Term 4 Judiciary

Bootstoots

Deity
Retired Moderator
Joined
Mar 2, 2003
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Location
Mid-Illinois
Welcome, fellow citizens, to the Term 4 Judiciary. Here is the place to file any Judicial Reviews, Citizen Complaints, or just simple legal questions that you may have during this month.

The current Court is as follows:

Chief Justice - Bootstoots
Judge Advocate - Black_Hole
Public Defender - mhcarver

The Chief Justice's primary role is to coordinate and lead the efforts of the Judiciary. They are also in charge of creating Judicial procedures, posting in the Judicial log, posting polls for amendments and recalls, appointing pro-tem justices and determining the census.

The Judge Advocate is the justice in charge of prosecution during Citizen Complaints. They may also post a recall poll if for the Chief Justice.

The Public Defender defends the accused citizen during Citizen Complaints.
 
Judicial Procedures

Common
Rights and Duties of all Citizens
  • Participate in all Judicial discussions
  • Request that any Judicial discussion be moved to its own thread in the Citizen's forum
  • Post requests for Judicial Review of existing law. These requests should contain a specific question and the section of law in question
  • Post requests for Judicial Review of proposed amendments. This request should contain the exact text to be reviewed and a link to the discussion thread
  • Post requests for clarification. This is an unofficial question about the rules that does not create a finding, but may lead to a Judicial Review
  • Post requests for Citizen Complaints. This is a request to determine if a citizen has violated a rule. This request must be posted in the Judicial thread. There are no anonymous requests
Shared duties and responsibilities of all Justices
  • Conduct the business of the court in a fair, impartial, open and speedy manner unless otherwise required
  • Review and discuss any questions about our laws
  • Review all proposed Amendments to our laws
  • Review all requested Citizen Complaints to determine if there is need
  • Participate in all Citizen Complaints in a fair and impartial manner
  • Post clear and decisive opinions on all questions. Abstentions are not allowed
  • Notify the Judiciary during any Absence, and arrange for a Pro-Tem replacement
  • Discuss and ratify these Judicial Procedures
  • Recuse themself from any Citizen Complaints that they are involved in as either the citizen requesting the CC, or as the citizen under investigation.
Rights and Duties of the Chief Justice
  • Post polls for amendments once they pass review
  • Post any valid Recall poll
  • Determine and post the official Census
  • Oversee all Judicial Proceedings
  • Maintain the Judicial Log
  • Appoint all Pro-Tem justices and seek confirmation by the President
  • Request that other justices post an opinion promptly
  • Maintain the docket and decide the priority level of cases
Rights and Duties of the Judge Advocate
  • Post any valid Recall poll if for the Chief Justice
  • Serve as the Prosecution during any trial of a citizen. In this role, the Judge Advocate need not act impartial as they are arguing for a specific side
Rights and Duties of the Public Defender
  • Serve as the Defense during as trial of a citizen, unless requested otherwise by the citizen. In this role, the Public Defender need not act impartial as they are arguing for a specific side

Judicial Reviews
Judicial Reviews are used to resolve questions of the law and to validate proposed amendments. The opinion of a majority of the Justices will be used to resolve the Judicial Review.

Reviews of existing laws may be requested by anyone. The Chief Justice shall review each request for merit. If the Chief Justice declines the request, either of the other two Justices may accept the request and override the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice will post each accepted request, clearly denoting the questions. After at least 24 hours, each Justice may post their finding. This post should clearly answer the questions as posed by the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice may request that the justices post their opinion promptly, requiring all justices to make a ruling within 72 hours. The Chief Justice may request clarification of these findings as needed.

Reviews of a proposed law may be requested by anyone. The post must include the proposed law, and a link to the discussion thread. The proposed law must have been conspicuously posted as a proposed poll for at least 24 hours, and the discussion thread open for at least 48 hours. The Justices will review the law for any conflicts with current law, and post their findings. The Chief Justice will post the poll for all proposals that pass Judicial Review.

All reviews must be finished by the end of the term if at all possible. The Chief Justice may defer a Judicial Review to the next term if it is filed less than 72 hours before the end of this term.

Citizen Complaints
Citizen complaints are used to determine if a citizen has violated a rule. They may be requested by any citizen in a post in the Judicial thread. Except as noted, the Justices must act in a fair, impartial, open and speedy manner throughout the process. All citizens are innocent unless determined to be guilty. Citizen Complaints shall be completed by the end of the term, unless the Judiciary finds this to be impossible, in which case the next term’s court may finish the investigation. All evidence, except foreknowledge of the game, must be presented publicly. Evidence of foreknowledge of the game will be reviewed by the Judiciary, and a statement about that evidence posted. Once that evidence becomes irrelevant due to game progress, any citizen may request it to be posted.

