No. 02–0001. Presented December 12, 2022 — Argued & decided December 13, 2022
I
Petitioner Justin Dreyer AKA “Sheets” informed the triumvirate (Justices Mehta, Bingham, and Lancaster) on December 12, 2022 of a potential Article VI roster infraction performed during week 14 by Jameson Stelly. Below is the language in Article VI for reference:
An owner’s starting roster must be filled every week. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action ( -10 pt adjustment on their team’s week score ) for the first offense after which additional failures will result in a vote for potential league expulsion.
There is no counter-argument to the evidence presented: Mr. Stelly started a player (New Orleans Defense / Special Teams) during that team’s bye week.
What is at issue is whether the literal interpretation of the constitution or the spirit of the constitution be predominant.
II
In truly legal doctrine, the “spirit of the law” is the the “aim or purpose of a law when it was written”. This legal guideline should also be considered in final determination of this opinion.
During the ninth week of the 2010 season, now former 4th & Forties member Mario Carreras set his lineup without a player rostered in the starting position of wide receiver. This failure to roster a full team contributed directly to James Crawford’s victory and therefore further contributing to a birth in the playoff tournament. This confluence of events was the catalyst for not only Article VI, but the formalization of the entire 4th & Forties Constitution.
III
The constitution is a living document and will always require clarification and amending as it was architected and written by a non-lawyer. Therefore, the constitution should be given a minutiae of latitude when matters such as these arise. However in most cases, it should be interpreted literally and without ambiguity during a fantasy season in progress for fairness and consistency.
Referentially, per the constitution as it stands this December 13, 2022, Mr. Stelly had indeed fulfilled his Article VI requirements.
IV
Given that the constitution was written by a non-lawyer and is indeed imperfect, it should be said that the spirit of the law outweighs the literality of it.
The 4th & Forties league has never and will never allow any player to gain an unfair advantage in any matchup; failure of compliance shall always be enforced and punished consequently.
Justices Mehta and Lancaster both recused themselves from the final opinion as their teams’ scheduling in the playoff tournament could have been directly affected.
Triumvirate’s Decision: Justice Bingham holds that the defendant shall be penalized 10 points on his week 14 matchup.
Notes: The triumvirate suggest further debate and an additional amendment to the constitution to allow for such cases as when a player may want to intentionally start a player on bye week (e.g. during the rare 8 man “bye-maggedon”).