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PostPosted: January 5th, 2017, 8:38 pm 
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After some discussion with the Kingdom of Wysteria, the previous discussions and proposed language will be merged into one larger bill to make revisions to our judicial system and criminal code.

There are additional changes here to include the right to not give false testimony and to clarify giving false testimony as a crime:

Part of this bill is an Amendment to the Indoles Carta, thus, it must receive support from both a clear majority (60%) of active sitting members of the Council of the Crowned and a simple majority (50% + 1) from active sitting members of the House of Dukes.

Tide 00|07 Judicial Revision and Criminal Code Bill

This section will be added to the Imperial Codex document titled “The Mercurian International Criminal Code”

Tampering with evidence

The spoliation and/or tampering with evidence is the destruction, negligent withholding, fabrication, or alteration of the items, both physical and otherwise, presented as evidence in a judicial trial. Evidence belongs to the Mercurian Empire upon presentation of charges, wherein those charges list the evidence relevant to the case. The intent of an individual that tampers with evidence is considered, however, guilt shall be determined by trial should evidence of tampering be presented to the Judicial Court.

False Testimony

The presentation of false testimony is bearing false witness during mediation, presentation of evidence, criminal or civil trials, or elsewhere in the Judicial Court and its proceedings.


This bill also adds the following section to the Indoles Carta, under Section IV. Judicial, before Deliberation and Adjudication of Trials and after Appointing the Judge and Attorneys:

Evidence

Upon notification to the Judicial Court of either a trial or evidence that could lead to a trial, all evidence shall be presented to the Judicial Court upon its discovery. Upon delivery of evidence, the Mercurian Empire becomes the steward of the items, both physical and otherwise, presented as evidence in a Criminal trial. The Mercurian Empire retains the rights to the evidence in the case of a guilty verdict. In the case of a not guilty verdict, the evidence is returned to the defendant upon completion of the trial.

This bill also rewrites the following section of the Indoles Carta of Rights and Freedoms, under Section IV, Legal Rights:

4. Legal Rights

All citizens of the Mercurian Empire enjoy:

* The right to life, liberty, and the security of the person, and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance within the principles of fundamental justice.

* The right not to be subject to unreasonable search or seizure and not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, except in those cases outlined in Section IV of the Indoles Carta.

* The right to not be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself/herself.

* The right, upon arrest, to be informed of the charge without unreasonable delay, and to be tried within a reasonable time.

* The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law, both international and domestic, in fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.

* The right to be free from pressure to give false testimony.

* The right to not be tried or punished for the same crime, if finally acquitted or found guilty of the offense.

* The right to a new trial in the case that a mistrial can be confirmed due to emerging evidence that was absent during the initial adjudication.

* The right to not be charged with criminal or civil offences that were not listed in the Mercurian Criminal or Civil Codes at the time at which the action(s) were committed.

This section will be added to the Indoles Carta under section IV, after Deliberation and Adjudication of Trials but before Option for Third-Party Mediation.


Appealing a Sentence

Those convicted of crimes against the Mercurian Empire are entitled to the right to appeal the sentence handed down to them during a judicial trial. The individual making the appeal may submit their appeal to the Judicial Court after one mercannum (one month) has passed from the delivery of a sentence. Upon delivery of their appeal, the Council of the Crowned and the House of Dukes may consider the appeal with a vote to overturn the sentence. For this appeal to succeed, a large majority (75%) of active sitting members of the Council of the Crowned and a large majority (75%) of active sitting members of the House of Dukes must record a vote in favor of the appeal.

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PostPosted: January 5th, 2017, 8:41 pm 
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Previous discussions are here:

viewtopic.php?f=62&t=1447

viewtopic.php?f=62&t=1474

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PostPosted: January 5th, 2017, 9:41 pm 
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King

Joined: June 4th, 2015, 12:02 am
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I'm in favour of all that is proposed here.

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PostPosted: January 6th, 2017, 1:49 am 
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Following fine-point discussions between legal scholars in Wysteria and Ostlaed, several minor revisions have been made to this bill.

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PostPosted: January 6th, 2017, 1:54 am 
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King

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Mark Accynnafon wrote:
After some discussion with the Kingdom of Wysteria, the previous discussions and proposed language will be merged into one larger bill to make revisions to our judicial system and criminal code.

