I v. Thompson
| I v. Thompson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | High of Court of Adammia |
| Full case name | Attorney General v. Lord Billy Thompson |
| Decided | 26 October 2020 |
| Transcript(s) | [1] |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Col. Sir Will McCracken |
Imperator v. Thompson was the first case ever heard in the Adammic legal system, decided on 26 October 2020. Lord Billy Thompson, leader of the Red Green Alliance and newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister, was charged and found guilty of submitting false information via a candidation nomination form at the recent general election, and was fined £3. The case was heard in the High Court of Adammia by The Hon. Colonel Sir Will McCracken, and prosecuted by Attorney General Lord Alex Helliker on behalf of the Crown.
Background
Lord Thompson became leader of what was then the Labour Party on 5 September 2019, renaming the party as the Red Green Alliance several days later. At the 2019 general election, the party fielded a slate of three candidates for the House of Citizens, all of whom were elected. Ahead of the 2020 general election, the RGA had grown in membership, in part due to the defection of Lady Sophie Thornton to the party from the Liberal-Moderates, and there was a widespread expectation that the party could gain seats if it was able to field a larger slate of candidates. Alex Nettle, a friend of Thompson, became a full citizen shortly before the election. Usually, full citizenship would not be given to a person who does not live in Adammic territory, but exceptions are sometimes made in order to boost political engagement, and such an exception was made for Nettle, as the Emperor expected that he would be an RGA candidate.
On 29 September 2020, the Lord Thompson submitted the RGA's candidate list for the general election via the Office of State nomination form. Nettle was placed in the #2 position. The results of the election were announced on 6 October 2020, and Nettle was elected as an MP. Almost immediately he resigned, explaining to the Emperor in private that he did not realise that he was a candidate. The Emperor suspected that this constituted an offence on the part of Thompson, and began conferring with his Attorney General, Lord Helliker.
Lord Helliker officially filed a Petition for Indictment on 8 October 2020, which the Emperor assigned to Colonel Will McCracken as the presiding judge of the High Court, Adammia's criminal court of first instance. McCracken formally issued the indictment the same day, charging Thompson with knowingly providing false information on a candidate nomination form, contrary to Section 3(d) of the Electoral Reform Act 2018, and summoning him to appear in court.
Hearing
The hearing took place on 26 October 2020 via Facebook Messenger. Present were McCracken as judge, Thompson as the defendant, Helliker as the prosecution, and the Emperor as the court scribe. Judge McCracken ascertained that the relevant parties were present, before laying the charge before Thompson. Thompson pleaded guilty. This meant that there would not be a jury trial.
Helliker then gave a statement justifying the indictment. He said that, as Nettle had not realised that he was a candidate, he could not have consented to being a candidate. The nomination form states that all candidates must have consented to being nominated, and Helliker argued that submitting the form without seeking a candidate's consent amounted to submitting false information. However, Helliker noted that it was a first and "genuinely unintentional" offence, and asked for a "pecuniary" £3 fine.
Thompson explained that he believed that Nettle was to be a candidate, but that at the time that he submitted the nomination form, he was ill and was not in full control of the party's election campaign, and was therefore unaware that Nettle was no longer a prospective candidate. He nonetheless took full responsibility.
Judge McCracken found Thompson guilty and sentenced him to the £3 fine that the prosecution had asked for.
Aftermath
After Nettle's resignation, the RGA exercised its right to replace him by appointing Lady Thornton (who had been #4 on the RGA list, and originally not elected) as an MP. He would never be active in Adammic politics, and he is no longer a full citizen, although he retains honourary citizenship.
The case took place at the same time that Thompson was forming a coalition government - the so-called "Botanical Coalition" - with the Independent Party (for which Lord Helliker had just been elected an MP) and the Storm Party. He formally took office as Deputy Prime Minister on 14 October, in between the indictment and the hearing. The now-opposition Liberal-Moderates refrained from using the case to attack the RGA, fearing a backlash due to the accidental nature of the crime.
Lord Thompson resigned as Deputy PM, as RGA leader and as an MP on 7 September 2021 for reasons unrelated to the case. The RGA dissolved shortly afterwards. Thompson, like Nettle, is also now merely an honourary citizen, and as of 2023 his fine remains unpaid.