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Bill: Clark v. Commonwealth of Rutania
Details
Submitted by[?]: Urban Party of Rutania
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This bill is a resolution. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: March 3725
Description[?]:
| To who this may concern, The Supreme Court of Rutania (SCOR) has decided to hear the case involving the Constitutionality of Executive Order VIII. The Plaintiff in this case will be Robert Clark also known as "Clark" who submitted this case to the court two days after a bill that would have removed the order all together was voted down in the Parliament. The Defendant will be the Federal Government of Rutania also known as the "Commonwealth of Rutania" in this case. Each side will be allowed to make arguments and may even have to face questions from the judges themselves. Each side may use any material at their disposal during the trial. After arguments have concluded, both sides are entitled to ONE closing argument which will be followed by deliberation by the justices. A period of now longer than 2 months will be allocated for deliberation after such time a verdict will be handed down. Signed, Geoffrey Webster Clerk of the Supreme Court of Rutania ----------------------------------------------------------- OOC: The Supreme Court made up of 5 judges; 4 Associates and 1 Chief Justice who are all non-partisan and not involved in any political party. In this case, I was thinking we have a neutral party use a random number generator when deciding the outcome of the case so as to add a bit of a twist at the end of this. Are their any objections, comments or concerns? |
Proposals
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 22:33:32, June 13, 2014 CET | From | Solidarity Rutania | To | Debating the Clark v. Commonwealth of Rutania |
| Message | OOC: We agree completely to the procedure of the trial. IC: Ms Kelley Wheeler, barrister and solicitor-at-law, shall be the representative of the Office of the President of the Commonwealth of Rutania, on behalf of the federal government of the Commonwealth of Rutania. |
| Date | 04:00:40, June 14, 2014 CET | From | Urban Party of Rutania | To | Debating the Clark v. Commonwealth of Rutania |
| Message | Steven Kudlow, a long time professor of constitutional law and a former public defender will represent Robert Clark in this case. |
| Date | 18:16:25, June 15, 2014 CET | From | Urban Party of Rutania | To | Debating the Clark v. Commonwealth of Rutania |
| Message | OOC: I'll post my argument on Monday. |
| Date | 19:49:34, June 16, 2014 CET | From | Urban Party of Rutania | To | Debating the Clark v. Commonwealth of Rutania |
| Message | Esteemed Justices of the Supreme Court, members of the general public and those watching on television, I am here today on behalf of Robert Clark who filed a petition with the Supreme Court concerning the Constitutionality of President Schneider's Executive Order VIII, which allowed the government to construct a public university. Our problem is not with the intentions of the former administration and current administration, but the misuse of the Executive Order function given to the President. I will attempt to highlight in two points why this is illegal. First off, under the law, the President is allowed to use Executive Orders to fill vacancies, create independent agencies and enact programs for a fixed amount of time. However, the President may not use Executive Orders to declare war, enact fiscal and/or monetary policy and pardon any person, living or dead. Based on these stipulations alone, the usage of an Order to create a University seems to not be covered at all. My second point is that the Government would be responsible for running and maintaining the university for a period of 5 years, after which it will be turned over to Bozarland. This goes against the current law regarding the establishment and maintenance of higher education institutions, which says the development and maintenance shall be left to the local government or in this case, the province's themselves. The government shall provide funding, but they are no longer in the business of maintaining them; this power was devolved back to the province's almost 30 years ago. Justices of the Court, I eagerly await any questions you may have. Steven Kudlow Lawyer for the Plaintiff, Robert Clark |
| Date | 07:35:23, June 17, 2014 CET | From | Solidarity Rutania | To | Debating the Clark v. Commonwealth of Rutania |
| Message | Esteemed Justices of the Supreme Court of Rutania, My respectable colleagues across the aisle represented by the honourable Steven Kudlow, The issue before this most hallowed court is a matter of great importance to not only I, or the legacy of President Schneider, or the claimant Robert Clark who brought this case forward. No, Madame Justice, the issue we are presented with today before this court is a matter that questions the very structure of our government, the very role of our elected officers and legislators and the cooperative nature of our federal structure. Madame Justice, the matter before the courts today is a fundamental question of contitutionality that I, the representative of the office of former President Schneider, alongside the claimant ask this court to clarify. However, through this hearing we will present evidence to support that Executive Order VIII is not only within the powers of the President as established in the Executive Order Act and the Constitution but also compatible with our federalist structure. Estimeed Justices, Executive Order VIII authorizes the creation of a new, independent university in Bozarland. What exactly is a University? At the material level, a University is a collection of buildings, technology, spaces and people acting to impart a public service, much like Rutania's Ministry of Defence, or Ministry of Interior or Revenue Agency. A University is an agency. At the more abstract level, a University shapes, nurtures and at times challenges the minds of its students. A place for community. A place of humanitarianism and scientific progress. A university is a vehicule for economic and social development. A university is also a program. Article II Section I of the Executive Order Act [3360] states “Executive Orders can be used to: [...] Create independent agencies within the government, create a certain program or commission [...]”. Madame Justice, we the defence contend that, as Public Universities act as both independent agencies and government programs, Executive Order VIII is well within the authority of Executive Orders. In fact, none of the specific prohibitions outlined in Article II Section II come close to touching on the matter of public education. Madame Justice, We, like the Plaintiff, recognize the responsibility of educational institutions as belonging to the Provinces. However, because they hold sole responsibility does not mean they must act alone. We the defence believe the nature of Rutania's federation is cooperative in nature. It takes all three levels of government in our nation to create dynamic, lasting solutions to the challenges and needs confronting society. Education is one of these areas. Executive Order VIII was issued following a request for aid in the creation of a new public university by the executive of Bozarland. Due to the recent auserity taking root across Rutania, local governments have been struggling to continue to expand access to education. Executive Order VIII, we believe, acted in accordance to this spirit of cooperative federalism that would see the governments of Bozarland and Rutania working together to solve matters of importance. Bozarland's support of this cooperation has been further illustrated since this claim has been brought to this court by the passing of a motion in support of EO VIII by around 75% of the province's legislators. Justices of the Court and my honourable colleagues of the Plaintiff, I eagerly await any questions you may have. Kelley Wheeler Lawyer for the Defence, The Commonwealth of Rutania |
| Date | 18:24:11, June 18, 2014 CET | From | Urban Party of Rutania | To | Debating the Clark v. Commonwealth of Rutania |
| Message | OOC: Lets just skip past the questioning part and enter into final arguments. After the last argument is done, you can do the random number thing. PM me the results so I can do a write up on the forums. |
| Date | 18:37:45, September 07, 2014 CET | From | Urban Party of Rutania | To | Debating the Clark v. Commonwealth of Rutania |
| Message | OOC: Sent to vote for archiving purposes. For all intents and purposes, the Supreme Court upheld the Executive Order. |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 307 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 19 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 194 |
| Random fact: The Real-Life Equivalents Index is a valuable resource for finding out the in-game equivalents of real-life cultures, languages, religions, people and places: http://forum.particracy.net/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6731 |
| Random quote: "Capitalism is the only system that can make freedom, individuality, and the pursuit of values possible in practice." - Ayn Rand |