Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Locked Topic
Rules and Procedures of the Court
Topic Started: Aug 7 2014, 03:50 PM (81 Views)
Richard I
Member Avatar
The Lord Protector

Rules and Procedures of the Court

Rule 1. Keeping of the Court Records

The Court Records shall be the official recording of all cases, reviews, and orders given, organized by term. These records shall be pinned in the Supreme Courts’ main area. The records shall be maintained by the Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate or their designee.

Rule 2. Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate

The Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate shall be the most senior member of the Court. In the event the Lord Chief Magistrate becomes inactive for more than 4 days, or posts with a Leave of Absence, another justice shall be chosen by the absent LCM or Sovereign to temporarily serve as Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate.

Rule 3. Deputy LCM

The Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate may appoint another justice as his/her deputy, to fill in for the LCM in the event that he/she cannot fulfill his/her duties.

Rule 4. Terms

The Council shall hold a continuous Term starting on the first day of the Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate’s appointment and ending the day of the Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate resignation/removal. At the end of each Term all cases, ongoing and pending approval shall be moved to the next Term.

Rule 5. Admission to the Bar

1. Any citizen may apply for admission to the Bar. All those who submit an application for admission to the Bar are deemed to have read and understood the court rules. The Council retains discretion to deny applications for admission for any reason.

2. There will be a topic pinned in the Council of Magistrates for applications for admission. Any Justice may grant an application.

Rule 6. Appearance of Counsel

Any citizen who wishes to appear before the Court in a representative capacity, or to submit any document to the Court as a representative of another party, must first be granted admission to the Bar.

Rule 7. Admission pro hac vice

Any person (regardless of whether they have citizenship) who wishes to appear before the Court for just a single case may file an application for permission to appear pro hac vice. The Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate will rule on all such applications.

Rule 8. Readmission to the Bar

Any person who has had admission to the Bar revoked as a disciplinary measure may file a special motion for readmission to the Bar. Such a motion must receive unanimous approval from the Justices in order to be granted.

Rule 9. Removal of Admission to the Bar

1. The Court may remove Admission to the Bar from any citizen granted Admission to the Bar for reasons stated in this document.

2. Should Removal of Admission to the Bar occur during a trial, said trial shall immediately go into Recess until the Counselor is replaced.

Rule 10. Case Acceptance

1. Any Magistrate may accept a case provided that it meets the following requirements.

a. Criminal – All criminal cases must be filed with the Attorney General, except where:
i) The Attorney General has made a decision to deny charges and the Court has granted a referral pursuant to 15.0000.5, or;
ii) The Attorney General team is unstaffed, in which case it is assumed that all criminal complaints have been refused.
In either situation, criminal cases may be filed directly with the Court.
b. Civil – A civil case may be filed by any citizen of Valconesia.
c. Judicial Reviews – A judicial review may be filed by any citizen who holds Admission to the Bar.

2. The numbering of cases shall be as follows:
a.Civil Cases: 16.XXXX.X
b.Criminal Cases: 3.XXXX.X
c.Judicial Reviews: 80.XXXX.X

Rule 11. Case Denial

The Court may, by majority vote, deny any case application for one of the following reasons:
i) The Court has already ruled upon the issue;
ii) The Court lacks jurisdiction to consider the matter;
iii) The application is unclear, frivolous or fails to state a claim for relief;
iv) The person making the application lacks standing (in civil cases and judicial reviews only).

Rule 12. Criminal Cases

1. In all criminal cases, except where one of the exceptions in Rule 10 applies, the Attorney General will represent the prosecution. Any person who holds Admission to the Bar or has been granted admission pro hac vice under Rule 7 may represent a defendant.

2. Any defendant is entitled to be represented by any person of their choosing who holds admission to the bar or has made a successful motion under Rule 7.

Rule 13. Judicial Inquiry

1. Any Citizen may ask for a Judicial Inquiry. An Inquiry shall be a review or reinterpretation of a law already in place. Acceptance of an Inquiry is not a right and as such, it shall be answered at the discretion of the Court.

