Contents
1. Introduction
2. Roles
3. Judicial Department Structure
4. Courtroom Services
5. Weapon Information
6. Radio Codes
7. Chain of Command
8. Strike System
9. Paychecks
Introduction
This handbook is an outline of Courtroom Procedures and the structure of the Judicial Department. This will give an explanation of what is expected inside a courtroom and serve as a point of reference for all courtroom procedures.
Roles
Judicial Branch
Chief Justice((R8)) - This is the highest ranked Judge in all of San Andreas. Judgements made by the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court are final. The Chief Justice is the head of the Supreme Court and oversees all the courts in San Andreas.
Associate Justice((R6)) - These are the members of the Supreme Court that are not the Chief Justice. They take apart in the voting on any Supreme Court decision. The amount of Supreme Court Justices are voted on by the State Senate.
Federal Magistrate((R5)) - These are Federal Judges who interpret and preside over Federal Court Procedures. These are the only Judges allowed to make decision involving the Federal Government and FBI. Federal Judges can also appeal the decisions of lower courts.
State District Judge((R4)) - These are Judges that operate on the State level. These judges proceed over all State a City court proceedings. These Judges can make decisions regarding all State and City Government funded Agencies through the courts.
__________________________________________________ ______________________________________
Department of Justice
Attorney General((R7)) - The Head Law Enforcement Official of the State. The Attorney General is appointed by the Governor and serves as his main Law Enforcement adviser. The Attorney General is the head of the San Andreas Department of Justice. The Attorney General cannot make direct changes to the Judiciary Branch.
District Attorney((R3)) - This is the head Prosecutor of San Andreas. They are tasked with bringing cases before Judges in order to enforce criminal and civil law within the State. They also oversee the Assistant District Attorneys of their respective District
Assistant District Attorney((R2)) - These prosecutors coordinate with the District Attorneys Office and prosecute and enforce civil and criminal law through the Sate. This is where the main pool of prosecutors will assist.
Public Defenders((R1)) - These are Government funded lawyers to provide legal services to those who can't afforded to them by the U.S constitution. You can defend clients in civil and criminal matters that require a Lawyer. They also standby for suspects arrested by Law Enforcement that might need a lawyer.
Legal Investigators((R0)) - This is the entry level into the Judicial Department as well as the Department of Justice. You must start of as this position if you've never been a lawyer before. You will shadow a Lawyer and assist with any Evidence collection needs. You operate with the authority of the District Attorneys Office. You are allowed to enter and move freely around any State funded HQ and property.
Judicial Department Structure
The Judicial Branch and Department of Justice operate as separate entities.
The Judicial Department is split into to main parts. The San Andreas Department of Justice and the Judicial Branch. The Judicial Branch consist of all Judges with the Judicial Department. That includes the following positions in the respective amounts.
Chief Justice - 1
Associate Justice - 2
Federal Magistrate - 1
State District Judge - 2
The quantity of quantities of each position can only be changed by a Majority vote by the San Andreas State Senate with a quorum of 3 members. The second part of the Judicial Department is the Department of Justice. They oversee all State Law Enforcement efforts civil and criminal. This Office also investigates Government funded agencies for ethics violations or legal violations. The positions in the Department of Justice :
Attorney General - 1
District Attorney - 1
Assistant District Attorney [up to 2 per department(LSPD/SAST/NG)]
Public Defender - No Limit
Legal Defender - No Limit
Courtroom Services
Casefile Appeals(Civilian).
If you've been Casefiled by a State or Federal Law Enforcement agency you may appealed after the execution of the arrest. You can have it appealed by your legal representation at any point during or after your incarceration. There will be a hearing where the subject of the case-file may present any counter Evidence and has 5-10 minutes to make his argument. The burden of proof is on Agency enforcing the case-file. All the evidence being used to make a case against the subject must be in the original Casefile. The casefile must be complete on the time of arrest.
