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The Amian Recorder
"An Independent Press for an Independent People"

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FORMER DUKE TO STAND TRIAL FOR CRIMES AGAINST COMMONWEALTH

Minister of Finance Joseph Maximillian announced today that former duchal lord and governor of Cordor, Montgomery d'Cordor, is being held without bail in the South Cordor District Prison and is awaiting a trial on the charge of treason.

"Although Montgomery was a sometime popular dictator and abdicated his rule with sincere humility and acknowledgement of his crimes against the people, this does not exonerate him in the eyes of the law," Maximillian went on to address the crowd. "There were many things made wrong under his regime, and they must be set right if the people, if the commonwealth, is to advance."

The outrage was palpable among those present. Within hours of the announcement, public and private interest groups began to organize protest rallies against what they claimed was an injustice. the proests, staged mostly in the unsurveyed south district, were quickly discouraged and routed by the Cordorian Guard, under the direction of Sergeant Yance.

"Now is not the time to march, to cry out, to sit-in, to litter the streets with propaganda," Yancy said. "There would be injustice if the former duke was sentenced without trial, but there is to be a trial. If he is innocent of treason, the scales of will weight in his favor. And any open act of protest will be seen as a disturbance of the peace, particularly if it threatens to become violent. Be warned."

Minister of Law Hector L. Carton has appointed Vicks Rochford as Chief Prosecutor in the Cordor Commonwealth vs. Montgomery d'Cordor. Rochford has served the Cordor bar for ten years and prosecuted several cases involving abuse of governmental power, many on behalf of the former duke.

"The list of allegations against the former duke is considerable enough to warrant a trial," Rochford wrote in a statement from his office. "There are clear abuses of power evident, and I intend to prove that the former duke is not, as he once was, above the law and beyond a responsibility to the people he governed."

With d'Cordor's previous legal disbanded in the provisional council's series of budget reformations, no public defender has stepped forward to represent d'Cordor. Presiding judge Hector L. Carton appointed Wedge Lowenstein as d'Cordor's public defense attorney. Lownestein has held a private practice in the southern district for two years.

"What better way for the new government to cement its authority than by prosecuting the former leader?" Lowenstein asked. "This is a political circus, a mockery of the justice system, and I will put an end to it."

Opening arguments for the Cordor Commonwealth vs. Montgomery d'Cordor will be heard in six tendays' time. The trial is slated to be held in the courtroom fo the Commonwealth Center, formerly the Duke's Hall.

Duke Montgomery d'Cordor served as regional lord and landowner of the Cordorian province for over forty years.

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Attention Amian Bards and Actors!

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Leave word for Randisue at Halifast’s Lodge on the Storyweaver’s Triumvir for details.

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NEW HOUSING PROJECT BEGINS IN SOUTH CORDOR

Wondering what all the sound of construction is along the waterfront in the south district of Cordor? Curious about the long gray buildings being constructed in the previously unused shipping storage space just east of the South Cordor District Prison? So are many of your neighbors.

"We're happy that this project was approved in the interests of the public welfare, particularly for the citizens of south Cordor," Johnathin Leohnard, Minister of Health & Safety, said at the post-construction groundbreaking ceremony. "Public, rent-controlled government housing has been a long time coming for this economically depressed part of town. We fully expect it to not only relieve financial burdens for low income families, but to improve overall public health by providing government-ensured sanitary homes."

The South District of Cordor, previously and off-handedly referred to as a "slum" by many people, including local residents, is now, with the help of the provisional council and a series of private investors and special interest groups is working overtime to redefine its image. Sympathy for South Cordor representative Renee Flowers is ecstatic over the decision.

"A lot of people wanted to help, but the ball really got rolling when the Mystrans from the Monolith out on Ruathym got involved," Flowers said, referring to the Monolith administration's private grant of over two and a half million dollars to her organization. "The donator gave us a complete financial layout on how to spend the money, to start with beautification first to improve local interest and respect for property, to build the pride of local residents in their community."

Sympathy for South Cordor started doing just so, cleaning up debris from previous disasters, fires, and abandoned construction projects when developers ran out of money. Public graffiti as it related to gang signs and vandalism were discouraged, but in a surprising move for the arts, Flowers encouraged graffiti that was meant to express pride in the community of south Cordor. Some blocks not far from the new housing areas now support murals of "true civic life" as rendered by local, unnamed artists.

"We're still working hard to improve the standard of living in South Cordor, and this is the first time the new government has stepped in to lend a hand," Flowers added.

