Supreme Court has its say on November 9 vote

Check and Mate. Spain's Supreme Court had its say on the controversial November 9 vote in Catalonia when it handed down its sentence on Francesc Homs for his role in organising the popular vote. Homs faced similar charges to Artur Mas, Irene Rigau and Joana Ortega who had previously been tried and found guilty in the Catalan courts. Homs, as an MP for PDeCat in the Madrid Parliament , was tried in the Supreme Court. The ruling found Homs guilty of grave disobedience in not complying with a directive of the Constitutional Tribunal (TC) regarding the November 9 vote. He was sentenced to a €30,000 fine and is prohibited from holding public office for one year and one month. The court accepted that the ruling from the TC that holding a vote such as this amounted to a referendum style vote and that only the central government had the power to call for such a consultation. The court also refuted claims made by Homs that the original ruling from the TC was not specific and on behalf of the Generalitat had appealed to the TC to clear up doubts. As no reply was forthcoming, Homs claimed he was within his rights to act as he interpreted the court's ruling. The defence argument that the original ruling was too vague for such a broad question was also denied.