Benjamin Noble "Resignation"

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Benjamin Noble
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Benjamin Noble "Resignation"

Post by Benjamin Noble »

Though few of you likely knew this, about a month ago I passed the Judiciary Examination and was qualified as a Judge of Common Jurisdiction of the CDS. Unfortunately, I am not able to devote anywhere near as much time to this endeavor as appears necessary, so with a moderately heavy heart have asked Sudane to list my land for sale.

I am not certain if I can (or need to) "resign" as it has never been clear exactly what I was appointed to (or qualified to be appointed to) in the first place, but I expect this will suffice.

The judiciary has promise, but it is painfully apparent that at least at the moment, there is sufficient disagreement between various factions and individuals that my presence (or the presence of any Judge) is about as necessary as snow tires on a kangaroo.

I wish you all the best sorting out these issues, and look forward to our personal and professional paths crossing again.

-----------------------------
Added subsequently...
-----------------------------

I have received several very nice messages from citizens seeking more information, so will explain a bit further: the time commitment problem would only relate to the judiciary, but to be honest, the whole thing has (at least temporarily) really turned me off to the CDS. I spent an extraordinary amount of on the judicial application, and -- without assigning fault to any particular person -- it is clear that the CDS either didn't really need or didn't really want judges in the first place, so the whole thing was just a waste of my time. Judicial applications should not have been accepted at the time that they were in light of the uncertain future the Judiciary Act faced. In any case, I have other irons in the fire that are taking up my in-world time, so will, at least for now, wish the CDS all the best. I plan to visit often.

Best,
Benjamin Noble

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Post by Ashcroft Burnham »

[b:1smz1zk1]The judiciary and its supporters[/b:1smz1zk1]
* 8 citizens attracted

[b:1smz1zk1]The anti-judiciary extremists[/b:1smz1zk1]
* 2 citizens driven away, and counting

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Post by Beathan »

Ash --

I have the impression, in line with Mr. Noble's announcement to the SL Bar Assn, that Mr. Noble's real life law practice is taking up too much time for him to engage in SL activities to the extent he would have liked. I suspect that this is the primary motive behind his announcement. Hopefully, when we have a simpler and easier judicial system -- one that would not be such a time-sink -- he will come back and participate.

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Post by Flyingroc Chung »

Hello, Benjamin. I had hoped to see you inworld and talk to you a little. Sorry to see you go; perhaps when you have more time, you'll reconsider joining the CDS.

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Post by Ashcroft Burnham »

[quote="Beathan":tk01s5wo]Ash --

I have the impression, in line with Mr. Noble's announcement to the SL Bar Assn, that Mr. Noble's real life law practice is taking up too much time for him to engage in SL activities to the extent he would have liked. I suspect that this is the primary motive behind his announcement. [/quote:tk01s5wo]

What part of:

[quote:tk01s5wo]The judiciary has promise, but it is painfully apparent that at least at the moment, there is sufficient disagreement between various factions and individuals that my presence (or the presence of any Judge) is about as necessary as snow tires on a kangaroo.[/quote:tk01s5wo]

and

[quote:tk01s5wo]I spent an extraordinary amount of on the judicial application, and -- without assigning fault to any particular person -- it is clear that the CDS either didn't really need or didn't really want judges in the first place, so the whole thing was just a waste of my time. Judicial applications should not have been accepted at the time that they were in light of the uncertain future the Judiciary Act faced. [/quote:tk01s5wo]

is unclear to you?

[quote:tk01s5wo] Hopefully, when we have a simpler and easier judicial system -- one that would not be such a time-sink -- he will come back and participate.[/quote:tk01s5wo]

It is overwhelmingly clear (to everybody except you, it seems) that what Benjamin objects to is [i:tk01s5wo]wasting[/i:tk01s5wo] time, not merely spending it.

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Post by Ashcroft Burnham »

[quote="Flyingroc Chung":3usggxzy]Hello, Benjamin. I had hoped to see you inworld and talk to you a little. Sorry to see you go; perhaps when you have more time, you'll reconsider joining the CDS.[/quote:3usggxzy]

I sincerely hope, for his sake, that he is nowhere near foolish enough to do any such thing.

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Post by Ashcroft Burnham »

Incidentally, has anyone seen Blue McDonagh or Dexter Leopold around recently?

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Post by Diderot Mirabeau »

[quote="Ashcroft Burnham":da0nppp7]Incidentally, has anyone seen Blue McDonagh or Dexter Leopold around recently?[/quote:da0nppp7]
Have they ever been around? I never had the fortune of meeting them in world in the CDS in the first place.

In any case the discussion is not really worth getting involved in since it's quite obvious to anyone with half a mind that this is intending to narrate some kind of Pied Piper of Hamelin revenge before setting out for an imagined destination of professional and rational government, i.e. one that does what you want it to.

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Post by michelmanen »

I have. Both of them. I made it a point to meet them. Blue sold his land to me. I don't know if he bought something else. And Dexter is in and out quite often - seems to be busy in-world.

Beyond that, let's all stop throwing plates at each other's heads. No one really comes out of this lilly-white; so instead of acting like petulant children, let's put this sorry episode aside and, like Desmond Shang wisely suggested, let's go on doing something really worth-while: building this community into a beacon of democracy, creativity and good governace in the 2L.