Lawsuits
The right to file a lawsuit is a fundamental constitution right. You have the right to file a suit to be viewed by an appropriate Judge. This is a list of offenses that a individual or entity can get sued for:
Spoiler!
__________________________________________________ ______________
Lawsuit Procedure:
The burden of Proof is on the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff is a person who brings a case against another in a court of law. The Defendant(s) are the targets of litigation. Here is the process of how a lawsuit should proceed.
1. Lawsuit filed - The lawsuit is completed and brought before a judge.
2. Lawsuit served - The Plaintiff is notifies the defendant of the pending lawsuit
3. Trial date is set by the Presiding Judge.
4. Court is in session - Each side gets 10 minutes to make their argument based on the Evidence submitted prior on both sides.
5. Verdict - Judgement is made on the case by the presiding Judge.
Appeals Court
They are multiple level a Courtroom decision can be appealed. The highest court a courtroom decision can be appealed at is the Supreme Court. You must go through the initial courtroom decision at least once before you appeal it. You can appeal a State Courtroom decision to a Federal Appeals Judge. The Federal Judge can chose to respect the decision made by the lower court or put it through Judicial Review. If the appeal goes to Judicial Review the Judge must review the evidence and side filing the appeal must only argue why the previous court decision was wrong. An appeal is not a re-trial. The appeal courts go from State Appeals Court > Federal Appeals Court > The Supreme Court. At any point while going through the appeal process. The appealing judge can chose to respect the decision of the smaller courts and not see the case. A case must go through the previous lower Court-before it can be appealed at the next level. The only exception is that cases can be fast tracked to the Supreme Court at any appeals level.
Appeals Process
1. Appeals is filed ((Lawsuit form))
2. Court Date is made.
3. Both sides submit evidence they want to use prior to the court date.
4. Court is in session both sides have 10 minutes each to argue for and against the previous court decision was appealed.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the final point in the appeals process. The Chief Justice can chose to respect lower court decision or accept an Appeal from a Federally appealed court case. The Supreme Court can intervene on an appeal if they feel the matter should be addressed by the Supreme Court, for example the Constitutionality of a law. Court decisions made by the Supreme Court are final and can not be appealed unless later proven to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Quorum for a Supreme Court session is 2 Associate Justices And 1 Supreme Court Justice. Chief Justice can make solo Supreme court decision only when Associate Justice is Vacant. A supreme court decision is made by a 2/3 Majority vote.
Supreme Court Session:
1. Appeal or Case accepted by the Supreme Court.
2. Date is set for the Supreme Court Case.
3. Any new Evidence is submitted on the Original Case prior to court date((thread)).
4. Each Side will have 15 minutes each to argue their case.
5. The Supreme Court Justices will deliberate on whether to uphold or over turn the Lower courts decision.
6. The decision and interpretation of the Supreme Court Justices will announced.
Department Discipline Hearings
These hearings are used to make decisions on discipline Government Funded Agencies. These are usually the result of:
Lawsuits
Department Complaint Report
Department of Justice Investigation
Case-file Appeals on Faction members.
Successful lawsuits against individuals in a Government funded Agencies can lead to criminal and civil charges, as well as Department Strikes. If a Department shows a pattern of behavior that needs to be addressed by the court, a case can be brought against an entire Agency and consequences can be handed out to the entity as a whole. Upon being arrested for a Case-file you may request a Department Discipline Hearing to review the Evidence on your Case-file and have a Judge make a decision. The case-file target will remain suspended for the duration of the hearing. The Burden of Proof is on the complainant.
Sentencing Hearing
This are done after a suspect is arrested and there is an available Judge. The suspect may chose to have a lawyer present or represent himself. The arresting agency will present the charges against him.
1. Arresting Agency reads the charges against the suspect and the reasons for the charges.
2. The suspect or his council has 5 minutes to defend his actions or can forfeit this and accept the charges against him.
