Justice And Courts

V. Justice and Courts

The following trial procedures are generally known to most of Iridine's
inhabitants:

I. Starting a trial:

A. The accused may request a trial for any crime above petty theft,
disturbing the peace, or minor assault (Preferrably something with at least a
month of jailtime). When requesting a trial, the accused will need to
present enough evidence to show that a trial is necessary. Capital crimes,
those which involve life sentences or punishments of death, will always
require a trial. The decision to grant a trial is completely up to the
Justice's discretion, and a trial can be arranged without the request of the
accused, though such cases are very rare. If no trial is granted, the
accused is assumed guilty and must suffer all appropriate punishments.

B. Only a patrician may accuse another patrician.

C. Non-citizens must present significant proof to the Justice before
even being allowed to accuse a citizen of a crime.

II. The Trial:

A. The burden of proof is on the accused. If the evidence surrounding
the case is not enough to decide in either direction, both parties must pay
repetriation to the court in the amount of 500 denars each. If the accused
is found innocent, the accuser must pay a fine of 1 talent for wasting the
court's time. These amounts are only a guideline, and can be changed at the
Justice's discretion if there is gross misconduct.

B. Any disruptive persons in the courtroom will be charged with
disturbing the peace and can be charged a fine of up to 500 denars, depending
on the disturbance.

C. The prosecution will present its case first.

D. The trial will start with opening statements by each side, starting
with the prosecution. Only the chief prosecuting person and the accused or
the accused's defense representative may speak during these statements. The
Justice may ask questions during and after the statements. The opposing
party is not permitted to argue or dispute during a statement - it is up to
the Justice to see that the statements follow the rules of the court.

E. After the opening statements, each side will be allowed to call for
the testimony of witnesses. The Justice may or may not allow certain
witnesses to speak. The prosecution will call all of its witnesses, and
then the defense will call theirs. The Justice may question any witness at
any time during their testimony. Witnesses will not be questioned by the
party that did not call them to the stand; however, a witness can be called
by both the prosecution and the defense (be warned, the prosecution will not
have the opportunity to call a witness after the defense has). Testimony can
either come in the form of a statement, or through questioning by the person
who called them. If the testimony does not come in the form of a statement,
the person who called them must lead them via questions. After a witness has
been dismissed, they can not present any new information unless they are
called again by the opposing party.

F. After all witnesses have been questioned, the Justice may question any
person present. In rare situations, the Justice may allow people who were
not called to speak their peace. This is not always the case.

G. After all final questioning by the Justice, he may or may not dismiss
the court to allow him time to deliberate on the proceedings. Once the
deliberation, if necessary, is complete, the Justice will give his ruling.
All rulings are final, and must be carried out immediately. If a higher
Justice feels that the ruling is incorrect, he may decide to hear the same
case again. The accused is NOT allowed to ask for a higher Justice to do
this - it is completely at his discretion.

H. In the case that fines are levied and are not paid, the convicted
person will serve a sentence of no less than one week for every 100 denar
fined.

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