User:MisterX
Contents |
Criminal Trial Procedure
The Trial takes place in the Court of Law subboard in the kingdom's Role-Play Board. Every trial concerning cities of the Kingdom will take place in this subboard. The trial will be overseen by the city Magistrate and conducted by the Prosecution and the Defense.
The Magistrate
The Magistrate is appointed by the Vassal from the citizenry, and is the president of the court of justice. Judgments from the Magistrate should always be impartial and given only after considering the edicts enacted by the Vassal and the body of evidence provided by both the Defense and Prosecution.
The Prosecution
The Prosecution is led by the Captain of the Guard. Any person who a witness to or victim of criminal activity or unfair treatment may contact the Captain of the Guard to present all relevant facts. Once the Captain of the Guard has evaluated the facts, he/she can open a trial, which must be role-played in the appropriate forum. From the moment the Captain of the Guard decides that it is necessary to start a trial, he/she may use the Restrain act to prevent the accused person from leaving the city.
Once the trial has been started, it is the duty of the Captain of the Guard to act as the Prosecutor. The Captain of the Guard may designate a proxy to act as the Prosecutor. The role of the Prosecutor is to present evidence and witnesses (maximum of one) and make arguments against the accused.
The Defense
The Accused can either choose to act as his/her own Defender or hire a lawyer to act in that role. A lawyer is a player who has perfect knowledge of the laws of the both the Kingdom and of the city, and is able to interpret the those laws to find solutions and/or make deals with the aggrieved party regarding the damages. The role of the Defender is to present evidence and witnesses (maximum of one) and make arguments for the accused.
The Trial
A trial is started by the Captain of the Guard by opening of a thread in the appropriate subboard (Court of Law), whenever he/she thinks that the evidence for the accusation received is valid and sufficient.
The trial steps are the following:
- Accusation and Opening Remarks by the Prosecutor
- Opening Remarks by the Defender
- Presentation of evidence by the Prosecutor
- Presentation of evidence by the Defender
- Verdict by the Magistrate
- Sentencing or Remuneration by the Magistrate
Each step should be concluded within a day of the previous step.
If the Prosecution or the Defense does not present their case within their allotted time for a step, the Magistrate has the power to proceed to the next step in the process.
The Verdict
If the Magistrate delivers a verdict of "guilty", the Captain of the Guard shall carry out the sentence by imposing a fine, confiscating market goods, and/or imprisoning the guilty party. If the Magistrate delivers a verdict of "innocent", the defendant shall immediately have any Restraint order lifted and be compensated through remuneration.
Imprisonment
The Magistrate may order to imprison a person only after he has sentenced that person to serve time in prison, and for only the amount of time specified by the sentence.
While serving time in prison a person cannot perform any action until the end of the imprisonment. However, health, glut and energy will not go down while in prison, so no actions are necessary to maintain these statistics.