At any time during a citizen complaint, the citizen making the request may drop the request, ending the citizen complaint unless another citizen wishes to continue the process. Likewise, the citizen under investigation may accept the charges, and move immediately to the Sentencing phase.

If a citizen has been found innocent of a charge or if the citizen has been found guilty and sentenced appropriately, the citizen may not be charged again with the same violation

Review
Each requested Citizen Complaint will be reviewed by the Judiciary. Justices will gather and look through the evidence presented, including requests for statements from all citizens. If all three Justices determine the request to have No Merit, the basis for that finding will be posted by each Justice and the request is denied. If at least one Justice determines the request to have Merit, a trial on the facts will be conducted. The Judge Advocate will review the request and the relevant law, and determine the specific law the accused citizen is alleged to have violated.

Trial
The Judge Advocate will create a thread for the trial in the Citizen's forum. This initial post should contain the specific violations and the evidence for those accusations. The next two posts are reserved for the citizen accused and the Public Defender - until they post, or 24 hours from the initial post, no other citizen may post in the thread. All citizens are encouraged to post in this thread, but are reminded to respect the rights of all citizens.

Once the at least 48 hours have passed, and discussion has petered out, the Chief Justice can declare the discussion closed, and post a Trial poll.

The Trial poll will be a private poll, with the options Innocent, Guilty and Abstain. It will run for 48 hours. The option receiving the most votes will determine the result. In the event of a tie, the members of the Judiciary will determine the result by posting clear opinions in the Trial thread.

Sentencing
If a citizen under investigation during a Citizen Complaint has accepted the charges, the citizen, the accuser and the Judiciary may determine and assign a sentence if they all unanimously agree to the arrangement. Failure to uphold that arrangement will result in full sentencing poll posted as if the citizen were found guilty in a Trial.

If an arrangement cannot be made, or the citizen was found Guilty, the sentence will be determined by the citizens through a poll. The Chief Justice will post the poll, marked as private with a duration of 48 hours. The options for the poll will include:
  • Suspension from Demogame
  • Removal from Office (if applicable)
  • Public Apology
  • Final Warning
  • Warning
  • Abstain
Other options may be included through unanimous consent of the Judiciary.

Once the poll closes, the Chief Justice will determine the sentence imposed using cumulative voting. The most severe option that a majority of citizens support will be imposed. If a Warning is issued, a warning will be posted by the Chief Justice in the Judicial thread and may be reposted in that person’s government thread, if they hold an office. If a citizen is given a Final Warning, the above procedure will be used, but with stronger language. Additionally, the options “Warning” and “Final Warning” will not appear on a sentencing poll if that citizen is charged with a similar offense in the future. If a citizen is sentenced to a Public Apology, a thread apologizing for the actions taken must be posted by the defendant within 48 hours of the close of the sentencing poll. If the citizen is removed from office, they are barred from holding that office for the remainder of the term. The length of a suspension is to be determined by the Judiciary, with the required consent of the moderators
 
First of all, I'd like to apologize for being largely AWOL over the past few days. I was hit by a mountain of schoolwork from the last week of the trimester (finals, projects, and the like). That's over now, so I should have enough time to do my duty through the rest of the term.

I'd like to welcome back the other two justices, and I hope we have a good and productive term.
 
Here are the proposed Judicial Procedures. They are identical to last term's procedures. Please discuss and vote on these procedures whenever possible.

