutting (explicit or implicit) of our democratically-legitmated Judiciary Act, I decided to do everything in my power to oppose such pernicious purposes and force those attempting to mask their real aims behind the veil of "principled ethics" to reveal their true intentions.

4. I proceeded to contact Gwyn, withdraw my application for a PJSP position, and mention that I would shortly hand in my application for a judgeship position.

5. The reaction of those who now suddenly clamour in favour of the need to institute temporal residency requirements for judgeship positions is entirely in tune with the reaction I inteded to trigger: the unmasking of the real motivations of the proponents of such a requirement - namely, to achieve by any procedural means, fair and fowl, the destruction of our democratically legitimated legal system on which we have all worked so hard for so many months, before it has even had the opportunity to come into force and prove itself.

So, as you can see, I had no intention whatsover to become a juge until yesterday. The reason why I applied is spelled out above. And the reason why I joined CDS as well as my theory of our overall vision and purpose I have spelled out in clear and simple terms in another post, which I shall not repeat here.

My only advice to you is to check your facts before you proceed to besmirch the intentions and good-will of a fellow citizen for purely self-serving purposes.

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Post by Beathan »

Michel Manen wrote [quote:8iubh7r5]At the very least, this exchange of views has forced everyone to put their real cards on the table, so that we all may know where we each truly stand. [/quote:8iubh7r5]

Well at least we agree on this.

Beathan

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Re: Temporal residency requirements for judges

Post by Diderot Mirabeau »

[quote="Michel Manen":21vjjgb3]My only advice to you is to check your facts before you proceed to besmirch the intentions and good-will of a fellow citizen for purely self-serving purposes.[/quote:21vjjgb3]
And what is it exactly that leads you to assume I am in need of such advice?

I presume on the basis of your reply that your desire "to do everything in [your] power to oppose such pernicious purposes and force those attempting to mask their real aims behind the veil of 'principled ethics' to reveal their true intentions" is what makes it terrible for you to have to wait a few months before becoming appointed to a possibly life-long term as a judge?

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Application for judgeship

Post by michelmanen »

My purpose has been achived for all to see in the exchanges above. I am now perfectly willing to withdraw my application for a judgeship position should my fellow citizens have any doubts about my integrity and motivation in doing so.

The real question becomes whether, by forcing me do so with your unwarranted and perfidious aspersions upon my character and objectives, in order to ensure that our democratically legitimated legal system is still-born, any of our fellow citizens will still be feel able, from an ethical poinf of view, to support any candidate to the RA supporting the repeal of the Judicature Act.

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