CoJ Case 068

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DB vs Andrelious J. Inahj, #1653 was the sixty-eigth case tried by the Chamber of Justice. The sitting Justicar was Thane Skotos, the Left Hand of Justice was Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz, and the Right Hand of Justice was Alethia Archenksova.

Basic Case Information

Defendant

Charges

  • One Count: Violation of Covenant section 7.06(g) - Crude Behavior
  • One Count: Violation of Covenant section 7.06(l) - Harassment
  • One Count: Violation of Covenant section 7.06(r) - Verbal Abuse

Verdict

  • GUILTY

Sentence

  • Demotion from Warlord (EQ4) to Battlelord (EQ3)
  • Ban from communications for six months, this includes the Discord server and clan mailing lists;
  • Gaming ban for six months;
  • Letter of Reprimand permanently applied to the member’s dossier;
  • Strict Probation for 12 months followed by 6 months General Probation.

Related News Post

Members of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood,

The Chamber of Justice has convened and issued a verdict in the pending case of DB v. Andrelious J. Inahj. Following an investigation, Andrelious was charged with one count of Crude Behavior, one count of Harassment, and one count of Verbal Abuse.

The detailed Verdict and Justicar's Opinion for the case can be found in the PDF file linked below. Please note that the written opinion is generally found on the page after announcement of the verdict.

The verdict was as follows:

Case #068 - DB v. Andrelious J. Inahj - Opinion PDF

  • One Count of Crude Behavior: GUILTY
  • One Count of Harassment: GUILTY
  • One Count of Verbal Abuse: GUILTY
  • Punishment:
    • Demotion to Equite 3;
    • Ban from communications for 6 months;
    • Gaming ban for 6 months;
    • Letter of Reprimand permanently applied to the member’s dossier;
    • Strict Probation for 12 months followed by 6 months General Probation.

Due to the nature of this case, comments have been disabled.

Signed and sealed in Justice,

Thane "Atra" Skotos Justicar of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood

Justicar's Opinion

Facts

Due to the nature of the charges, the Chamber will not be repeating the comments that led to this case and specific members' names will be avoided where possible.

On October 9, 2021, Andrelious engaged in a Jedi Academy match with other Brotherhood members. During this match, Andrelious used the Brotherhood Discord server for voice chat with other members. In this voice channel, Andrelious devoted extensive time to unprompted abuse of his former spouse, Battlemaster Kookimarissia Mimosa-Inahj, #13714. Andrelious' personal attacks on her character eventually devolved into extensive defamatory statements about her sexual activities and the parentage of his second child. These statements caused discomfort to both members in the channel, one of whom reported it to the Justicar because “It’s been bothering me too much to keep to myself.” The other member corroborated this account when contacted by the Chamber.

Previous Warning Concerning Kookimarissia Mimosa-Inahj

On October 1, 2020, then-Justicar Dacien Victae issued a formal instruction to “stop making harmful, defamatory, and harassing comments,” specifically regarding Kookimarissia. This instruction followed an informal request that you “avoid making potentially defamatory statements about her in DB chats.” You were explicitly told “There will not be any further warnings.”

Previous Warnings Concerning Harassment of Other Members

The October 1, 2020 message was not the first warning to stop making defamatory comments. On March 8, 2015, the recently appointed Justicar, Jac Cotelin, reviewed “several complaints about [Andrelious'] actions and attitude during the [Eleventh] Great Jedi War” following Andrelious' three-day gaming ban during the event. Jac noted that “Some of [Andrelious'] comments were crude and intentionally aimed at causing a stir. Some of [Andrelious'] alleged actions, if there were a way to prove the accusations, would have been egregious,” and warned Andrelious to “straighten out your conduct and behave like you are expected under the Rites of Combat and the general guidelines of the Brotherhood.”

Shortly after this, on March 26, 2015, the summit of Arcona submitted a petition to deny Andrelious readmission to the clan under the Disruptive Member Policy. The complaint referred to “constant instigation of conflict through slander, often of other authority figures, to anyone who will listen.” It supported this allegation with extensive logs, some also containing references to quotes allegedly said in voice chat. The Justicar conceded the facts but on April 1, 2015, he directed the Arconan summit to give Andrelious another chance in the interests of Andrelious' rights as a member due to the lack of “formal warnings and guidance” from the Arconan summit. Justicar Cotelin later described this decision as extending “protections that have been unheard of before in the DB” to Andrelious, noting that “[Andrelious has] had many prior chances.”

Nevertheless, shortly thereafter the summit submitted a second request and you were barred from Arcona on July 15, 2015. In an attempt to offer another chance to improve behavior, the ban, the complaints, and the underlying documentation were not made public. The ban from the unit was effected by a dossier note only visible to members of the Dark Council and Chamber of Justice.

