Post by Fewms on Oct 2, 2009 1:51:33 GMT
Written in ink:
He even went so far as to conclude the statement of the case against me by stating: "The Casaubons have 1 (one) week from the date of this case to post their defense," despite the fact that it was only myself on trial.
I asked my concerned family members to allow me to be the first to post in my defense, as a matter of pride, though they were all eager to point out the flaws in the case. It felt like an uphill battle. Juan had quoted Magistrate Narf in the case-which meant I had two Magistrates already believing in my guilt. I knew I was innocent, because I would not have bid on the shop had I felt I was breaking the law in so doing, but I was not at all sure that I could win the case, even with the truth behind me.
As the case dragged on, with testimony being added by friends, family, competitors, the prosecution, and one idle speculation by someone with no involvement at all about how I could afford the shop in the first place, I began to wonder if it would ever be closed. Weeks went by. At first, I was afraid to make any changes in the shop, in case a change was perceived as an admission of guilt. But as time went by, I was unable to keep things the same; I needed more help as old helpers became idle.
The case notes are available for anyone to read in the palace archives, and believing that truth was on my side, I never lied in my testimony. Still, because forming a defense requires a certain spin on events, even the Magistrates, when handing down the final ruling, indicated they did not believe the full truth had come out in the trial.
So, what was the truth? What really happened? Did I break law 317?
No; I would not have bid on the shop had I thought I was breaking the law, but there were times before the final bidding when the answer might have bordered on yes. At first, I thought of bidding all on my own, having no concept of what a shop would actually cost. When I realized I would need to accept the help that friends and family had already offered, the idea of connecting the Bizarre to the family's shop in Holywood as a chain of stores occurred to me. That was when the concept of the Bizarre as a Casaubon shop was discussed, briefly, among the family. After rereading the laws, however, I insisted that if I won, it would have to be my shop first, even if it was a franchise in a chain. By the time that I made my first bid, there was no question about the ownership of the shop in my mind. It would be my shop, run on my own behalf, with the help of my gracious family.
But it was also the case that I wanted the Bizarre for my own. I wanted to have a place on the Disc that was mine. And the responsibility of the shop would fall on me, as the lease owner-no one else. I welcomed the help and advice of my family and friends, but when it came time to make decisions, my word had to be final. I believed that there would be reward enough to share with my family, which had been so generous in helping me bid. My uncle, Gaelen, has said repeatedly that the family would have put just as much effort into any member's endeavor; the Casaubons are very support of one another. Many other families are the same way, I'm sure.
The trial remained open for weeks, and then months. I asked Magistrate Greygrene when I might expect a ruling. He was unsure; he believed that there were still some people who wished to present evidence in the trial. It was almost as though the magistrates were waiting for some solid testimony that would condemn me before they ruled on the case. But most of the notes added to my case were in my support.
People were beginning to wonder if the case would carry over through the election, when the Cres made an announcement that changed everything about how shop business on the Disc was run.
At the time I bought the Bizarre, for one of the highest prices ever paid on a player shop, shop ownership was forever-or at least until the owner stopped wanting it. Some shops were owned by people who subleased them and logged on every few months for a minute or two just to maintain their ownership. (This was actually the case with the Holywood shop when it was run by the Casaubon family-the owner at the time was not a family member.) There were advantages and disadvantages to this system, but that was how it had always been, and none of us expected the lightning bolt change that happened during (and perhaps was nudged along by) my trial.
Shops would no longer be "owned", but leased, for a period of one Discworld year-or about eight RW months. After that time, the shop would go back on auction, and anyone could bid on it once more. Since the price for the shops currently owned-Sined had just bought Fruitcakes, and Githan and I had both paid astronomical prices for the shops in Djelibeybi as well, only six months before-the cres offered us half of our bids back. With a shorter period of ownership, prices for the shops were expected to go down, and this was seen as the fairest way of dealing with those of us who had spent a great deal of money under the old system. The shop owners were told when their shop was due to come on auction; the Djelibeybi shops were among the last in the queue, and my lease would run out the next May.
About the same time, the Magistrates had asked for a private accounting of who had given or loaned me funds for the shop to assist in the trial. I sent a letter just to the Magistrates (as I wanted to protect those donors who wished their matters to be private). Though I cannot find a copy of the letter I sent, I remember stating that I felt the change in shops should not affect my trial, as both the alleged offense and the case had started under the old system. I also gave as accurate an accounting as I could of my donors and loans. I accepted money from around 20 sources, though my records were incomplete. Of these, about three-quarters were Casaubons. My personal wealth was miniscule compared to that which I was given in order to purchase the shop. I was not hiding this information, though it does not appear in the trial notes. It did influence the final verdict, however.
Time was running out for the Magistrates to come to a decision. The election was in September, and I was a candidate. The world had changed in the two months since Juan had first brought charges against me, and yet the case was still open. On September 30th, 2004, the day before the election results were announced, I was found not guilty, though Magistrate Narf indicated that the magistrates were "not certain that we have ascertained the truth of the matter." However, because of the change in the shops, and the "outpouring of support" for me, as well as the lack of clear evidence to the contrary, I was exonerated.
The verdict was bittersweet, however. I had won the case, but I would still probably lose the shop and find myself homeless in a matter of months. I was again grateful to the friends who had supported me in the case, but I wasn't sure what I would do about the Bizarre going back on auction. The next day, I was elected Magistrate of Klatch for my first term.
-Keb Casaubon is the Current Nawab of the Treasury, a former Magistrate, and a member of the Honour Roll. She is a regular contributor to Papyrus, and will continue her history of the Bizarre in the next issue.
