Criminal Procedures Act
Proposed by: McChimp
Preamble
In order to allow the citizenry of Lazarus to pursue justice for criminal offences committed against them, this constitutional law lays down the procedures by which a fair conclusion might be brought about.
Section 1. Criminal Rights, Responsibilities and Powers
(1) Any citizen may petition the Court of Lazarus to begin a criminal case by posting a public accusation against another player. Public accusations must follow any requirements established by the Court of Lazarus by majority vote.
(2) The Court of Lazarus shall maintain a publically available Criminal Library of court procedures, amending it by majority vote.
a. Only court procedures which explicitly state as such within their text may result in a verdict.
b. The Criminal Library shall contain exactly one procedure for rehearing cases which have been appealed. This procedure must result in a verdict.
c. The Criminal Library may not be amended during a criminal case.
(3) The accuser and the defendant may each choose someone to act on their behalf during a criminal case. They may replace the person representing them at any time.
(4) The Justices serving on a criminal court may issue a verdict of "Guilty" or "Not Guilty" by majority vote.
(5) Having found a player guilty, the Justices serving on a criminal court must determine a lawful sentence by majority vote.
(6) Those who have been sentenced may make a public appeal to the Delegate to review their sentence. The Delegate may initiate a rehearing by a criminal court in order to obtain a new verdict and sentence should they see reasonable cause to do so.
a. Rehearings shall follow the procedure described within the Criminal Library.
b. Rehearings shall be conducted by three temporary Justices appointed by the Delegate. These Justices must not have handled on the case being appealed and shall have no other court responsibilities or powers. Their appointments shall not be subject to Assembly confirmation.
c. Rehearings shall be conducted publicly unless the Justices serving on them determine that their contents are sensitive by majority vote.
(7) Sentences will be implemented in-game by the Delegate and on the forum by one or more members of the admin team. Every government official in Lazarus is responsible for reporting any violation of a court-imposed sentence that they learn of.
Section 2. Criminal Procedure
(1) Criminal cases will be heard by the Court of Lazarus.
(2) Any Justice serving on the Court must recuse themselves from ruling on any case where they are the defendant, the accuser, a representative of either party, or where they are otherwise unable to rule in a fair and unbiased manner. Absent Justices will also be considered recused.
(3) If one or more Justices are recused from a case, the Delegate will appoint temporary Justices to serve in their place. These Justices shall have no other court responsibilities or powers. Their appointments shall not be subject to Assembly confirmation.
(4) The Court of Lazarus must notify the defendant that a case has been brought against them post-haste.
(5) The Justices handling the case shall decide by majority vote whether or not to dismiss it.
(6) Should the case not be dismissed, the Justices handling the case shall then select a court procedure described within the Criminal Library by majority vote and give notice that the Court will convene.
(7) A criminal court shall convene publicly unless the Justices serving on it determine that its contents are sensitive by majority vote.