Irikladis v. Corsello
| Irikladis v. Corsello | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued | 9–13 November 2022 |
| Submitted | 8 November 2022 |
| Decided | 13 November 2022 |
| Plaintiff(s) | Alexandros Irikladis |
| Defence | Francis Corsello |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | William Denton |
Irikladis v. Corsello was a civil court case in the High Court of Caudonia concerning discrimination due to Francis Corsello's messages in the Caudonian Discord server regarding two other citizens, Alexandros Irikladis and Robert Smith. The case was filed by Irikladis and heard in November 2022. The High Court found that the defendant's messages did not qualify as discrimination and thus did not award Irikladis damages.
Background
On 4 November, Corsello, a citizen of Caudonia, sent messages in Caudonia's Discord server, saying that he would vote for the Circumambulators of the Uaegara'tielgalamat Movement (or CUM for short). This was followed by saying that he "didn't want no retards in government", pinging Irikladis and Smith.
History
Pre-trial
On 7 November, a statement of claim was filed by Irikladis, stating that Corsello had used the slur since he and Smith were members of the Social Democrats, stating that the incident qualified as discrimination and "political persecution". He also added that Corsello was to publicly apologize to Irikladis and the Social Democrats.[1] In response, a statement of defense was filed by Corsello the following day, admitting that, while he sent the messages, the charges against him were false, as he had a mental disability and Irikladis was not the member of a "state entity"; he also requested that Irikladis was to make a public letter of apology addressed to him.[2]
Trial
The court case began on 9 November. Irikladis requested for it to be dismissed the following day following criticisms of the case by Gabriel Sebastian, Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democrats; however, the request was ignored. On 12 November, the court resumed, with Irikladis calling Christina Nowell, who was named "an expert witness on hate speech";[3] Christina testified that the rules of Caudonia's Discord server were to be applied as law given that the server acted as a government venue. She also testified that the messages sent by Corsello were "already hearsay"; despite this, they were excepted from this rule and, through intent of malice, broke Caudonia's Discord server rules. However, she also added that the damages requested by Irikladis were unconstitutional, with Irikladis changing his damages to one week of jail time.
The same day, Corsello called on Smith as a witness, who, citing Article 70 of the Constitution, stated that "not only would it be unjust to deprave Mr. Francis of his rights, but it would delegitimize our most sacred political institutions." During cross-examination, Irikladis brought up Article 62, which gave citizens the right to human dignity; Smith responded by stating that, while it entitled him to respect government, it didn't entitle him to "strip another person of their dignity, rights, and property through civil proceedings." This resulted in Irikladis concluding his testimony unreliable, as there was no prior rulings regarding the article.
On 13 November, Vincenzo Liberti - Corsello's alleged step-father - was cross-examined by Irikladis, testifying that Corsello had signs of autism and that, as a result of this, his comments regarding Irikladis and Smith were justified. He also added that, "You cannot be discriminative against your own demographic by using slurs", and criticized Irikladis' decision to change his damages to jail time. Upon being called upon to testify by Corsello, Liberti stated that he had signs of Corsello's mental disability dating back to 11 June 2022, when Corsello stated that "I'm kinda retarded [right now]". Following his testimony, the court was adjourned for judgement.
Judgement
A judgement regarding the case was released by William I on 13 November. It found that Corsello did not commit discrimination and political persecution and, as result, Irikladis was not entitled to damages. It also found that the rules of Caudonia's Discord server should be treated as law regarding actions on the server and in direct messages/group chats with Caudonian citizens, and that the right to human dignity should be interpreted on a per case basis; in this case, the right to human dignity was not violated.
As a result of this, William found it unfit to award both Irikladis' and Corsello's damages.[3]
References
- ↑ Irikladis, Alexandros (7 November 2022). "Statement of Claim in the Matter of Irikladis v. Corsello". Retrieved 9 November 2022.
- ↑ Corsello, Francis (8 November 2022). "Statement of Defence in the Matter of Irikladis v. Corsello". Retrieved 9 November 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Denton, William (13 November 2022). "Approved Judgement of Irikladis v. Corsello". Retrieved 11 November 2022.