Calvinism - Why didn't Sirius get a trial

[Aleks]

No: HPFGUIDX 23824

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Milz" <absinthe at m...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., Marianna Lvovsky <mariannayus at y...> 
wrote:
I think the wizarding community follows a similar 
> mindset: "Lucius Malfoy a Death Eater!? Well, no big surprize he 
was in Slytherin, don't ya know." 
> 
> That's why I think Sirius' "crime" was incredibly shocking to the 
> wizarding community because it went against the stereotype and it 
> knocked a giant hole in the Sorting Hat's credibility (to a degree).
> 
> There's a saying that "one man's terrorist is another man's 
patriot". If there isn't support for various organizations or 
movements, then they wouldn't exist. If there wasn't Muggle and 
Muggle-born animosity in the wizarding community, Tom Riddle would 
have had to work twice as hard to recruit followers. As it was, he 
preyed upon the pre-existing hatred and fears of the wizarding 
community. > 

> > As to why Sirius did not get a trial: that very well
> > might have been the very first case after LV's fall
> > (committed immediately after LV's fall) and the trial
> > system not perfected yet. Later caught DVs were tried
> > properly (and maybe that's why no one thought to check
> > SB for black mark, since there were no other DE trials
> > and so the MoM didn't know about it yet, but only
> > learned during trials) (during the struggle the Aurors
> > had shoot-to-kill permission).
> > 
> 
> That could be, but I would assume in a culture with various 
> bureaucratic offices throughout the centuries, I would think they 
> would have some sort of trial system in place.
> 
>  ;-)Milz


Though I'm new to this group, I had to answer this topic because 
until I read it I had considered a much more simple reason for Sirius 
not receiving a trial. The difference between crimes committed by an 
(alleged) spy, and therefore a traitor, and crimes committed by 
people who were known to have supported Voldemort. If anyone has been 
following the real life genocide-in-former-Yugoslavia trials, this 
shows my point, the 'enemy' are tried publically and it's taken into 
account that they were fighting a war against their victims. However, 
if a member of the NATO forces had been accusing of colluding with 
(for example) Milosevic then surely they would have been treated 
differently? Admittedly in the Muggle world they probably would have 
got a trial (although IIRC Nazi 'sympathizers' in post-Vichy France 
were executed within trial) but the wizarding world might have a 
different POV. 
I'm not saying that House stereotypes might not have played a part, 
but as we don't know of anyone else would played a similar role 
during the 'war' we can't say for certain. My only point is that 
Sirius' alleged crimes could not have been considered equivalent to 
those of the DE's and so perhaps this is a false comparison.