CONFIRMATION HEARING: DemPGH for Attorney General (CONFIRMED)

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

On the Attorney General position:

Due to the regrettable circumstances surrounding Bacon King's activity and his confirmation hearing, he has (understandably) failed confirmation by the Senate. In his place, I nominate DemPGH to the position of Attorney General and hope the Senate will begin a confirmation hearing shortly.

I will make my final decision on the Game Moderator position tomorrow.

Okay Senators. Give this one a shot. 72 hours.

[Napoleon]

Does the nominee have Wiki access? If not, is that expected soon?

Does the nominee intend on carrying on with the current case?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

How much have experience do you hold in dealing with Atlasian law?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

What would your top priorities be as AG?  I also echo Nappy's question about the wiki, which is in desperate need of updating.

[Oakvale]

Does Dave even respond to PMs asking for Wiki access any more? Obviously I'd prefer a nominee who has access but if Leip isn't around I won't hinge my vote on this...

[tmthforu94]

Does Dave even respond to PMs asking for Wiki access any more? Obviously I'd prefer a nominee who has access but if Leip isn't around I won't hinge my vote on this...

Yes, he still does.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

If this is an issue, then if the Deputy AG posti s created, my recommendation would be to ensure that they have access atleast and thus give us a repeat of what we had with Talleyrand, two weeks ago.

[DemPGH]

Okay, will give this a shot. What I'm going to do in proceeding to answer your questions (and feel free to ask follow-ups) is basically how I post: I'm going to try to take as many questions as I can / currently have time for in one post and then pick up where I leave off in subsequent posts.

Admittedly, this is partially a learning experience (which is why I liked the Deputy AG idea) - my intention is to set aside forum time each day to update statutes and what not on the wiki as demanded by the position and as requested. That's no problem. The legal part of it, as AG, will begin with me using my best judgment and directing questions to President Marokai or VP Duke. I do not intend to simply let it slide, and I do not intend to fly blind in the wind. Once I have the hang of it I can proceed more on my own. Okay.

Does the nominee have Wiki access? If not, is that expected soon?

Does the nominee intend on carrying on with the current case?

No, I do not have access to edit the wiki. And I would like you to be more specific with the second question.

How much have experience do you hold in dealing with Atlasian law?

Other than my familiarity with the Constitution I have not worked with it here. However, I would argue that good judgment and a willingness to listen to all sides before making a decision is more important and probably more crucial than experience alone. And of course as AG my job is to interpret and apply the Constitution. That's probably the thing I would look forward to most.

What would your top priorities be as AG?  I also echo Nappy's question about the wiki, which is in desperate need of updating.

My single top priority is to enforce / uphold the Constitution, but other top priorities as AG would be, as requested, to update the wiki, and also to seek clarification on, possible revision to, and challenge to statutes or legislation that seems out of line with the Constitution.

Do you believe that the regions are constitutionally obliged to abide by federal election laws, including those related to editing votes and eligibility requirements for voters, unless those laws explicitly exempt regional elections?

A good, specific question. The answer is, yes. Article IV, Section 3, as I understand it, deals with this in two ways. 1) While regions are generally autonomous they must yield to federal law, which is the highest "law of the land," and 2) powers not specifically dealt with or spelled out by federal law may be relegated to the regions. So yes, the regions are bound by federal law where it is specific, including certainly eligibility requirements.

[Napoleon]

I'd like to speak in favor of this nominee. I know Senators may have concerns regarding the nominee's experience, and that's fine but I want you to remember that unlike the Game Moderator position, this is a member of the President's Cabinet and will be working under his direction. DemPGH clearly has the enthusiasm and intelligence we expect our Attorney General to have and I think he will be capable if confirmed. He has a plan on how he intends to approach the position.

I think that, coupled with a strong veteran Deputy, we will have a fine young Attorney General on our hands if we give DemPGH and the President a chance. We've seen newbies have a great impact before- don't underestimate it. Vote for this fine nominee!

