CoJ Case 031

This article is part of the series:

Chamber of Justice

Cases

001 DB vs. Blade 002 DB vs. Mirei 003 DB vs. Tiberius 004 DB vs. DarkWarchief 005 DB vs. Selket 006 DB vs. Gilkane 007 DB vs. Oberst 008 DB vs. Kromtal 009 DB vs. Halc 010 DB vs. Boba nil 011 DB vs. Dismal 012 DB vs. Tissaya 013 DB vs. Bane 014 DB vs. Ashura 015 DB vs. Tissaya 016 DB vs. Jaymz 017 DB vs. Cannabisia 018 DB vs. Khobai 019 DB vs. Ricco 020 DB vs. Ricco 021 DB vs. Cornix 022 DB vs. Drepo Mcarc 023 DB vs. Jason Hunter 024 DB vs. Raidoner 025 DB vs. Sashar 026 DB vs. Androc 027 DB vs. Krandon 028 DB vs. Braecen 029 DB vs. Jalek 030 DB vs. Arack 031 DB vs. Archangel 032 DB vs. Raidoner 033 DB vs. Robin Hawk 034 DB vs. Coop Ter-an 035 DB vs. Coop Ter-an 036 DB vs. Darkone 037 DB vs. Wuntila 038 DB vs. Fremoc Pepoi 039 DB vs. Solus Gar 040 DB vs. Arden Karn 041 DB vs. Ronovi Tavisaen 042 DB vs. Delak Krennel 043 DB vs. Rayna Krennel 044 DB vs. Darkblade 045 DB vs. Chizz 046 DB vs. Shorurra 047 DB vs. Turel Sorenn 048 DB vs. Nicolai "Rod" Rodell 049 DB vs. Seraphol Ceartas 050 DB vs. Calix Iberian 051 DB vs. Drake Starfire 052 DB vs. Tyron Kesh 053 DB vs. Corell Fedt 054 DB vs. JCT 055 DB vs. Vexatus 056 DB vs. Kadrol Hauen 057 DB vs. Xanos Zorrixor 058 DB vs. Arvalis Raith 059 DB vs. Kadrol Hauen 060 DB vs. Kromtal Bloodfyre Romanae 061 DB vs. Andrelious J. Mimosa-Inahj 062 DB vs. AnthonyH 063 DB vs. Hakatsuki 064 DB vs. Soren Leonis 065 DB vs. Magik 066 DB vs. Creon 067 DB vs. Hatchi Aso-Gui Sol-Corvo 068 DB vs. Andrelious J. Inahj 069 DB vs. Aru Law 070 DB vs. Esbelta Teresa Amaral 071 DB vs. Nora Olen di Plagia

DB vs Archangel was the thirty-first case tried by the Chamber of Justice. The sitting Justicar was Kir Katarn, the Left Hand of Justice was Arion Sunrider, and the Right Hand of Justice was Taigikori Aybara.

Basic Case Information

Defendants Name

• Brent "Archangel" Ligur Victae

Charges

• Plagiarism
• Cheating

Verdict

• Guilty on both counts

Sentence

• Demotion from Sith Battlemaster to Sith Warrior
• Official Letter of Reprimand
• Six Months Probation

Case Summary

A complaint was brought to the Chamber of Justice claiming that Archangel's submission to the graphics event of the Rite of Supremacy was plagiarized. The Justicar began his investigation, and found the submitted image was a near exact match to an image posted on Deviant Art by another artist in 2007. The Justicar approached Archangel about the issue, and he then admitted that he had indeed plagiarized the image. The Chamber of Justice convened and charged Archangel with Plagiarism and Cheating, since his plagiarized item had been submitted to an official Brotherhood competition. Archangel plead guilty to the charges, and the Chamber sentenced him to a one-grade demotion, a Letter of Reprimand, and six months Probation.

Related News Posts

Posted By DP Kir Katarn - 1/12/2010
Chamber of Justice Communique #030a

On this day, January 12, 2010 of the Liberated Brotherhood, I the Justicar of the Brotherhood now announce the punishment that this Chamber lays upon Brent "Archangel" Ligur Victae. Upon the conclusion of fair and just proceedings, this Chamber finds you:

• On the Charge of Plagiarism -
  • You did knowingly and willfully submit a graphic image to the Rite of Supremacy competition as your own which you copied from another artist without due credit.
  • The Chamber finds you GUILTY.

• On the Charge of Cheating -
  • You did knowingly and willfully attempt to exploit the benefits of your plagiarized work in the Rite of Supremacy competition.
  • The Chamber finds you GUILTY.

Sentencing for the party is as follows:

• Demotion from Sith Battlemaster to Sith Warrior
• Letter of Reprimand
• Six Months Probation
  • The terms of probation are thus:
    • The guilty party may not receive promotion, appointment to position, or any citation or honor of merit without the explicit permission of the Justicar

Justicar's Opinion

Posted By DP Kir Katarn - 1/12/2010
Justicar's Opinion - 031 DB vs. Archangel

A complaint was brought to the Grand Master which mentioned that the defendant's graphics submission for the Rite of Supremacy was very similar to an image on Deviant Art. The Grand Master brought this to the attention of the Justicar, who initiated an investigation. The Deviant Art image and Rite of Supremacy submission were found to be nearly identical. The Deviant Art image was posted in 2007, on an account which did not belong to the defendant.

In the course of the investigation, the Justicar sent an inquiry to the defendant, asking about the image. In his response, the defendant admitted plagiarizing the image. Claiming a lack of time to complete a fully original graphic, the defendant acknowledged that he claimed another artist's work as his own, knowing full well this act ran contrary to the Dark Covenant.

The Chamber convened and decided to charge the defendant with Plagiarism and Cheating, for his plagiarized image was submitted to an official Brotherhood-wide competition. The defendant was notified of the charges, and plead guilty to all counts. The Chamber of Justice then convened again to discuss sentencing. Past first-offense plagiarism cases have been punished by a Letter of Reprimand and Probation (see #014 DB vs Ashura, #027 DB vs Krandon). However, past cases of cheating in a Brotherhood-wide competition have additionally carried the penalty of demotion (#014 DB vs Ricco Vao). Taking these precedents into account, along with the fact that the defendant committed this act in full knowledge that it was strictly illegal, the Chamber decided on a harsher penalty. Therefore, the defendant was sentenced to a one-grade demotion, given a Letter of Reprimand, and six months of Probation.

Competitions are the lifeblood of activity in the Dark Brotherhood, and they are based on the basic assumption of fair play. When work is plagiarized in an attempt to cheat in sanctioned Brotherhood competitions, it is a violation which assaults every member of our organization. It undermines the trust all our members have in our system, and therefore must garner harsh punishment.

Points of Interest

As indicated in the Justicar's Opinion, this was the first case before the Chamber in which a member had attempted to cheat via plagiarism during a sanctioned Brotherhood competition. While there were precedents set for simple plagiarism in 014 DB vs. Ashura and 027 DB vs. Krandon, and for cheating in a competition in 019 DB vs. Ricco, the two had never occurred together. This lead to some debate during the sentencing phase of the trial, but ultimately it was decided that while plagiarism is always unacceptable, it is even more grievous when done during a Brotherhood competition. Therefore the harsher addition of demotion from the 019 DB vs. Ricco precedent was added to the defendant's sentence.