ANST - Court of Public Opinion

Casey&Coni cjw at vvm.com
Fri May 22 05:41:38 PDT 1998


Mr. Houghton asks:

> But truly, Isn't this a court of public opinion? Aren't
>we saying our opinions every time we write a message?  Aren't we
>expressing ourselves?  The definition may be gray, but if you remove the
>ability to post opinion, you have limited the conversation threads a
>whole bunch.
>
> I would ask everyone, is this a court of public opinion?
>(by answering, even no, you answer yes)

You confuse the issue, I think.

Libel is the issue.  IMO, accusatory statements in a venue that does not
allow for the accused to rebut are a serious breech in human courtesy.  In
the law's opinion, accusatory statements made out of court that are
potentially damaging to a persons character- even when they seem *obviously*
true- constitute grounds for a valid lawsuit (read: lawsuit that can win in
court and cost you your money, your reputation, and possibly even some of
your time).

The SCA's position on this is to follow the guidance of the courts of the
governing county, state, and government.  This means that *AFTER A
CONVICTION* the SCA's legal chain of command can initiate the chain of
events that lead to a convicted felons refusal of membership.  Now, our club
rules allow kings to act before that in a limited manner, but that
conviction is the only way our rules allow us to label a person a
this-kind-of-felon or a that-kind-of-felon.  The best example I can think of
is the harassment of a minor during Mikael and Mikaelas last reign.  Despite
the public opinion and outcry (revoke his membership, call him a rotten guy
in court, burn him at the stake, etc), the only thing they could do to the
offender was to give him a level II banishment *until* he was tried in court
and found guilty.  After that, decisions to continue his banishment or to
refuse him membership could be persued.  To follow a course of action
separate from these rules is to invite public or media scorn (best case) or
a lawsuit that could essentially dissolve the SCA as we know it (worst
case).

'Court of Public Opinion', despite being a catchy media watchphrase,
essentially amounts to 'vigilante justice'.

If you are concerned about something like this, then please warn your fellow
community members in a non-public forum outside the boundaries of the clubs
legal jurisdiction (I.e. not at an event or other official function).  In
this way, you accomplish your goal of protecting the safety of others while
insuring we'll all still have a game to play tomorrow.

I sincerely hope this helps to clear up this discussion and end this thread.

Ritter Dieterich

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