There are additional changes here to include the right to not give false testimony and to clarify giving false testimony as a crime:

Part of this bill is an Amendment to the Indoles Carta, thus, it must receive support from both a clear majority (60%) of active sitting members of the Council of the Crowned and a simple majority (50% + 1) from active sitting members of the House of Dukes.

Tide 00|07 Judicial Revision and Criminal Code Bill

This section will be added to the Imperial Codex document titled “The Mercurian International Criminal Code”

Tampering with evidence

The spoliation and/or tampering with evidence is the destruction, negligent withholding, fabrication, or alteration of the items, both physical and otherwise, presented as evidence in a judicial trial. Evidence belongs to the Mercurian Empire upon presentation of charges, wherein those charges list the evidence relevant to the case. The intent of an individual that tampers with evidence is considered, however, guilt shall be determined by trial should evidence of tampering be presented to the Judicial Court.

False Testimony

The presentation of false testimony is bearing false witness during mediation, presentation of evidence, criminal or civil trials, or elsewhere in the Judicial Court and its proceedings.


This bill also adds the following section to the Indoles Carta, under Section IV. Judicial, before Deliberation and Adjudication of Trials and after Appointing the Judge and Attorneys:

Evidence

Upon notification to the Judicial Court of either a trial or evidence that could lead to a trial, all evidence shall be presented to the Judicial Court upon its discovery. Upon delivery of evidence, the Mercurian Empire becomes the steward of the items, both physical and otherwise, presented as evidence in a Criminal trial. The Mercurian Empire retains the rights to the evidence in the case of a guilty verdict. In the case of a not guilty verdict, the evidence is returned to the defendant upon completion of the trial.

This bill also rewrites the following section of the Indoles Carta of Rights and Freedoms, under Section IV, Legal Rights:

4. Legal Rights

All citizens of the Mercurian Empire enjoy:

* The right to life, liberty, and the security of the person, and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance within the principles of fundamental justice.

* The right not to be subject to unreasonable search or seizure and not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, except in those cases outlined in Section IV of the Indoles Carta.

* The right to not be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself/herself.

* The right, upon arrest, to be informed of the charge without unreasonable delay, and to be tried within a reasonable time.

* The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law, both international and domestic, in fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.

* The right to be free from pressure to give false testimony.

* The right to not be tried or punished for the same crime, if finally acquitted or found guilty of the offense.

* The right to a new trial in the case that a mistrial can be confirmed due to emerging evidence that was absent during the initial adjudication.

* The right to not be charged with criminal or civil offences that were not listed in the Mercurian Criminal or Civil Codes at the time at which the action(s) were committed.

This section will be added to the Indoles Carta under section IV, after Deliberation and Adjudication of Trials but before Option for Third-Party Mediation.


Appealing a Sentence

Those convicted of crimes against the Mercurian Empire are entitled to the right to appeal the sentence handed down to them during a judicial trial. The individual making the appeal may submit their appeal to the Judicial Court after one mercannum (one month) has passed from the delivery of a sentence. Upon delivery of their appeal, the Council of the Crowned and the House of Dukes may consider the appeal with a vote to overturn the sentence. For this appeal to succeed, a large majority (75%) of active sitting members of the Council of the Crowned and a large majority (75%) of active sitting members of the House of Dukes must record a vote in favor of the appeal.

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PostPosted: January 8th, 2017, 4:54 pm 
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Joined: June 1st, 2015, 12:47 am
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I do not think that leaving appeals up to a vote in Parliament is the best option, as the passions of the community could easily be what caused a mistrial in the first place. An alternative would be to appoint a group of people with no personal involvement or stake in the original trial to review it.

In addition, we may want to define what a mistrial is. Though it may seem obvious to some, these views can easily differ in subtle but important ways. I believe that a mistrial is any case in which either:

A) The judicial procedure as defined in our laws and the Indoles Carta was not followed.

B) New evidence is revealed that casts doubt on the guilty verdict.

C) The law that the defendant was convicted of violating is unconstitutional.

The last point brings up a topic we have yet to touch, constitutional review. At what point and how do we put laws on trial?

In addition, the appeals process is open to the defense, but are there any circumstances in which the prosecution may appeal a verdict? How might those circumstances be different than the ones the defense can appeal under?