[Marokai Backbeat]

Thank you, Napoleon.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

DemPGH has already dispelled any doubts that I might have had about his preparedness for the job. I will vote to confirm.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A good, specific question. The answer is, yes. Article IV, Section 3, as I understand it, deals with this in two ways. 1) While regions are generally autonomous they must yield to federal law, which is the highest "law of the land," and 2) powers not specifically dealt with or spelled out by federal law may be relegated to the regions. So yes, the regions are bound by federal law where it is specific, including certainly eligibility requirements.

Your use of the word "may" troubles me? Does that mean there are no regional powers that the federal government cannot usurp, if it so decides to do so?

[DemPGH]

A good, specific question. The answer is, yes. Article IV, Section 3, as I understand it, deals with this in two ways. 1) While regions are generally autonomous they must yield to federal law, which is the highest "law of the land," and 2) powers not specifically dealt with or spelled out by federal law may be relegated to the regions. So yes, the regions are bound by federal law where it is specific, including certainly eligibility requirements.

Your use of the word "may" troubles me? Does that mean there are no regional powers that the federal government cannot usurp, if it so decides to do so?

It really depends upon what you have in mind. As I see it, the Constitution and federal law establish a framework of rules and procedures under which the regions are autonomous ("rules of the road," so to speak), but the regions must abide by that broad framework. Section 1 of Article IV spells out the rights of the regions (to elect governors, for example, and to establish electoral procedures within the framework of federal law), and those cannot be breached. Article I section 7 lists the powers denied to the regions, and in both cases they are fairly specific.

Now, the use of the word "may" is because something may come up that is not specifically granted as the domain of the federal government, but is not forbidden by the regions either, and in that case regional law shall stand (again, IV.3). The question above concerns federal election laws, and in my opinion the regions must abide by them because of this:

"Regional authorities shall be bound by the the federal Constitution and federal laws, even in cases when they conflict with Regional laws, as federal law shall be the highest form of law in Atlasia" (IV.3).

So it's going to be case-by case in regions rights issues BECAUSE there are nuances. But I think it's clear for elections. For an election it's important to have reasonable universal standards so as to ensure fairness and to avoid haphazardness, and there are laws and procedures on the books that take precedence.

[DemPGH]

Okay, we have a day to go, so keep it coming if there is anything else. I'll check back later this afternoon or evening.

I was reading about the AG on the wiki some more, and let me make a few points. There are powers and responsibilities like granting patents and copyrights, and appointing to the Bar, but I do not think those things will come up too much. But those are AG powers, and I'd gladly deal with those.

As I mentioned earlier, the Constitutional stuff is what I look forward to most, and my primary responsibility will be to bring cases to the Supreme Court on behalf of the government and in consultation with Marokai. I need to ensure that federal law is being followed and adhered to in Atlasia.

What I will do upon confirmation is start an "office of the AG" thread like Snowball did and where I would like for Marokai and me to find a Deputy AG (I guess that's kind of like what Talleyrand is) to whom I will delegate. Ideally, I would like this person to take primary ownership over updating the wiki, although I will be involved in that. To start I want to focus on legal stuff and delegate much of the wiki-updating to ideally someone who has access. Now I'm not going to ignore it, but I'll need a Deputy willing to help with that because it's going to get done sooner or later. Sooner is better. 

The aforementioned thread will hope to minimize idle chatter and be for the addressing of all relevant legal and wiki-posting matters.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Duke, we need a vote here. Time has expired.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Time to vote. You have 5 days to get it done.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Aye

[Napoleon]

Aye.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Aye

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Aye

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Aye

[Oakvale]

Aye.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

AYE GUESS

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Vote on the Confirmation of DemPGH as Attorney General:

Aye (: Averroës Nix, Ben, HagridoftheDeep, jdb, Napoleon, NC Yankee, Oakvale, and Snowstalker
Nay (0):
Abstain (0):

Didn't Vote (2): Franzl and Spamage

The nominee can be declared confirmed by VP Duke.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

DemPGH is confirmed as AG. You can now return to your regularly scheduled programming.