Common
Rights and Duties of all Citizens
  • Participate in all Judicial discussions
  • Request that any Judicial discussion be moved to its own thread in the Citizen's forum
  • Post requests for Judicial Review of existing law. These requests should contain a specific question and the section of law in question
  • Post requests for Judicial Review of proposed amendments. This request should contain the exact text to be reviewed and a link to the discussion thread
  • Post requests for clarification. This is an unofficial question about the rules that does not create a finding, but may lead to a Judicial Review
  • Post requests for Citizen Complaints. This is a request to determine if a citizen has violated a rule. This request must be posted in the Judicial thread. There are no anonymous requests
Shared duties and responsibilities of all Justices
  • Conduct the business of the court in a fair, impartial, open and speedy manner unless otherwise required
  • Review and discuss any questions about our laws
  • Review all proposed Amendments to our laws
  • Review all requested Citizen Complaints to determine if there is need
  • Participate in all Citizen Complaints in a fair and impartial manner
  • Post clear and decisive opinions on all questions. Abstentions are not allowed
  • Notify the Judiciary during any Absence, and arrange for a Pro-Tem replacement
  • Discuss and ratify these Judicial Procedures
  • Recuse themself from any Citizen Complaints that they are involved in as either the citizen requesting the CC, or as the citizen under investigation.
Rights and Duties of the Chief Justice
  • Post polls for amendments once they pass review
  • Post any valid Recall poll
  • Determine and post the official Census
  • Oversee all Judicial Proceedings
  • Maintain the Judicial Log
  • Appoint all Pro-Tem justices and seek confirmation by the President
  • Request that other justices post an opinion promptly
  • Maintain the docket and decide the priority level of cases
Rights and Duties of the Judge Advocate
  • Post any valid Recall poll if for the Chief Justice
  • Serve as the Prosecution during any trial of a citizen. In this role, the Judge Advocate need not act impartial as they are arguing for a specific side
Rights and Duties of the Public Defender
  • Serve as the Defense during as trial of a citizen, unless requested otherwise by the citizen. In this role, the Public Defender need not act impartial as they are arguing for a specific side

Judicial Reviews
Judicial Reviews are used to resolve questions of the law and to validate proposed amendments. The opinion of a majority of the Justices will be used to resolve the Judicial Review.

Reviews of existing laws may be requested by anyone. The Chief Justice shall review each request for merit. If the Chief Justice declines the request, either of the other two Justices may accept the request and override the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice will post each accepted request, clearly denoting the questions. After at least 24 hours, each Justice may post their finding. This post should clearly answer the questions as posed by the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice may request that the justices post their opinion promptly, requiring all justices to make a ruling within 72 hours. The Chief Justice may request clarification of these findings as needed.

Reviews of a proposed law may be requested by anyone. The post must include the proposed law, and a link to the discussion thread. The proposed law must have been conspicuously posted as a proposed poll for at least 24 hours, and the discussion thread open for at least 48 hours. The Justices will review the law for any conflicts with current law, and post their findings. The Chief Justice will post the poll for all proposals that pass Judicial Review.

All reviews must be finished by the end of the term if at all possible. The Chief Justice may defer a Judicial Review to the next term if it is filed less than 72 hours before the end of this term.

Citizen Complaints
Citizen complaints are used to determine if a citizen has violated a rule. They may be requested by any citizen in a post in the Judicial thread. Except as noted, the Justices must act in a fair, impartial, open and speedy manner throughout the process. All citizens are innocent unless determined to be guilty. Citizen Complaints shall be completed by the end of the term, unless the Judiciary finds this to be impossible, in which case the next term’s court may finish the investigation. All evidence, except foreknowledge of the game, must be presented publicly. Evidence of foreknowledge of the game will be reviewed by the Judiciary, and a statement about that evidence posted. Once that evidence becomes irrelevant due to game progress, any citizen may request it to be posted.

At any time during a citizen complaint, the citizen making the request may drop the request, ending the citizen complaint unless another citizen wishes to continue the process. Likewise, the citizen under investigation may accept the charges, and move immediately to the Sentencing phase.

If a citizen has been found innocent of a charge or if the citizen has been found guilty and sentenced appropriately, the citizen may not be charged again with the same violation

Review
Each requested Citizen Complaint will be reviewed by the Judiciary. Justices will gather and look through the evidence presented, including requests for statements from all citizens. If all three Justices determine the request to have No Merit, the basis for that finding will be posted by each Justice and the request is denied. If at least one Justice determines the request to have Merit, a trial on the facts will be conducted. The Judge Advocate will review the request and the relevant law, and determine the specific law the accused citizen is alleged to have violated.

Trial
The Judge Advocate will create a thread for the trial in the Citizen's forum. This initial post should contain the specific violations and the evidence for those accusations. The next two posts are reserved for the citizen accused and the Public Defender - until they post, or 24 hours from the initial post, no other citizen may post in the thread. All citizens are encouraged to post in this thread, but are reminded to respect the rights of all citizens.

Once the at least 48 hours have passed, and discussion has petered out, the Chief Justice can declare the discussion closed, and post a Trial poll.

The Trial poll will be a private poll, with the options Innocent, Guilty and Abstain. It will run for 48 hours. The option receiving the most votes will determine the result. In the event of a tie, the members of the Judiciary will determine the result by posting clear opinions in the Trial thread.

Sentencing
If a citizen under investigation during a Citizen Complaint has accepted the charges, the citizen, the accuser and the Judiciary may determine and assign a sentence if they all unanimously agree to the arrangement. Failure to uphold that arrangement will result in full sentencing poll posted as if the citizen were found guilty in a Trial.