"It was about time the provisional council finally decided to match outside support," said Fred Willett, a political scholar and graduate of the Cordor West Academy. "Having simply allowed non-affiliated groups to financially support depressed regions of the commonwealth would undoubtedly have reflected poorly upon the new provisional government. But after having spoken with the Minister of Public Health & Safety, I can safely say the decision was made in the interests of the people, and not in an effort to merely conserve their already tenuous base of power."

The city paid full market value on the property leases for the unused storage areas near the waterfront to acquire the land needed for the housing. Each housing block is three stories tall and five hundred feet long, accomodating roughly forty residences per complex. Four are being constructed at the time being, though government projections state the intent for the south district to have 6-8 of the complexes by the end of construction.

"That's 240 to 320 new homes for those who are going to need them," Johnathin Leonhard said. He explained that the rent will be set at a standard rate based upon the owner's proof of monthly income, contracted to be adjusted annually according to a new review of family revenue. In addition, Leonhard's own department of the ministry will conduct safety and sanitation checks every ninety days upon the buildings to ensure that living conditions remain high.

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THE AMIAN TRADER'S AND CRAFTER'S FEDERATION is looking for customer service representatives in and around the city(ies) of Cordor, Kholingen, Wharftown, and Forrstakkr. Particularly interested in academically trained appraisers, artificers, and loremasters. Ambition is a must, and sales experience highly preferred. Please see an active Federation agent for an introduction to Director Hartman.

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HIGH REAL ESTATE VALUE IN WEST CORDOR IMPACTS PROPERTY VALUE

A recent study conducted by the Office of Domestic Inquiries, a joint commission between the Ministries of Finance, Public Welfare, and Labor found that real estate in the affluent western district of Cordor is overturning at an alarming rate: more than 100% over previous years, the study states.

Six tendays ago, 18 holdings from flats to estates were on the market. Today, 42 different pieces of private real estate are available. An estimated thirty percent of those have already been leased and re-leased more than once in what some local residents are calling a "mass exodus of wealth."

"Climate changes can cause birds and other animals to migrate towards better territories," Lady Arianna Sylvester, whose family has lived in Cordor for four generations, said as she departed Cordor with her husband and two children for the mainland aboard the Nunca Fregadero. "When the political climate changes, it can have the very same results in people."

Lady Sylvester is not alone in her opinion. Many of the residents of West Cordor who have moved either to Kholingen, to the island chains, or as far as the Faerun mainland claim that the new populist-leaning commonwealth is persecuting the wealthy five percent of the population. Previous government officials and merchants in particular have encountered what they call bureaucratic glass ceilings that halt career advancement opportunities or profit.

"Montgomery recommended me for an ambassadorial role to Lantan, but my name was removed from consideration by the new provisional government," Sir Archibald Prost, a decorated Cormyran diplomat, said. "In my opinion, it is clear-cut economic class prejudice."

"A levelling of the playing field is not the establishment of a glass ceiling," Elijah Cromwell, Minister of Labor, countered. "The provisional council is working tirelessly to correct years of rule by the rich. A voice in the government, a career opportunity, these are not the privileges of the wealthy, they are the rights of the commonwealth. We regret that these migrant nobles disagree with us, but since when did the bureaucrat invite the butcher and the baker to the ball?"

The Office of Domestic Inquiries anticipates a significant decrease in western district property value, perhaps as much as 20 million if the downward trend of overturning property continues.

// Open to IC responses/reactions. No OOC, please.

*Xals stares at the paper for a moment and tosses it on the ground in disgust*

This is just disgusting, and outrage even. While I made fun of the Duke, it was always in jest. That man has given his life for this city, be it for good or bad. Always this city has come out well off in the end. The fact that the council now thinks to permentaly despose of the man after he abducted peacefully.

The city is NAMED after this man. It's just disrespectful on all levels. We should blow up the goverment building!

*Xal coughs and moves on, annoyed to his extremes*

*quietly reading the Morning paper, Warrick narrows his eyes and ponders in thought, standing and looking to his Wife in the Nomad*

*Niss'assa's Response is a thoughtful one* So the Duke ~is~ still alive then.

Xaviera frowns on reading the most recent paper one morning over tea and scones at the Garden of Delights. "The Duke was hardly an approachable person," she thinks, "but I dont recall any gross abuses of power during the time that I've been here. If there were ever abuses, it was by the guards, seemingly acting on their own initiative - particularly those 'HazMat' idiots in the gold and white suits." She reads the remainder of the paper, her frown deepening on news of property values dropping in West Cordor and the construction of tenement housing in the south. "We shall see how this turns out." Finishing her tea and folding her paper, she gives the serving girl an affectionate pat on the rear and heads to south Cordor to hear the word on the street from the working girls.