2. Any member of the Court may file a response to an Inquiry. The Court's response has no precedental weight, and should be treated as advisory only. The Court may also exercise its discretion and decline to answer an Inquiry.

Rule 14. Judicial Review - Procedure

1. Whenever a judicial review is accepted, both the person filing the review and the respondent(s) should submit their arguments by Personal Message to all the Magistrates.

2. The Court may, at its discretion, ask for further information from a party, schedule oral arguments and/or allow the submission of briefs from interested parties.

Rule 15. Civil Cases - Procedure

The procedure in a civil case may be set by the presiding Magistrate, provided that both parties are treated equally, fairly and given sufficient time to present arguments.

Rule 16. Presiding Magistrate

Except where the Court hears a case en banc under Rule 29, the Magistrate who accepted the case shall be deemed the presiding Magistrate, except where they announce their intention not to do so.

Rule 17. Criminal Trial Schedule

The following will be the official Order of Criminal Proceedings for this Court.

Line 1-Magistrate shall repeat all charges.
Line 2-Defendant submits plea of either guilty or not guilty.
Line 3-Opening statement from the prosecution.
Line 4-Opening statement from the defence.
Line 5-Prosecution shall present evidence or witness #1
Line 6-Defense shall be allow to cross examine #1
Line 7-(this shall continue until the prosecution has called all witnesses or presented all evidence, then it shall be vice-versa for the defence)
Line 8-Closing statement from the prosecution.
Line 9-Closing statement from the defence.
Line 10-Verdict and, if appropriate, sentence.

Rule 18. Right to a Jury

A defendant may, when asked for their plea in a criminal trial, invoke their right to be tried by a jury.

Rule 19. Waiver of Right

The onus in on a defendant to assert their right to be tried by a jury; if they fail to do so when entering their plea, they will be deemed to have waived their right to a jury trial.

Rule 20. Jury Construction

The presiding Magistrate will choose 5 citizens to serve on a jury; these names will then be disclosed to both the prosecutor and the defense counsel. Either side may object to a citizen's presence on the jury; the presiding Magistrate will then decide whether to remove that citizen from the jury. If only one side objects to the inclusion of a juror, then the party making the objection has the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that the juror is unable to judge the case fairly.

Rule 21. Jury Tampering

1. Neither the prosecution nor the defense may discuss, or attempt to discuss, the case with any members of the jury before a verdict is given. Any breach of this rule may, if the presiding Magistrate believes the trial has become fundamentally unfair, declare a mistrial. A defendant who engages in jury tampering which results in a mistrial shall be deemed to have waived their right to a jury in a re-trial.

2. When the prosecution engage in jury tampering, and the presiding Magistrate believes that it is more likely than not that it was done with the intention of influencing the jury's deliberations, the presiding Magistrate may enter a verdict of not guilty instead of declaring a mistrial.

3. Any member of the bar who violates this rule is liable to have disciplinary action taken against them under Rule 27.

Rule 22. Judgement of Acquittal

At the close of the prosecution's case, the defense counsel may file a motion for a judgement of acquittal. The presiding Magistrate will grant the motion and enter a verdict of not guilty if and only if the prosecution's evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to sustain the charges.

Rule 23. Motions to the Court

Every motion to the Court must clearly state its purpose, the facts on which it is based, and the relevant law. A motion should be concise. Motions to the Court may be submitted before the case via Personal Message to the presiding Magistrate, or in open court during a hearing.

Rule 24. Objections in Court

All objections within the courtroom will be either sustained or overruled by the presiding Magistrate. Once a ruling is given on an objection, it may not be made again; a party who argues with the presiding Justice's ruling on an objection in the hearing may be subject to disciplinary measures.

Rule 25. Presenting Evidence

1. All evidence which a prosecutor/plaintiff (as appropriate) intends to use must be sent via Personal Message to the presiding Magistrate before the start of the case.

2. Any party may make a motion to suppress evidence on the grounds that it is irrelevant or was unlawfully obtained; the presiding Magistrate will determine whether to grant the motion. The party bringing the motion has the burden of establishing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that suppression is warranted.

