1085

I order the Bank to pay elJefe 1 VT for this judgement.
-- ElJefe

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                               CFJ 1085

                  "Speaker Steve is not Tainted."

Relevant Rules: R1648, R1664, R402


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Judge:       elJefe
Judgement:   TRUE

Eligible:    Blob, Chuck, Crito, elJefe, General Chaos, Harlequin, Jester,
             Kolja A., Murphy, Oerjan, Sherlock, Swann, Time Agent

Ineligible:
Caller:      Steve
Barred:      Michael, Morendil
On request:
On hold:


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History:

  Called by Steve, 17 Feb 1998 11:37:44 +1100
  Assigned to elJefe, 23 Feb 1998 12:55:03 +0000
  Judged TRUE, 26 Feb 07:47:53 +0000


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Caller's Arguments:

The recent Revolt has brought to light an unclarity in the Rules
dealing with Speaker Taintedness which should be cleared up quickly.
I don't intend to argue for a Judgement of TRUE; I'll just bring the
issues before the Judge for eir consideration.

Rule 1648/2 (Power=1)
When the Speaker is Tainted

      The Speaker is Tainted whenever the Player who is Speaker became
      Speaker by any means other than a normal Speaker transition.

      A normal Speaker transition occurs whenever the Rules require
      the Speaker-Elect to become Speaker, and the Office of
      Speaker-Elect is held in normal fashion.

      If the Rules require the Speaker-Elect to become Speaker, and
      that Office is held temporarily, the Speaker-Elect still becomes
      Speaker, but the resulting Speaker is Tainted.

      A Tainted Speaker may remain Speaker only until some other
      Player holds the Office of Speaker-Elect in normal fashion, at
      which point, the Speaker-Elect shall become Speaker.

The first paragraph makes it clear that the question of whether
I am a Tainted Speaker is equivalent to the question of whether I
become Speaker by means of a normal Speaker Transition. It is this
which is unclear.

The second paragraph defines a normal Speaker Transition. Clearly,
the Rules - R1664 (Rebellion), to be exact - did require the
Speaker-Elect to become Speaker. At the time of the Revolt, I
did hold the Office of Speaker-Elect in the normal fashion, so
if we read the second paragraph as applying the test for holding
the Office in the normal fashion at the earliest time at which
the Rules required the Speaker-Elect to become Speaker, then I
became Speaker by means of a normal Speaker Transition and so
am not Tainted.

However, other times of applying the test are possible. R402
sets out the procedure which is to be followed when the Speaker-
Elect becomes Speaker, including the case where this happens
due to a Revolt:

     Whenever the Rules call for the Speaker-Elect to become Speaker:

       1) The Speaker shall forward copies of all necessary materials
          for the performance of eir position, as soon as possible to
          the Speaker-Elect.
       2) The Speaker-Elect shall acknowledge the receipt of said
          materials as soon as possible after step 1.
       3) As soon as possible after step 2, the Speaker shall post a
          message to the Public Forum announcing that the
          Speaker-Elect has become the Speaker.  At the "Date:" of
          the Speaker's posting, the old Speaker shall cease to be
          Speaker and the Speaker-Elect shall become the Speaker.

>From R402, we see that when a Revolt occurs, although the Rules
first begin to *require* that the Speaker-Elect become Speaker at
the time the Revolt occurs, the Speaker-Elect does not actually *become*
Speaker until step 3 of the Speaker Transition process is completed.
At that time, due to the Revolt itself, I did not hold the Office
of Speaker-Elect in the normal fashion, but rather held it temporarily.

This, then, is what the Judge must decide: does R1648 apply its test
for holding the Office of Speaker-Elect in the normal fashion at the
time that the Rules first require that the Speaker-Elect become Speaker
(in this case, at the time of the Revolt), or at the time that the
Speaker-Elect actually becomes Speaker, at the completion of step 3
of the Speaker Transition process?


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Judge's Argument:

The relevant facts of the case are that:

   1.) On 13 February 1998 a Revolt occurred.
   2.) At that time, Morendil was Speaker and Steve held the Office of
        Speaker-Elect in the normal fashion.
   3.) Morendil initiated a Speaker Transition on 16 February, under
        Rule 402.
   4.) As a result of (3.), Steve became Speaker on 17 February.

Rule 1664 provides in part that "If a revolt occurs, then: - The
Speaker-Elect becomes Speaker [...]".   Thus at that time the requirements
of paragraph 2 of Rule 1648 were satisfied; namely

  (a.) the Rules required the Speaker-Elect to become Speaker,
  (b.) the Office of Speaker-Elect was held in normal fashion.

Thus according to that Rule, "a normal Speaker transition occurs."

The only Speaker Transition in sight is the one completed by Morendil on 17
February, as a result of which Steve became Speaker.  Thus the Speaker
Transition by which Steve became Speaker, was normal; and so Steve is not
Tainted.


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