On March 6, 2016, Justicar Cotelin declined to press charges of harassment against Andrelious. Arconae and members of the summit had presented the Chamber with logs of Andrelious making defamatory statements against them, including allegations that one of the members was a pedophile, among what the Justicar described as other “borderline slanderous statements about peoples [sic] sexual endeavors.” The Justicar declined to press charges on the basis that the statements were not public and that there was insufficient proof of intent.

On March 14, 2016, Justicar Cotelin issued a formal warning to Andrelious to stop making defamatory comments about these individuals. He stated, plainly, that “If these matters continue, I will have no choice but to bring a charge against you, and the punishment will not be light.” The following day, Grand Master Pravus added that “We need you to stop. At present eight members have participated in the complaint against you. Four who have levied the complaint and another four who have provided logs. Your comments have made our members uncomfortable and have led them to question whether or not their participation in our club is worth the abuse.”

At various points following this incident Andrelious was asked to cease all contact with the members who submitted the above complaint. Andrelious did not comply. Following an e-mail to one member in which Andrelious blamed all previous misbehavior on his ex-wife—with asides about her sexual activities—on October 1, 2020, Justicar Dacien Victae ordered Andrelious to refrain from any contact with anyone “whom you have slandered in the past.” Andrelious' response was to recommend four additional members be added to the terms of the no contact order and said “I agree that I will make no attempts to contact any of these individuals under any circumstance.”

On April 8, 2021, Andrelious violated this no contact order by initiating contact with an included member, an individual Andrelious himself suggested be added to the no contact order. Andrelious described the genesis of this contact as “I noticed he didn't have me blocked and said hey”. Justicar Thane "Atra" Skotos declined to press charges for this infraction because the other member expressed interest in continued contact with Andrelious and because he self-reported the violation. However, the Justicar reminded Andrelious that the contents of that October 1, 2020 order were “not a suggestion. We will have to consider any further violations as ‘knowing’ and handle it accordingly”.

That same message containing the no contact order noted, regarding Andrelious's conduct towards Kookimarissia, “The allegations you made against Kooki are remarkably similar in nature to the very abuse you purported to be apologizing for...Kooki was and remains a member of this club, regardless of whether she has interest in ever being active again, and Jac's warning applies in full force to comments you make about her to other members.” This message ended, simply, “There will not be any further warnings.”

Analysis

This is a case with a lot of history behind it. As outlined above, no less than three Justicars have been directly involved in warnings and mediations regarding repeated behavior demonstrated by Andrelious. There comes a point where warnings are no longer applicable. Regarding this member specifically, there have been more "final warnings" and mediation for repeated conduct than most members are ever afforded. Andrelious has a long record of warnings for harassment and defamation. The member has received explicit and clear instructions not to discuss certain members or even interact with others. These instructions and warnings have been ignored and broken time and time again. This continuing disregard for the system of protections we have in place for the membership, the Covenant, and direct orders from Justicars, can no longer be met with yet another warning. Action has to be taken, or there's no point in having these systems at all. That said, the Chamber still hopes that a member with as much history as Andrelious can make the changes necessary to fully enjoy the club, friendships, and experience we have here. The assistance he needs is not something we can offer, as he is affected by very real issues that exist outside the confines of this environment. Additionally, Andrelious made no effort to refute that the statements and events transpired as outlined in the facts above. This culminated in his guilty plea.

Sentencing

Andrelious was frank in his guilty plea and outlined very real issues. Issues the Brotherhood is not equipped to deal with. Despite this, he has demonstrated time and time again that we cannot simply warn him away from the repeated behavior that has led to the charges of this case. The Chamber of Justice can no longer allow this to go on without consequence. At this point, the very enjoyment of the club is at risk for any membership that may come into communication with Andrelious.

The Chamber has discussed at length how to proceed with this verdict. I, myself, strongly believe that the purpose of the Chamber of Justice is to protect members and reform offenders. How do we achieve that in such a case as this? Unquestionably, Andrelious needs time and space to overcome the hurdles he is facing. The Brotherhood, however, is not a therapy group. None of our members are equipped or expected to act as a sounding board for venting or behavior that leaves them uncomfortable or reconsidering their membership. With this in mind, and understanding the judicial penalties available to the Chamber, opted towards a six month ban from communications within the Club. This includes removal from the Discord server and clan mailing lists for the duration of the ban. An additional gaming ban has been included due to the inciting offense occurring during a gaming event. In terms of the functions of our club, this is the closest tool the Chamber has to what could be considered a temporary expulsion. While Andrelious will still be able to engage in competitions and events, he will be removed from the bulk of what is considered the club experience. In that time, it is our hope he is able to get the assistance he needs elsewhere. This will be accompanied by a probation period of a full year beyond the communication ban. Additionally, Andrelious will receive a demotion and letter of reprimand pertaining to these charges. This is the next step after years of warnings. While the Chamber hopes for the best, should the same cycle repeat in the future we will have no choice but to look at more final measures including potential expulsion.

/s/ Thane "Atra" Skotos