If an arrangement cannot be made, or the citizen was found Guilty, the sentence will be determined by the citizens through a poll. The Chief Justice will post the poll, marked as private with a duration of 48 hours. The options for the poll will include:
  • Suspension from Demogame
  • Removal from Office (if applicable)
  • Public Apology
  • Final Warning
  • Warning
  • Abstain
Other options may be included through unanimous consent of the Judiciary.

Once the poll closes, the Chief Justice will determine the sentence imposed using cumulative voting. The most severe option that a majority of citizens support will be imposed. If a Warning is issued, a warning will be posted by the Chief Justice in the Judicial thread and may be reposted in that person’s government thread, if they hold an office. If a citizen is given a Final Warning, the above procedure will be used, but with stronger language. Additionally, the options “Warning” and “Final Warning” will not appear on a sentencing poll if that citizen is charged with a similar offense in the future. If a citizen is sentenced to a Public Apology, a thread apologizing for the actions taken must be posted by the defendant within 48 hours of the close of the sentencing poll. If the citizen is removed from office, they are barred from holding that office for the remainder of the term. The length of a suspension is to be determined by the Judiciary, with the required consent of the moderators
 
Justices,

Our Minister of Defense has not been seen for quite some time, to the point members of the state protective detail have begun to fear for his safety!

I have sent him a message, requesting that he return to us, and lead us into battle. Failing a response by Sunday afternoon, I plan to ask this body to investigate the matter, and declare his office Vacant as per Section H.4 of the Code of Laws.

Thank you,
-- Ravensfire, President of Fanatikos
 
Thank you for the message; I'll start an official investigation on Sunday afternoon unless he indicates earlier that he is here.
 
On November 2, our Minister of Defense, Ranger99, posted in the Absence Registry that he would be gone from then until the 6th. He has not posted anywhere in CFC since, for a total unannounced absence of eight days. President ravensfire has posted his intent to file a request for the Judicary to investigate as to his whereabouts and decide whether or not to declare his office vacant. I have decided to start the investigation now. Since we haven't run across this situation yet, and it isn't covered in the Judicial Procedures, I have improvised procedures to deal with it.

After this post is made, a PM will be sent to Ranger99 asking him to reply immediately and make a post in this thread if he is there. He will have 48 hours to do so. A copy of this PM will be sent to the other Justices, and an email will be sent to Ranger99 if possible. Other citizens may also post here if they have information regarding his absence. After that time is up, if there is no response, the justices may vote on whether or not to declare his office vacant. If a majority vote that the office should be declared Vacant, Ranger99 will be removed and the President will be free to appoint a new citizen Minister of Defense.

If the other Justices consent, a copy of this procedure will be written into the Judicial Procedures after this investigation is over.

edit: PM sent at 15:42 EST (20:42 GMT)
 
Ranger99 has sent this response to my query about his absence:
Ohh geez...I forgot all about this.... Im so sorry guys...Things came up, And sadly I won't re able to run as Minister of Defence anymore, I may offer insight from time to time, but being a Minister isn't possible for me anymore...Life comes at a man fast...

Thanks for the update though, luckily I logged on at the right moment, haven't logged on since the beginning of the month...

-Ranger99-
From that response, I gather that he is unable to perform his duties as Minister of Defense. Since we now know what has happened, this investigation may now be closed and a vote can be held on whether or not his office should be considered Vacant.

Because he clearly stated that he will no longer be able to perform his duties as Minister of Defense, but did not officially resign the post, I feel that it is appropriate to remove him from office and allow the President to appoint a replacement. In the interest of installing an effective Minister of Defense before the French war, my vote is to declare his office Vacant.
 
I concur with the chief justice, it is clear that the Minister will be unable to fulfill his duties for the near future, thus I interpret this to be tantamount to a resignation letter and find that the office is vacant
 
We won't be able to accept said amendment until the 17th (at least 48 hours need to have passed) and until a proposed poll has been posted in that thread and is up for at least 24 hours.
 
Bootstoots said:
We won't be able to accept said amendment until the 17th (at least 48 hours need to have passed) and until a proposed poll has been posted in that thread and is up for at least 24 hours.

Am I correct in interpreting it, that as the article on amendments is written the 48 hours and 24 hours don't need to run consecutively? Seems to me it just says the discussion has to last a total of at least 48 hours.
 
The 48 hours for discussion and the 24 hours for the proposed poll don't need to be consecutive, though you'd still need to have 48 hours of discussion over that particular amendment and the proposed poll would have to have been posted for 24 hours (which can be within the 48 hours of discussion needed).
 
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