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PostPosted: January 8th, 2017, 5:02 pm 
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The Chairman wrote:
I do not think that leaving appeals up to a vote in Parliament is the best option, as the passions of the community could easily be what caused a mistrial in the first place. An alternative would be to appoint a group of people with no personal involvement or stake in the original trial to review it.

In addition, we may want to define what a mistrial is. Though it may seem obvious to some, these views can easily differ in subtle but important ways. I believe that a mistrial is any case in which either:

A) The judicial procedure as defined in our laws and the Indoles Carta was not followed.

B) New evidence is revealed that casts doubt on the guilty verdict.

C) The law that the defendant was convicted of violating is unconstitutional.

The last point brings up a topic we have yet to touch, constitutional review. At what point and how do we put laws on trial?

In addition, the appeals process is open to the defense, but are there any circumstances in which the prosecution may appeal a verdict? How might those circumstances be different than the ones the defense can appeal under?


You bring up some good points for sure. My concern with appointing a group is - who gets to decide that group?

My other concern is taking too much away from our judicial system. It's set up pretty well, and as far as I'm aware we've never had any "bad trials" in terms of the outcome that the wider community didn't care for.

Good points though, I'd like to see what others think about the points you've raised. I myself prefer the semi-legislative approach, especially since it is restricted to HoD and CotC, whereas a Jury can have counts on it as well. However, if someone can think of something better, I'd love to hear it detailed out.

Keep in mind that the "legislative" appeals process is only for overturning sentences, not for a mistrial. We should add something in there about a mistrial being declared if the judicial process wasn't followed for sure.

Something like:

* The right to a new trial if the judicial process was not followed in the original trial

Thoughts?

As for laws, we can overturn them via the normal process if we decide as a community later on that it wasn't quite right. I don't think that should be taken to a court. It's not as if laws get passed without the proper numbers/much discussion. Sure, not everyone gives input on every law, but it's not as if they are prevented from doing so! Even counts can give input in Parliament on laws. Care to delve deeper into why we'd need some sort of extra process to handle a potentially "bad" law?

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PostPosted: January 8th, 2017, 6:08 pm 
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King

Joined: May 31st, 2015, 3:32 am
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Good points so far that have been presented. My only concern here is the wording about items becoming the property of the empire even before a trial is set for an individual. For example, if it is related to building supplies and the empire is merely trying to decided whether or not to charge an individual. That individual won't be able to use said resources for progressing their area until a decision has been rendered. I can see doing this if they are being charged but it may not be correct to hold these items even if they "may" be charged. I may be reading it wrong but that is what I see atm.

Other than that all areas have been covered.

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PostPosted: January 8th, 2017, 6:36 pm 
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I do believe the items themselves would be left in place, as to preserve evidence - however - custody in this case means that the court is the "owner" under charges are cleared. I do not find concern with interfering with a build if duping or stealing is the issue, as in either case, it's not likely to be building materials. It's likely to be valuables. In the case it is mass quantities of building materials, I would either think they were capable of acquiring them again easily, or, it would be obvious that they stole or duped them. In either case, we have to have good evidence - possibly including logblock - that this occurred to charge someone with this. It's not a charge that can be levied based on something arbitrary. Either someone has stuff missing, and it's found elsewhere, or we find some kind of duping setup/mass quantities of items not easily acquirable or impossible to acquire in survival.

Yes, there is the issue of "what if they are innocent?" Well, it's always possible, right?

It's up to us to decide if we'd rather possibly inconvenience someone (although I'd argue charging them with a crime is far more damaging than being without materials for a time) temporarily, whom we eventually find innocent; or, establish a chain of custody to prevent people from destroying evidence/hiding materials away/giving them to a buddy on the server before they are put in prison/etc.

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PostPosted: January 8th, 2017, 7:12 pm 
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King

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That is correct, I do agree with the above statements. In the interest of this topic, however, i believe their needs to be a minor revision to the evidence section.

Evidence

Upon notification to the Judicial Court of either a trial or charges being presented against an individual, all evidence shall be presented to the Judicial Court upon its discovery. Upon delivery of evidence, the Mercurian Empire becomes the steward of the items, both physical and otherwise, presented as evidence in a Criminal trial. The Mercurian Empire retains the rights to the evidence in the case of a guilty verdict. In the case of a not guilty verdict, the evidence is returned to the defendant upon completion of the trial.

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