Canadian-bacon Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 On Diverge, the real-life court system is emulated by the in-game equivalent - however, there are important differences out of concern for accessibility and simplicity for players. Being arrested In playing on the server, you will inevitably run into Law Enforcement Officers. If you commit a crime, you may also be arrested by them. Although maliciously motivated arrests happen, they violate server rules unless approved by the server administration - if you believe an instance of corruption is going on, you are encouraged to fight it through the legal system. You have a number of avenues available, such as civil lawsuits, pretrial motions, and internal affairs complaints. It is recommended that you hire a Bar-certified attorney to guide you through this process. They are familiar with the legal system and have likely encountered situations similar to yours. In the event that you are arrested, you will either be sent through the court system or offered a plea bargain. This means that the police will offer downgraded charges, or will drop some charges, in exchange for your guilty plea. Unlike the real world, the police can sentence you themselves for crimes you have pled guilty (or no contest) to. In most cases, it is recommended you do this - especially if it’s not a felony. Trials can be long and costly, and plea bargains offer a quicker, cheaper resolution. Should you believe coercion or corruption was involved, you should contact an attorney. Should you go through the court system, a criminal complaint will be drafted. This is how the State/District Attorney's Office (prosecutors) and Police initiate a case. This complaint will hold a list of charges and allegations accompanying them. Following the submission of this complaint to the courts, you will be scheduled for an arraignment. In this hearing, you will be read your charges, probable cause will be determined for them, bail will be set, and you will be told your rights. As provisioned by the constitutions of the United States and New York, as well as various statutes passed on both servers, you are entitled to due process and all the rights that ensue. You will be informed of them during the first appearance or directly afterwards, and judges will provide explanations of the court process. [font=Arial]After the conclusion of the arraignment, a date for trial will be set. Before this date, pretrial proceedings are conducted over the discord for the relevant court system; this allows an easy record of what happens and allows a supervised environment for discovery (the exchange of evidence for both parties) to occur. Civil Lawsuits If you believe a civil wrong was committed against you, you have the ability to file a civil complaint with the courts. This is a document which includes a number of details about the events that transpired, as well as a ‘prayer for relief’ - what you believe you are owed. As the creation of a complaint can be complicated, it is, once again, recommended that you hire a Bar-certified attorney. Police Because Assistant State Attorneys are not always available, you may have to draft your own criminal complaints. Instruction on how to do this is already provided by the Police Department, but it must still be stressed that the affidavit should be of the highest possible quality. You are providing an account of the facts to support the charges, and charges may be dropped should the affidavit be insufficient. The American Bar Association (ABA) ABA - The ‘American Bar Association’. From here, rules of legal practice are dictated, and new attorneys are certified. If you wish to become one, the exam is available on the discord for the Unified Court System. The discord also has forms for reporting attorneys and enquiring about both the court system and the Bar. Being an attorney New York City could always use more attorneys - after you complete your Bar exam, you will be contacted with the result and feedback on your answers. Once you are certified, you are free to engage in private practice. The police will frequently request the presence of attorneys for defendants that do not possess them, and you will have no shortage of work. You could also go the public route, and ask to become a public defender or assistant state attorney. Obviously, in these jobs, you will be issued a public salary and not a per-case fee. You will also be forbidden from private practice as long as you are employed by the state. Naturally, there will be things you don’t know. There are, however, many public resources you can look at to advance your knowledge. Both court systems have published handbooks, procedural rules, and links to real world resources that come up in trials on the server. As America is an English Common Law system, case law reigns supreme; simple google searches will often yield countless cases related to any one issue. The court system works largely off templates written by the members of the respective court; in these templates, substantial guidance is given on what to write, how to phrase things, etc. And, to reiterate, further guidance can be requested from the court. We understand that it is a GMod server, and will give advice accordingly. Additionally, you can take influence from real world court documents that you find online. If you believe there was a serious mishap in trial, there are two major paths you can take. You could attempt to get a new trial with a post-trial motion, or you could appeal the case. Guidance is available on doing this, and templates are available. For a more in depth explanation on the server’s legal process, handbooks have been created for New York: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GKJao8nHeT8JxbuLQSdb_vu5kQFDq9SG3FNVRN-ipqM/ (NY) You can also consult real-life resources such as the Rules of Criminal or Civil Procedure; each state has a version of these based on the federal equivalent. New York Court Discord: https://discord.gg/4fecwReaWA 1 Link to comment
Recommended Posts