The overwhelming majority of our citizens want this. Our sims need this. Our future depends on this. So, Ash, get off your high horse, take your hits like a man, and instead of taking your toys and going home (or Caledon), get back at the negotiating table so we can develop a judiciary worth its name that is acceptable to most.

And Diderot, stop gloating and being petulant about this; it is obvious that a number of very good people have been totally put off by the way this entire episode was mismanaged by our institutions and their efforts wasted. It's quite clear that, as Desmond again says, the loss of a functioning juduciary is very damaging to us all.

Sol let's all behave like adults and get things moving again, respectful of both democratic principles and of the rule of law.

Any other type of behaviour would be selfish and irresponsible.

MM

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Re: To Be or N ot To Be...

Post by Diderot Mirabeau »

[quote="michelmanen":2bx0dtiz]And Diderot, stop gloating and being petulant about this;[/quote:2bx0dtiz]
Gloating [i:2bx0dtiz]and[/i:2bx0dtiz] petulant? Interesting concept.

Incidentally, I believe the Simplicity Party proposed a constructive way forward to a functioning judiciary that could bring us out of this current situation about a week before you made public at the electoral debate what your plans were with regard to the same. Our proposal entails not handing over a carte blanche to some expert to devise a full scale judiciary and subsequently defend it vigorously but is rather an inclusive process that enlists expertise in the form of checklists, drawing up the alternative choices and listing their pros and cons in an impartial manner but otherwise remaining silent about one's personal preferences one way or the other leaving it to the people and their democratically elected representatives to take the qualitative debate over what trade offs they feel are merited in a virtual community for which the benchmark of justice is indeed [i:2bx0dtiz]not[/i:2bx0dtiz] the real world with its wigs and comprehensive manuals but the lawless anarchy/random whim of autocracy of the SL mainland at large.

I doubt that this would comprise the 'professional and reasonable government' espoused by those, who have previously described as their ideal the government that dares take decisions that are unpopular with the electorate. But if you are willing to state already now that CARE will be the party that takes responsibility for making unpopular decisions in implementing the judiciary I think you ought to let the voters know about it as soon as possible.

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Providing leadership

Post by michelmanen »

We have articulated our core vision on the judiciary in our Manifesto, ten days ago:

[quote:1wu1hf8q]We need a government where our judicial system is fair, stable, and professional;[/quote:1wu1hf8q]

and repeated this in our campaign literature, in our video, and on our website.

During the debate, we expounded on this as follows:

[quote:1wu1hf8q]One of the major questions for the next RA will be how to resolve The Judiciary Question. This will require negotiation and compromise. The eventual outcome is likely to depend a great deal on the outcome of the election, as will the route taken to get there. During this process CARE will seek to give effect to the following principles:
1. A primary duty of any government is to protect the rights, including the Human Rights, of its citizens.
2. This includes a duty to ensure that the citizens' rights can be enforced, both against individuals and the government. Rights that cannot be enforced are useless to our citizens.
3. Enforcement requires a judicial system that is accessible, fair and independent.
4. This is best given effect through a dedicated branch of government to hear and resolve disputes. However, this branch should not be able to overrule laws that have been created by the democratic process.
5. Fair hearings need detailed procedural rules, so that all parties know how their case will proceed and litigation can be conducted efficiently. To keep justice accessible, these should be supplemented by F.A.Q. and other advice.
6. Although many things in Second Life are different, our justice system should apply lessons learned from the First Life where appropriate.
7. Since we do not have the resources to develop a full Code of Laws, a Common Law system is the better solution. It will also offer greater flexibility. [/quote:1wu1hf8q]

CARE intends to provide the necessary leadership to implement these principles and resolve this issue as soon as possible if elected, in order to have enough time, energy and resources to deal with the issues citizens really care about: a more open, democratic, inclusive, accountable and participative process of governance, our sims becoming hubs of trade and tourism in 2L, the diversity of our citizens being recognized and celebrated in both our exiting and in our future sims, and a concerted effort being made to establish ties between 2L and RL on issues of social, economic, cultural, and environmental sustainability.

As we have also said throughout this campaign, we believe that "Leadership is not doing what is popular with some – it is standing for what is right for all."

That is exactly what CARE intends to do if elected to the RA.

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Post by Ashcroft Burnham »

[quote="Diderot Mirabeau":3qs29g1j]Have they ever been around? I never had the fortune of meeting them in world in the CDS in the first place.[/quote:3qs29g1j]

They have indeed been around - I was one of the first people to meet Blue when he first arrived here (having been attracted to us from having read the article about our new, professional judiciary in the SecondLife Business Magazine). Dexter has been around much in the past; he intended to establish a legal practice, and put some considerable effort into doing so; he was the one who described the original code of procedure as logically organised and easy to use. I recall that he was working on a case at one stage. He did, if you recall, post on these fora a great deal, too, at one time until, no doubt, the anti-judiciary extremists drove him away. I have not seen nor heard from him now in some time.

[quote:3qs29g1j]In any case the discussion is not really worth getting involved in since it's quite obvious to anyone with half a mind that this is intending to narrate some kind of Pied Piper of Hamelin revenge before setting out for an imagined destination of professional and rational government, i.e. one that does what you want it to.[/quote:3qs29g1j]

I have not had any contact with these people since the destruction of the judiciary - if they are leaving, they are doing so (very wisely) entirely of their own accord.

Ashcroft Burnham

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