The Right Honourable Ms. Goethe, 4th Circuit Judge Presiding
***
[color=#FFFFFF]Very well then, we are going to get down to business shortly, but I have a couple of rules in my court room.
1. I observe impartially, but I am not stupid. There will be no funny business in this court room, or I will impose contempt of court fines. You will not address each other, only the bench and the witnesses you call for questioning. I will not tolerate rudeness in my court room, decorum and respect gentlemen.
2. I will not tolerate questions against the impartiality of this court, or its officers. If you have a legitimate complaint, then you can move for a mistrial, but I want it clear that once a ruling has been passed, short of your due appeal process, the ruling is final.
3. Evidence will be submitted and the opposing counsel will have sufficient time to rebut it. All evidence must be pertinent to the case, and handled in a correct fashion to be admissible.
4. Do not interrupt each other without proper court room etiquette. This is not a bar room, nor is it a brothel. You will not shout, scream, or pass violence in this hall.
5. Both parties in this trial will swear an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God! Any attempt to mislead the court in any way will result in a perjury ruling, that will add an immediate 50,000,000 credit fine, payable to the Government of Liberty. Without exception, counselors!
The court may now sit, if the Prosecutor would care to read the charges against the defendant, we will then proceed to opening arguments.
Right Honourable Ms. Goethe, 4th circuit judge Presiding
The Right Honourable Ms. Goethe, 4th Circuit Judge Presiding
***
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I understand the difficulty here in arriving for court, but Mister YO-MAN, you have requested a public trial, and in the interests of fairness, you have been granted this. If you would care to announce your attendance, we can begin proceedings.
Right Honourable Ms. Goethe, 4th circuit judge Presiding
Commander Jasmine Greenson stood up slowly trying to keep the formal naval uniform as tidy as possible after having been seated so long. She hated TV cameras. Clearly bored with the pace of the court proceedings and trying not to yawn on house-wide television, she began to read the charges.
"Yo-man is charged with hacking into a government communication channel, encrypted or otherwise, unaddressed to himself. One count."
She sat back down again and sighed. 'court hearings' she thought to herself. 'Why are they always so slow...'
The Right Honourable Ms. Goethe, 4th Circuit Judge Presiding
***
[color=#FFFFFF]
It is all right Mister YO-MAN, it is not the job of the court to persecute you, and this is no witch-trial. Our objective is to the truth, and to the application of justice.
Please proceed Counselor Rubin.
Right Honourable Ms. Goethe, 4th circuit judge Presiding
A man of medium-height found his way to the specified courtroom after some delay. He adjusted his large, round spectacles, which sat on an equally - if not more - prominent nose. He approached the bailiff standing outside the courtroom. The bailiff, a tall man, instantly recognized the approaching lawyer and crossed his arms, as his previously expressionless face narrowed into a slight scowl.
"You're late, Rubin."
"Ah, gee, Barney," started the lawyer, running one of his hands through a cloud of fuzzy hair, "I've been busy all over the place. Shleppin' here, shleppin' in the office..."
He stopped and adjusted his glasses, looking up at the bailiff who towered over him. "Did you know, Barney, that there's a 15 ship pileup case sittin on my desk, and I'm the defense counsel? Jesus H. Christ, I've been buried in that, trying to shlep my way outta that mess..."
Barney pointed into the courtroom. "You're going to be in a bigger mess if you don't shlep your way into that courtroom."
"Right."
"In you go," said Barney the bailiff, opening the door.
"Thanks Barney. You're real kosher, ya know that?"
Barney muttered something that vaguely resembled "F@%& off" under his breath, as he gave Rubin a slight shove into the courtroom and shut the door behind him.
Eli Rubin quickly found his client, a nervous looking young fellow with an unmistakable air of hippiness about him. He quickly made a few introductions and sat down.
Then he stood up again.
"Good morning your honor. My name is Eli Rubin, and I am here to represent, uh..."
Rubin paused. The rest of the courtroom stared at the extremely Jewish lawyer. "Mr. Yo-Man."
Rubin paused again. "My client pleads not guilty to the single charge of hacking into a government communication channel, encrypted or otherwise, unaddressed to himself."