3. A prosecutor/plaintiff may submit evidence beyond their pre-trial disclosure with the permission of the presiding Magistrate, provided that they can demonstrate a clear and compelling reason as to why the evidence could not have been disclosed pre-trial.

Rule 26. Witnesses

The presiding Magistrate has the power to limit questioning of a witness if they believe that the testimony being given is irrelevant or dilatory. Moreover, a cross-examination may only focus upon the testimony given by the witness and the credibility of the witness.

Rule 27. Disciplinary Sanctions

1. Any person who holds Admission to the Bar or is granted leave to appear under Rule 7 who does one or more of the following is liable to sanctions:
i) tampers with a jury, as defined in Rule 21;
ii) speaks out of turn in proceedings;
iii) behaves contumaciously in court, including refusing to accept a ruling on an objection under Rule 24;
iv) files a frivolous and/or malicious case or cases;
v) intentionally disregards the rules of the Court;
vi) acts in a manner significantly prejudicial to the interests of a client, including attempting to deliberately lose a case;
vii) deceives or attempts to deceive the court, including by knowingly or recklessly using false evidence or perjured testimony;
viii) acts in an aggressive or hostile manner towards any party or any member of the Court during official proceedings.

2. The presiding Magistrate of the case concerned - or where the conduct occurs in Court but is not confined to a single case (e.g. misuse of the filing system) the Chief Magistrate - will determine whether to hold a person liable for a breach of this Rule.

3. The Presiding Magistrate may penalize someone held liable by some or all of the following:
i) official warning as to their conduct;
ii) use of the forum warn system;
iii) dismissal of the case concerned;
iv) removal of Admission to the Bar.

4. In deciding which sanction (if any) to impose, the Magistrate should have regard to the severity of the breach of the Rule, the perpetrator's record, and the overall context of the breach.

5. Members of the Court are not subject to this rule.

6. Any person who has Admission to the Bar removed may appeal the sanction to the full Court. The Court will only overturn the sanction if, after reviewing the record, it concludes that no reasonable jurist would consider disbarment a proportionate sanction.

Rule 28. Opinions

Once the Court deliberates on a case, all Magistrates will vote on the outcome. The most senior Magistrate in the majority will determine who writes the Opinion of the Court. Magistrates may freely file concurring and/or dissenting opinions, provided they do so within one week of the publication of the Opinion of the Court.

Rule 29. Rehearing En Banc

1. Either party in a judicial review or a civil case, and the defendant in a criminal case, may file a petition for rehearing, provided that they do so within 10 days of the publication of the Opinion of the Court. A majority of the Court must vote in favour of a rehearing before one can take place.

2. In a rehearing, the Court will hear the case en banc, meaning that all Magistrates will participate in the proceedings and may ask questions of the parties. The Court will, as in Rule 28, issue an Opinion at the end of a rehearing en banc.

3. The decision of the Court following either a denial of a petition for rehearing or following a rehearing en banc is final, and no more petitions for rehearing will be allowed, except where a criminal defendant can produce substantial new evidence which demonstrates their innocence.

Rule 30. Settling Cases

Before any case is under deliberation, both parties may file an agreement in writing that a trial be dismissed, specifying the terms agreed on. Should these terms be accepted by the Court a statement of dismissal will be issued.

Rule 31. Violation of Rules

Any challenge to a case based upon a possible misapplication of these rules will be reviewed for plain error, i.e. the error must be obvious, materially affect the civil rights of a party and/or have a reasonable probability of changing the outcome of a case, and be such that the public perception of the justice system would suffer if the decision were not reversed.

Rule 32. Making Changes

The Lord/Lady Chief Magistrate must motion and open the discussion for rule changes. Any changes must be accepted unanimously by all members of the bench

Note
Edited by Richard I, Aug 7 2014, 04:44 PM.
Signature

Join or Donate to the Naval Service League | Buy-Sell-Loan at Valconesian Jewelers-Gold Pawn Shops

My NS Positions
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · [No longer]Judiciary · Next Topic »
Locked Topic