You Meddlesome Kids

[obi_wanmanshow]

FORM: Sending Crystal
SENDER: Obi-Wan Kenobi
RECIPIENT: EVERYBODY
WHAT: Obi-Wan applies the time-honored Jedi technique of stirring the shit in hopes of producing results
WHEN: Mid-Drakonis-ish
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: For some context or in person action, have This closed log all about Gavin's recent life choices, and this somewhat related open log by Aragorn.

I am a little new here, and perhaps I've missed something important, but is it common practice to lock up innocent people, for no reason? I was given to understand that this organization, this Inquisition, is meant to stand as some kind of bastion for all, a saving grace in the face of sure doom. Or is that just pretty words, to hide the truth?

[He pauses, just for a moment, but despite the lack of visual information, it has all the laser-like focus of a nun's stern disapproval. You have been found wanting, young inquisition. Shame on you.]

Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, for those who might not have heard, seems to have decided that it is appropriate for her to act as judge, jury, and-- well, a law unto herself, concerning the behavior of Rifters. I wonder, with everything else that's happened since my arrival here, if she thinks no one has noticed.

[He means, perhaps, the issue with Anders, among other things. A good strategist knows how to use their shield; the timing wasn't the only suspect thing about all this, but it certainly seemed like a factor, to him.]

I'll get to the point: Galadriel should be freed if she's done nothing, or if she, or anyone else [Not to name names, Gavin Ashara] has done significant wrong, there should be a fair trial, open to public scrutiny. What happened here is, in my opinion, inexcusable.

Comments

[obi_wanmanshow]

Alistair...

[Excuse him, he needs a moment.]

It's... [He wants to go home. Or have a drink.] ...like, a-- a temporary council. That determines guilt in a trial-- with the punishment determined by a judge after the verdict is reached. Ideally the Jury would be composed of peers to the accused, for fairness.

But that's only for serious crimes, such as murder.

[byblow]

So you'd ask a council of other odd elves with glowing hands what ought to be done about this one?

[obi_wanmanshow]

Can we--[a heavy, tired sigh.] Can we please discuss the finer points of courtroom composition at another time?

It's just a saying, in this case. 'Judge, Jury and Executioner,' the phrase for someone who takes the law into their own hands, unfairly.

[byblow]

All right, all right.

[ But what is a courtroom? ]

But that implies you want the law in someone else's hands, for... fair-ness [ he says it very carefully, like it, too, is a foreign word, but that's just for trolling ] and it would help to know whose you have in mind.

[obi_wanmanshow]

Don't give me that tone, I invented that tone. You're just messing with me.

[Fair-ness, is it? You're an asshole good sir.]

You know very well I'm calling for a little transparency, before all else. And if I have something else in mind, then it's fine-- I have no authority, here. Nor do I want any. I'm asking; I can make no demands.

[byblow]

My curiosity is very genuine, Ser.

[ How dare you. ]

But we're good Andrastians here, for the most part. I'm afraid you'll find we don't like transparency. We like obedience and gods who never explain themselves.

[ Alistair be quiet the Wardens sat on Corypheus for like nine hundred years. ]

[obi_wanmanshow]

Yes, well I'm not. And I don't.

[And he's grumpy about it.]

Blind obedience is for troopers and droids.

[byblow]

[ Helpful prompting tone, like Obi-Wan is having trouble reciting something he's meant to have memorized: ] And Andrastians.

[ But also. ]

If you keep using funny words while you don't want me to ask questions, I'm going to decide what they mean for myself.

[obi_wanmanshow]

And Andrastians, yes thank you.

[Dork.]

I don't think I could explain either Clone Troopers or Droids to you, with less than hour's time set aside. It's just... something I used to say all the time, to my Padawa--

[He hesitates, then shakes his head with a sigh. Did it again.]

My Padawan; my apprentice.

[byblow]

Right. Well, until you find an hour, droids is Orlesian slang for warts and clone troopers are a type of desert lizard.

[obi_wanmanshow]

You know, I can think of a few Troopers who'd find that flattering.

[lifeofendurance]

[But... what? What?!]

You would let a group of uneducated, untrained people determine the guilt of a murderer? Then ask a judge for a fit punishment? [Judges are for determining matters of inheritance.] What of the local liege lord's right of justice?

[obi_wanmanshow]

There generally isn't one. Our system of private ownership doesn't work like that.

[How i mine for indentured vassals?]

And anyways, this is all beside the point!

[lifeofendurance]

[Under less trying circumstances, Aleron would be all for delving into the finer and expanded points of this very strange law system. Fascinated, in truth. But all he's hearing at the moment is a complete lack of leadership present and that chaos must be terrifying. Poor man.]

No nobility to lead the common people? Maker, small wonder you have the untrained dispensing justice. I am so sorry. Of course you would do your best with what you have.

[It's just barbaric.]

[obi_wanmanshow]

[It takes a real effort of will not to say something really bad. Deep breaths, Obi-Wan, draw on the Light Side.]

It's not often the world meets with someone so... un-condescending. I thank you, for your opinion.

[make_my_mark]

It's not as if it all begins and ends with the jury. Lawyers present the case, and are tasked with provided evidence for both sides of the argument. The jury then votes - for high crimes their determination must be unanimous. The punishment then falls to the judge, and the carrying out then to the prison system.

As for who leads us, that's a loaded question. In my world alone there are hundreds of countries each with their own methods. From monarchies to democracies to dictatorships.

[obi_wanmanshow]

Yes! Thank you. At least someone around here is willing to accept a little nuance.

[make_my_mark]

[A smile, and a little humor in her voice.]

If we're all still here in the morning, I think I'd like to talk to you sometime.

My name's Lara.

[obi_wanmanshow]

Lara.

[He says it warmly, surprised and pleased to have found, perhaps, a kindred mind in all this madness.]

I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. And, likewise.

[make_my_mark]

[Obi-Wan Kenobi. It wasn't syntax that rang familiar, but that hardly surprised her anymore. Even Hermonine, seemingly so close, had turned out to be from so far away.]

I'm often in the upper library, the one below the rookery.

I'll make tea.

[lifeofendurance]

[Ah! More details! Which is very very fascinating in it's own right, but there is a flaw in this system. Too many points of entry. Which means too many opportunities for corruption to sneak in.]

The nations of Thedas likewise have different forms of government. [Not really, but it looks that way from his perspective.] But the system you describe sounds susceptible to corruption. Where are the Seekers to root out misconduct and malfeasance? How is one to determine that evidence presented is not false? That this 'jury' is not making decisions out of ignorance or spite?

[make_my_mark]

Corruption can be found anywhere. No system is perfect.

But to answer your question, we have law enforcement - police. They investigate suspected crimes and bring the charges formally. They gather the evidence, but it's not for them to decide guilt or innocence. The evidence is provided by them to both sides - the prosecution and defense. Both sides review the evidence, and can have it vetted by their own specialists. The jury is selected from a pool, sometimes hundreds deep in the biggest, most high-profile cases. Both the defense and the prosecution are present at the selection, asking questions to vet their appropriateness. They, and the judge, have the right to dismiss jury members they don't approve of.