With that, Rubin took off his jacket, and reclined back into a seat next to his client.
Quote:[7:42:05 PM][6:51:36 PM] Igor (Smokey): btw terry
[6:51:48 PM] Terrance Cooper: Ye?
[6:52:00 PM] Igor (Smokey): nothin
[6:52:03 PM] Igor (Smokey): just sayin btw
[6:52:05 PM] Terrance Cooper: <_<
Quote:Johnny_Haas: you shot anti criuse speed rockets!!!
Johnny_Haas: but why????
Johnny_Haas: ??
Johnny_Haas: why you shoot criuse speed rockets?
As the courtroom slowly drifted into silence, there was a sudden thud as Eli Rubin not-so-gently placed his oversized briefcase onto the table in front of him. His client, and multiple people in the courtroom, jumped slightly from the noise.
"Yes your Honor, just one second," began Rubin, shuffling through leaves and leaves of white, manila, red, and the occasional yellow pages that stuffed his briefcase.
"Ah, here we go. Sorry, a bit disorganized lately," said Rubin chuckling.
Then he realized that no one else was smiling or laughing, and upon seeing his client's somewhat perturbed expression, he put on a more serious expression.
"Your Honor," began Rubin, "the Defense would like to file a Motion in limine."
Rubin paused for a second, looking at the substantial collection of papers now in his hands. "It is to my belief that there are many incidents that have occurred with the past week that are entirely unrelated to the case at hand, which deals with my client, Mr. Yo-Man, supposedly hacking into a Military Communications Channel."
Rubin continued after taking a long sip of water from a glass on the table. "In his frustration, anger, and indignation at the accusations and fines levied against him by the Liberty Navy, my client panicked and went to the , the public hoping they would sympathize with him. But with the general lack of legal knowledge that the public often displays, my client was lambasted and decried as a criminal. The Defense would like this sham proceeding and anything associated with it marked as prejudicial and excluded from this case."
"In addition, the Defense would like to exclude anything related to the pending investigation into my client's behavior. The crimes that my client is accused of here is of little to no relevance to the case at hand, which is that my client is accused of hacking into a military channel. If the prosecution introduces evidence from this current, ongoing case, I fear that my client may be prejudiced against by the jury."
Rubin took another sip of water and sat down.
"Thank you your Honor, that is all," said Rubin, "in terms of motions."
Rubin then removed two medium sized envelopes from his briefcase. "The Defense would also like to call Lieutenant Commander Samuel Zanders to the court as witness for the Defense and Commodore Christina Robinson as an expert witness on the Laws of Liberty. I've prepared the subpoenas already to save the time of the court."
Rubin prepared to step forward, envelopes in hand. "May I approach the bench, your Honor?"
Quote:[7:42:05 PM][6:51:36 PM] Igor (Smokey): btw terry
[6:51:48 PM] Terrance Cooper: Ye?
[6:52:00 PM] Igor (Smokey): nothin
[6:52:03 PM] Igor (Smokey): just sayin btw
[6:52:05 PM] Terrance Cooper: <_<
Quote:Johnny_Haas: you shot anti criuse speed rockets!!!
Johnny_Haas: but why????
Johnny_Haas: ??
Johnny_Haas: why you shoot criuse speed rockets?
The Right Honourable Ms. Goethe, 4th Circuit Judge Presiding
***
[color=#FFFFFF]
I am of agreement counselor, this is a matter concerning the hacking of the secured channel, and as such the court cannot permit investigations that are underway to interfere with these proceedings. However, if there are crimes that YO-MAN has committed in Liberty, and he has been convicted of, this is a matter of public record, and as such is admissible, as it goes to the character of the defendant.
Motion for dismissal of untried investigations, granted.
As for the motion of public trial by forum, your client was the one who instigated that proceeding. Panic, or not. As such it is difficult to separate it from the public record. However, I have not read the communication thread in question, and in the interests of impartiality, I will continue to abstain from doing so.
Motion to dismiss the public record, granted.
You may also approach.
Right Honourable Ms. Goethe, 4th circuit judge Presiding