He even went so far as to conclude the statement of the case against me by stating: "The Casaubons have 1 (one) week from the date of this case to post their defense," despite the fact that it was only myself on trial.
I asked my concerned family members to allow me to be the first to post in my defense, as a matter of pride, though they were all eager to point out the flaws in the case. It felt like an uphill battle. Juan had quoted Magistrate Narf in the case-which meant I had two Magistrates already believing in my guilt. I knew I was innocent, because I would not have bid on the shop had I felt I was breaking the law in so doing, but I was not at all sure that I could win the case, even with the truth behind me.
As the case dragged on, with testimony being added by friends, family, competitors, the prosecution, and one idle speculation by someone with no involvement at all about how I could afford the shop in the first place, I began to wonder if it would ever be closed. Weeks went by. At first, I was afraid to make any changes in the shop, in case a change was perceived as an admission of guilt. But as time went by, I was unable to keep things the same; I needed more help as old helpers became idle.
The case notes are available for anyone to read in the palace archives, and believing that truth was on my side, I never lied in my testimony. Still, because forming a defense requires a certain spin on events, even the Magistrates, when handing down the final ruling, indicated they did not believe the full truth had come out in the trial.
So, what was the truth? What really happened? Did I break law 317?
No; I would not have bid on the shop had I thought I was breaking the law, but there were times before the final bidding when the answer might have bordered on yes. At first, I thought of bidding all on my own, having no concept of what a shop would actually cost. When I realized I would need to accept the help that friends and family had already offered, the idea of connecting the Bizarre to the family's shop in Holywood as a chain of stores occurred to me. That was when the concept of the Bizarre as a Casaubon shop was discussed, briefly, among the family. After rereading the laws, however, I insisted that if I won, it would have to be my shop first, even if it was a franchise in a chain. By the time that I made my first bid, there was no question about the ownership of the shop in my mind. It would be my shop, run on my own behalf, with the help of my gracious family.
But it was also the case that I wanted the Bizarre for my own. I wanted to have a place on the Disc that was mine. And the responsibility of the shop would fall on me, as the lease owner-no one else. I welcomed the help and advice of my family and friends, but when it came time to make decisions, my word had to be final. I believed that there would be reward enough to share with my family, which had been so generous in helping me bid. My uncle, Gaelen, has said repeatedly that the family would have put just as much effort into any member's endeavor; the Casaubons are very support of one another. Many other families are the same way, I'm sure.
The trial remained open for weeks, and then months. I asked Magistrate Greygrene when I might expect a ruling. He was unsure; he believed that there were still some people who wished to present evidence in the trial. It was almost as though the magistrates were waiting for some solid testimony that would condemn me before they ruled on the case. But most of the notes added to my case were in my support.
People were beginning to wonder if the case would carry over through the election, when the Cres made an announcement that changed everything about how shop business on the Disc was run.
At the time I bought the Bizarre, for one of the highest prices ever paid on a player shop, shop ownership was forever-or at least until the owner stopped wanting it. Some shops were owned by people who subleased them and logged on every few months for a minute or two just to maintain their ownership. (This was actually the case with the Holywood shop when it was run by the Casaubon family-the owner at the time was not a family member.) There were advantages and disadvantages to this system, but that was how it had always been, and none of us expected the lightning bolt change that happened during (and perhaps was nudged along by) my trial.
Shops would no longer be "owned", but leased, for a period of one Discworld year-or about eight RW months. After that time, the shop would go back on auction, and anyone could bid on it once more. Since the price for the shops currently owned-Sined had just bought Fruitcakes, and Githan and I had both paid astronomical prices for the shops in Djelibeybi as well, only six months before-the cres offered us half of our bids back. With a shorter period of ownership, prices for the shops were expected to go down, and this was seen as the fairest way of dealing with those of us who had spent a great deal of money under the old system. The shop owners were told when their shop was due to come on auction; the Djelibeybi shops were among the last in the queue, and my lease would run out the next May.
About the same time, the Magistrates had asked for a private accounting of who had given or loaned me funds for the shop to assist in the trial. I sent a letter just to the Magistrates (as I wanted to protect those donors who wished their matters to be private). Though I cannot find a copy of the letter I sent, I remember stating that I felt the change in shops should not affect my trial, as both the alleged offense and the case had started under the old system. I also gave as accurate an accounting as I could of my donors and loans. I accepted money from around 20 sources, though my records were incomplete. Of these, about three-quarters were Casaubons. My personal wealth was miniscule compared to that which I was given in order to purchase the shop. I was not hiding this information, though it does not appear in the trial notes. It did influence the final verdict, however.
Time was running out for the Magistrates to come to a decision. The election was in September, and I was a candidate. The world had changed in the two months since Juan had first brought charges against me, and yet the case was still open. On September 30th, 2004, the day before the election results were announced, I was found not guilty, though Magistrate Narf indicated that the magistrates were "not certain that we have ascertained the truth of the matter." However, because of the change in the shops, and the "outpouring of support" for me, as well as the lack of clear evidence to the contrary, I was exonerated.
The verdict was bittersweet, however. I had won the case, but I would still probably lose the shop and find myself homeless in a matter of months. I was again grateful to the friends who had supported me in the case, but I wasn't sure what I would do about the Bizarre going back on auction. The next day, I was elected Magistrate of Klatch for my first term.
-Keb Casaubon is the Current Nawab of the Treasury, a former Magistrate, and a member of the Honour Roll. She is a regular contributor to Papyrus, and will continue her history of the Bizarre in the next issue.