Difference between revisions of "Proposal/Due Process Act"

Revision as of 00:13, 3 August 2010

1. General Provisions
   1. In all cases the party who brought charges or filed a suit will be the prosecutor, and the party against which charges were brought or a suit filed will be the defendant.
   2. Before the start of any trial time will be provided for the selection of attorneys. The trial will begin once both sides have selected an attorney or forgone legal counsel, or a week has passed.
   3. Once attorneys have been selected, the Court will convene with both sides and agree upon a date and time period when all can be present for the trial, when both sides feel they will have sufficient evidence to make their case and when the witnesses both sides wish to call will be available. To expedite this decision, the Court will maintain at all times a public listing of times and days of the week when all justices are available.
   4. If no time can be agreed upon, a date when both sides feel they will have sufficient evidence will be agreed upon instead, and a thread will be opened on the regional forums on this date. Otherwise all trials will be held on internet relay chat during the time period agreed upon.
2. Criminal Cases
   1. The Minister of Justice or Deputy Minister of Justice may bring criminal charges against any individual. A report detailing the charges against the accused must be made to both the Chief Justice and public at large at the time charges are brought.
   2. If no such report is given, the case will not be brought before the Court and the accused will be freed if they were under arrest in relation to the charges.
   3. During the selection of attorneys, if the defendant desires an attorney but can not provide one, they may request that the Ministry of Justice provide a public defender. Defendants will automatically be provided with a public defender after a week if they do not forgo legal counsel.
3. Civil Cases
   1. Any person or private organization may bring a suit against another person or private organization. A report detailing the damages which the person or organization filing the suit believes they have suffered will be filed with the suit.
   2. The Chief Justice may choose to try or throw out any suit based on their opinion of the importance or frivolity of the claimed damages.
   3. If the Chief Justice decides to try the suit, they will summon the defendants.
4. Arrests
   1. The Minister of Regional Security, the Deputy Minister of Regional Security, agents of the Ministry of Regional Security, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Justice and the Deputy Minister of Justice will all be empowered to make arrests, and will be called officers of the law.
   2. An officer of the law may arrest any person they observe committing a criminal act. If a person is not observed committing a criminal act but suspected of doing so, a warrant for their arrest must be obtained.
   3. Any officer of the law may request a warrant from the Chief Justice of the Court. Requests will be submitted with pertinent evidence. The Chief Justice may grant or refuse requests based on the evidence presented. If the Chief Justice does not respond to a request within a week, the warrant will be granted.
   4. When an arrest is made, the arresting officer will issue reports to the Minister of Justice, Chief Justice and public at large informing them of the arrest and reasons for it. If no report is filed within a week, the arrested will be freed.
   5. If the Ministry of Justice does not bring formal criminal charges within a week, the arrested will be freed. The Ministry of Justice may free the arrested before this deadline if they believe no charges can be brought.
   6. A single warrant will only authorize the arrest of a single individual. A warrant will become void once the individual has been arrested or a week passes since it was granted.
5. Compulsion of Testimony or Evidence
6. Recusal of Justices
7. Contempt of Court and Obstruction of Justice