Somewhere on the island a young woman lounges in a plush chair with her legs crossed over one of the arms. She reads the opening headlines, smiles artfully, and then laughs loudly into the otherwise silent room. Her eyes then drift over to an absolute mess of papers and writings on her nearby desk, and she laughs again, to no one but herself.

The Arraignment and Pre-Trial hearings were conducted today. The Duke stoically listened to the Charges against him.

Illegal subjegation of the Masses. Treason against the Commonwealth. Crimes of War. Abuses of Executive Privledge.

Motions to dismiss the Charges entirely by the Defense, and motions to close the hearing from the public by the prosecution; were both denied.

The bail set for the Duke's release was a jaw-dropping Thousand Million gold

--

On a related note, The exodus of Nobles increases sharply after a violent riot claimed the lives of two of Central Cordor's Elite. Captain Dorne authorized a temporary state of Emergency to quell the riot and restore order. The South Central district was cordoned off, and those gathered in Morribund square, even spectators, were rounded up and removed from the streets by a considerable Guard Force.

The Provisional Government has decried the violence against Citizens done in the name of its Revolution.

Estara smiled at the cute butterfly flitting about South Cordor.. she came to see if the place was really getting so dangerous lately! But then, she found something else.. she picked a paper discarded in a waste bin because as the butterfly lifted off of it, she caught the title.. the Duke charged?

She frowned and wondered what Jud had to say about all this. It'd been awhile since she had seen him.. and last time he wasn't fun at all. His life must still be hard and full of everyone's problems. She wouldn't bother him. But still..

Well, she figured she'd first drop by and leave a note for Randisue, and then she'd find someone to query.

Mr Randisue,

My name is Estara and you can contact me at 1400 West Lane, West Cordor! It's a new apartment that I bought due to the declining prices.. but did you know all about that? I'm very interested in this production!

Thanks!

-Estara

- - - - - - - - - -

Samantha frowned even more than Estara did. She sent a letter to the Justicar right away.

Justicar Marinsbane,

I'm sorry to rush you on any busienss, m'lord, but I think it is high time we found out what happened to the Duke's.. special commitment. Alas, I'm also sure you have already heard, but he is being held in South Cordor prison and his bail is an exorbitant and ridiculous sum.. I want to voice my concern directly to you that a trial for a previous city-state's government performed by such a new and inexperienced government might only be a venue for unfair and tainted politics. As Republic as this "Cordorian Republic" seems, neither were these Finance representatives voted into an office that was supposed to lead the Cordorian people. I am sending a letter to contact the Defense Attorney to see if Kohlingen or another separate city-state might provide assistance in this most convoluted of trials.

Lastly, I am uncertain if you have heard of a certain Gulhorandian's cry for help against the Banites. I can put you in contact with her if you think that Kohlingen should be of any assistance.

-Defender-Squire Samantha

After an agonizingly long Voir Dire, the Jury is selected, and Opening arguments are scheduled to commence within the week.

// Looking for Tomorrow approximately 24 Hours from this post time.

Jack once again smirks.

"So it was a rebellion afterall... so much for democracy. I laugh at all those fools who still believe it was a good thing."

Headline news: Trial in Recess before opening arguments take place!

It seems that defense counsel Wedge Lowenstein had not shown up to court. The trial has been postponed while the Duke's newly appointed legal counsel, Jud'Vardas Kenlyl, is brought up to date on the witness lists and evidence.

Mister Lowenstein's office is vacant, and rumor has it that he couldn't handle the pressure of such a high profile case, and therefore left the Island.

*Delarwyn reads the last news and smiles satisfied* Finally someone I can trust involved in this case. I may hope for some justice now.

As soon as Helena hears the news, she laughs delightedly. Having had Jud as her own attorney on the case of the child meat food, she knew the Duke would be in good hands.

"I hope the Duke can win. He is a great man."

Rummors spread that a 'Surprise attorney" was called to defend the Duke after the Resignation of Previous legal counsel, Jud'Vardas Kenlyl. No one save the prosecutor, the Duke, and the Judge knew who it was to be; before opening arguments were held.

The Gavel Sounds. Opening arguments. Out of the antechamber to the court, the Duke enters, followed closely by his new counsel: Yossarin. After Vicks Rochford had given his speech for the prosecution, it was Yossarin's turn to present his Case. The stenographer struggled to keep up with the Eloquence, writing furiously, often pausing when trying to find out how some word he used was spelled.

The first witness was called to the stand. The Captain of the Scouts. The prosecution used her testimony to try and portray the Duke as fear-mongering, even implying that he might have saboutaged his own city for political gain. The Defense countered that his actions were reasonable, and that he did not wish to have the city become a police state.

Court was Adjourned for the day. The next witness in line: Captain Malles.

Duke Montgomery Accused of Crimes Against the Commonwealth

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