Monday, May 08, 2006
Igor's defense
I'm looking over the briefs for Igor's defense against Suken Vakil's suits.
I'll mention the relevant details and my predictions for each case, but I should mention ahead of time that an amicus brief was filed by Senator Chris Abad, sponsored by Senators Ed Lam, Lisa Putkey, and Ben Narodick, in support of Igor. Note that this list includes a senator from each of Student Action's coalition parties. The brief alleges bad faith because, I guess, "Student Action doesn't like Igor, so now they're trying to off him." This doesn't really sound like an argument to me, and I don't see the Judicial Council ruling these as bad faith charges on these grounds, considering that there are explicitly listed grounds for what "bad faith" entails.
There's some stuff about undermining the democratic process by, I guess, the traditional "will of the people" argument. I don't buy it for a second. The whole idea of having campaign violations and consequences is because if people run illegal campaigns, then the "will of the people" simply isn't reflected in the votes. This is why the Judicial Council is given the authority to disqualify illegally campaigning candidates: as a deterrent so that the vote ends up being fair.
They do point out the interesting detail, however, that the Mutually Assured Destruction that normally prevents parties from filing violations against each other (because each has the resources to disqualify the other through sheer manpower) doesn't apply here, since Igor Tregub is an independent, so Student Action is taking advantage of the opportunity. This claim, though, is pretty much grandstanding and PR, and doesn't have much in the way of legal justification.
The charges were filed "under seal" with the intent of shortening the amount of time for Amicus Curiae Briefs. The plaintiff states that the immediate release of the charges will inflict "physical and emotional harm" on the plaintiff.
Okay, now that's funny. Anyway, the brief explains that the timing was to avoid the bad publicity, and to take advantage of the end of the Daily Cal's regular publication schedule.
While I agree with the sentiments expressed in the brief, proving "malicious intent" is generally impossible, and it probably won't have any legal effect. Still, they get the press coverage, like the post you're reading now.
On to the individual charges:
Dorm Campaigning: As expected, Igor is denying responsibility for the folks who called folks in the dorm. He is pretty forceful about insisting that it would be a "heinous violation" if a campaign had done so. Apparently, people were raising issues such as gun control in the calls. Evidence includes Igor's 83-page, 2100-call phone bill. Witnesses will testify that (and I'll put this in bold just to draw attention) the callers were impersonators who attempted to impersonate Igor's voice, and will also, if I'm not mistaken, impersonate Igor's voice at the Judicial Council hearing to show it's possible. The defense claims that Igor wouldn't do such a thing (it's bad campaign strategy, too), and will be calling character witnesses. All of SA's witnesses, apparently, are affiliated with SA. My Prediction: In much the same way that SA is defending itself by saying "it wasn't us!", Igor will, too, and I think he has a much stronger case for it. So I think Igor will avoid receiving censures, though I haven't seen what kind of evidence Vakil has.
Spam: Igor says he either had a pre-existing relationship, permission, or was part of the relevant organizations for his e-mails. My Prediction: As much as I dislike the way spam has been defined by the Senate in the by-laws (one could send an e-mail to every member of the ASUC (i.e. send an e-mail to every student), because she is a member of that organization), I haven't seen any evidence that any of the recipients didn't have one of the loopholes applicable, so I'm going to guess that Igor gets out of this one, too.
Unattended Campaign Signs: Igor claims responsibility for this violation, and is willing to settle for one censure. "Immediately after hearing about the fact that photos were taken, Mr. Tregub notified Attorney General Nathan Royer of the violation and expressed willingness to settle for the proper remedy if charged." I dunno how convincing this is of Igor's "good character." It sounds a lot like "once I was caught, I immediately tried to settle." Igor takes the opportunity to complain some about how tough it is to campaign as an independent. I'm not sure why this particular charge wasn't settled beforehand, because Vakil asked for one censure in the charge sheet as well. My Prediction: One censure.
Flyers in the dorms: The fliers in the lobby of Ida Sproul were actually on the door of a ground floor room which had residents, who had approved the posting of the fliers. I don't live in Ida Sproul, so I dunno how accurate this description is (the door is labeled "Bear Tunnel" or some such). My Prediction: Assuming Igor's characterization of the door is correct, I think he'll win this one.
Endorsement without consent: Igor claims that, while he said a lot about how he worked with the senators Vakil accused Igor of claiming the endorsement of, Igor says he never actually claimed their endorsement. Anyone who thought that had screwed up in understanding. My prediction: I haven't seen the evidence, but I think Igor will win this one, too.
Campaigning within 100 ft of the polls: Igor claims that he wasn't paying attention that morning, because he hadn't been sleeping much. He claims his campaigning was accidental, and that he immediately notified the EC of his violation, and is seeking to settle for one censure. Vakil wants three censures. My prediction: Igor will not get three censures. I'm going to guess he gets one, though it's possible he'll get two.
So, in summary, I'm guessing no more than three censures. I should note, though, that I didn't receive the briefs or evidence lists by Vakil, so I don't know the extent of his cases, and I may be severely underestimating the censures Igor will get.
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