CoJ Case 027

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 Krandon was the twenty-seventh case tried by the Chamber of Justice. The sitting Justicar was Kir Katarn, the Left Hand of Justice was Alexander Anderson, and the Right Hand of Justice was Astronicus Aurelius Sadow.

Basic Case Information

Defendants Name

• Krandon Rowella

Charges

• Plagiarism

Verdict

• Guilty

Sentence

• Official Letter of Reprimand
• Six Months Probation

Case Summary

The Chamber of Justice received a complaint which indicated that Krandon may have been involved in plagiarism, in the form of a Clan competition submission. The Justicar investigated the claim, and found that the poem Krandon submitted to the competition was almost a carbon-copy (86% of content was a match) of "War Mood=Raw Doom", by Luis M. Avalos. The Chamber of Justice was convened, and Krandon was notified that he was being charged with plagiarism, and asked for his plea. He promptly plead guilty, and the Chamber discussed sentencing. Since it was a first offense, the Chamber followed precedent and gave Krandon an Official Letter of Reprimand and six months probation.

Related News Posts

Posted By DJM Kir Katarn - 3/7/2009

Chamber of Justice Communique #026a

On this day, March 7, 2009 of the Liberated Brotherhood, I the Justicar of the Brotherhood now announce the punishment that this Chamber lays upon Krandon Rowell.

Upon the conclusion of fair and just proceedings, this Chamber finds you:

On the Charge of Plagiarism -

You did willingly and knowingly copy the majority of a poem directly from another author's work (War Mood=Raw Doom, by Luis M. Avalos) and tried to pass it off as your own. You did not give proper credit to the original author, and you submitted it to an official competition.

The Chamber finds you GUILTY.

Sentencing for the party is as follows:

• Official Letter of Reprimand
• Six months of 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 DJM Kir Katarn - 3/7/2009

Justicar's Opinion - 027 DB vs. Krandon

The Justicar received the initial complaint from a member who believed he had discovered plagiarism. He forwarded an email which included the Krandon's submission to a Clan competition. The submission was a poem, which appeared similar to "War Mood=Raw Doom", by Luis M. Avalos. The Justicar compared the poem submitted to the Avalos poem and found clear evidence of plagiarism - indeed 86% of the content was exactly the same.

After the Justicar had determined the complaint had merit, the Chamber of Justice was then convened, and the notification of charges was sent to Krandon. He quickly replied with a "Guilty" plea, and the Chamber of Justice then gathered to discuss sentencing. After examining precedent (specifically 012 DB vs. Tissaya and 014 DB vs. Ashura), the Chamber decided on a sentence appropriate for the violation, taking into account a first-time offense. Krandon was given an Official Letter of Reprimand and six months probation.

Some of our members may see this punishment as harsh - however the Brotherhood absolutely does not tolerate plagiarism. Our organization provides entertainment to our members in the form of competitions, and our members have an expectation of fairness. When members plagiarize material and submit it to a competition as their own, they violate the trust of the entire Brotherhood - and the Chamber of Justice will not brook such behavior.

Points of Interest

This case was basically the definition of "open-shut" - the plagiarism was clear, and the defendant immediately plead guilty. This case is important in that it continues to follow the established precedent for plagiarism cases in the Brotherhood. The first plagiarism case (012 DB vs. Tissaya) was similar - a first-time offender and a guilty plea - and the Letter of Reprimand along with probation punishment was given. The second plagiarism case (014 DB vs. Ashura) involved the submission of a plagiarized article to a competition and the defendant received the same punishment (with the added removal of a medal won for the competition). Therefore the sentencing phase of this case fell to the Chamber following established precedent - an important aspect of Brotherhood Law.

It should also be mentioned that in the case of plagiarism, recidivism is treated very harshly. Our only repeat-offender case (015 DB vs. Tissaya) resulted in a high-level equite demotion, additional Letter of Reprimand, and an entire year of probation. This follows our generally established policy of harsh treatment for recidivists.