3. The person(s) that executed the arrest have up to 5 minutes to respond to the defense.
4. The Judge may accept the charges and sentence the suspect based on his crimes. Or he can chose to throw out the charges if any civil liberties or laws were violated by the arresting agency in the duration of the arrest. (I.E. Suspect was not read his right so he was released as a result). If civil liberties were violated a separate Lawsuit can be filed against the agency and the verdict of this hearing can be used as evidence.
Evidence Guidelines
In accordance to the United States Constitution and previous Supreme Court precedents there are standards that must be upheld in obtaining and using evidence. If any of the following rules are violated. Evidence will be deemed inadmissible. Evidence that violated these rules used in case-files can lead to overturn lawsuits and litigation. If evidence deemed inadmissible can be obtained through legal means after.
Source of the evidence cannot be confirmed.
This applies more to audio and visual evidence/information removed from civilian sources. If original source needs to be confirmed for the evidence to be considered valid.
Evidence was obtained without a warrant
]If physical evidence obtained from private property without a warrant all the evidence gathered on the property is considered inadmissible.
Evidence is privelaged
Any communication between a Lawyer/Lawfirm and a client is privilege or someone seeking legal advice. The only exception is if there is evidence that the client is conspiring to commit a crime with a lawyer.
Hearsay evidence
Statements/Testimony which is made outside of the court to prove the truth of the matter is often excluded. For example, if a witness claims another witness said the defendant hit the victim with a knife and the prosecutor wants to use the testimony to prove that the defendant stabbed the victim, that testimony is considered hearsay. They are exceptions to the rule.
Courtroom Objections
An objection is a formal protest raised in court during a trial to disallow a witness's testimony or other evidence which would be in violation of the rules of evidence or other procedural law. An Objection is called by saying Objection at any point during the opposing client's testimony followed by the reason for the Objection. For example "Objection your honor, Hearsay". The judge can now say "Overruled" which over turns the objection allowing the original statement. "Sustained" is the other options which means the Objection is accepted that the Objected Statement may not be considered in the Judgement of the trial or as Evidence. These are a list of Objections that can be used in the court.
Argumentative: the question makes an argument rather than asking a question
Asked and answered: when the same attorney continues to ask the same question and they have already received an answer. Usually seen after direct, but not always.
Assumes facts not in evidence: the question assumes something as true for which no evidence has been shown.
Badgering: counsel is antagonizing the witness in order to provoke a response, either by asking questions without giving the witness an opportunity to answer or by openly mocking the witness.
Beyond the scope: A question asked during cross-examination has to be within the scope of direct, and so on.
Calls for a conclusion: the question asks for an opinion rather than facts.
Calls for speculation: the question asks the witness to guess the answer rather than to rely on known facts.
Compound question: multiple questions asked together.
Hearsay: the witness does not know the answer personally but heard it from another. However, there are several exceptions to the rule against hearsay in most legal systems.
Incompetent: the witness is not qualified to answer the question.
Inflammatory: the question is intended to cause prejudice.
Leading question: the question suggests the answer to the witness. Leading questions are permitted if the attorney conducting the examination has received permission to treat the witness as a hostile witness. Leading questions are also permitted on cross-examination, as witnesses called by the opposing party are presumed hostile.
Narrative: the question asks the witness to relate a story rather than state specific facts.
Privilege: the witness may be protected by law from answering the question.
Irrelevant or immaterial: the question is not about the issues in the trial.
Misstates evidence / misquotes witness / improper characterization of evidence: this objection is often overruled, but can be used to signal a problem to witness, judge and jury.
Fruit of the poisonous tree: the evidence was obtained illegally, or the investigative methods leading to its discovery were illegal. Can be circumvented; see inevitable discovery
Incomplete: opposing party only introducing part of the writing (conversation/act/declaration), taken out of context. Under the evidence rule providing for completeness, other party can move to introduce additional parts. If any documents presented for the review, the judge and other party entitled to a complete copy, not a partial copy, of the document. When a witness is presented with a surprise document, he should be able to take time to study it, before he can answer any questions.
Home 
