unlawful detention | Glowfic Constellation

Accept our Terms of Service
Our Terms of Service have recently changed! Please read and agree to the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy

Nov 20, 2024 2:20 AM

+ Show First Post

He doesn't have flashy magic but he has been waiting patiently to present his law since the morning session started.

"Honored delegates. The Judiciary committee yesterday contemplated, and unanimously approved, a new law providing for the circumstances under which a person can be detained by the law. As we all know, in Asmodean Cheliax the government can detain anyone for any reason, unless they are important enough to have someone demand their release, without even the pretense they have done wrong. Our new government is Lawful and Good, and surely would not detain anyone without good cause, but mindful that even the Good can err we sought to provide for this in law. Here is the law:

An Act Establishing Lawful Forms of Arrest and Detention

Preamble

Desiring to curb Misuses and Abuses of the Power of Detention while Permitting its Necessary Use in the Enforcement of the Criminal Laws, we Enact this Law having the following Effects:

granting to Law Enforcers the powers of Arrest on Suspicion of Crime and Arrest to Compel Testimony;

limiting the Exercise of said two Powers to those Persons and those Spans of Time Necessary for Investigation and Trial;

securing by the Right of Petition the Release of those held Overlong without Charge;

and Abridging all other Powers of Detention.

Definitions

A Law Enforcer

is any Person Duly and Lawfully Charged with carrying out her Majesty's Justice, including the Investigation of Crimes and the Enforcement of Criminal Laws.

An Investigation

is the Due and Lawful Investigation of a Specific Crime, or multiple Specific Crimes.

Suspicion

is the belief of a Law Enforcer that a Person may be Guilty of a Specific Crime, or multiple Specific Crimes.

A Reasonable Time

is, for Detention during Investigation seven days; for Detention awaiting Trial until the date Fixed for Trial; for Detention during a Sentence of Imprisonment until the Expiration of the Sentence.

Statute

A Law Enforcer has the power to Detain, for a Limited Time, any free Subject of her Majesty solely for the Purpose of Investigation upon Suspicion of Crime (the "Power of Arrest on Suspicion").

Detention under the Power of Arrest on Suspicion may continue only during the related Investigation, unless the Detained be then Charged in which case it may continue until the date Fixed for Trial.

If the Detained be Sentenced to Imprisonment the Detention may continue through the Term of the Sentence.

If such Detention has continued past a Reasonable Time, the Crown or those carrying out her Majesty's Justice shall grant a Petition for Release.

A Law Enforcer has the power to Detain, for a Limited Time, any free subject of her Majesty solely for the Purpose of Compelling Testimony in connection with an Investigation or Trial (the "Power of Arrest to Compel Testimony").

The Power of Arrest to Compel Testimony is not the Primary Means by which Testimony is Compelled, but may be employed when a Law Enforcer suspects the Witness may fail to Appear when Duly Summoned.

Detention under the Power of Arrest to Compel Testimony may continue only during the related Investigation, unless such result in Charges in which case it may continue until the date Fixed for Trial on said Charges.

If such Detention has continued past a Reasonable Time, the Crown or those carrying out her Majesty's Justice shall grant a Petition for Release.

Should any Detention under this Law entail the Transportation of a Subject over a Great Distance, particularly if Teleported, the Crown shall upon the End of Detention provide at its expense their Safe Return to the Location where they were Originally Detained.

Except under the foregoing Provisions, the Crown and those Carrying Out her Majesty's Justice shall not Detain free subjects of her Majesty.

For the Avoidance of Doubt, the Lawful Forms of Conscription and the Corvée as authorized by Royal Decree, originating from her Majesty or from the Constitutional Convention, are not forms of Detention under this Law.

Written, it is complex, but in effect it is quite simple. Any person engaged in law enforcement on behalf of Her Majesty's government may detain any person on suspicion of a crime, but they must say within seven days what crime they are being charged with. Or they can detain someone who is needed as a witness and not trusted not to flee, but only until they have testified as a witness. Then of course if they are sentenced to imprisonment it is acceptable to detain them. If you arrest someone with powerful Teleporters and then they are released, you must return them to where you picked them up or at least give them the means to return, you can't strand them helpless in an unfamiliar city. If someone's arrested and not charged with a crime, after seven days you can petition for their release.

And the last bit is just to say that obviously this isn't meant to bar the army from conscripting soldiers, or to bother places that do taxes by labor rather than by grain, or any other case like that by lawful decree of the Queen."

Total: 143

Posts Per Page:

‹ Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next ›

« First ‹ Previous 6 of 6 Next › Last »

Jofre Espaillat

Alicorn

Jofre actually sort of thinks sortition's a sweet idea, it's not like you can get most ordinary people to talk to you by going to their place and having a conversation with them and it seems like you can get quite a lot of them to talk and also vote by sortitioning them. For criminals... well, Jofre spent a long while as a criminal, and slightly inconveniencing people for arresting him would not have been protective but it wouldn't obviously be antiprotective, he guesses... but then again it'd mean everyone'd know what he stood accused of, though the crew all knew... most people aren't ship people though... oh, this is confusing, abstain.

Kicharchu

Alicorn

They talked about this thing a whole lot and it sounds good to Kicharchu! What a Great Work.

Remei Petit

Alicorn

It's not like it's hard to have a record of what somebody's been accused of. If you're in a terrible hurry you pick whichever of "disorderly conduct" or "treason" is more appropriate and follow up later. For.

Guy who is doing his best, which is still very bad

Arete/Stars

Wait, he's still not sure what the Good thing is to do here? But it seems like this mostly helps who've been arrested, and most of them probably did something, the Queen got rid of all the bad laws already. And bandits and murderers and so on are Evil and Chaotic, so helping them is... bad, right? Against.

Jaume Agramunt

Alicorn

It has the form of real law which does things because the procedure is correct rather than trying to skip steps out of an infatuation with the outcome. Jaume likes it.

Aina Millet

Alicorn

It doesn't seem like this would have particularly impeded them in executing Delegate Barro, who was after all arrested for a very obvious and loud set of murders. So sure, she'll vote for it.

Count Rodrig Bellumar

lintamande

For. He wants to be able to say he supported it because it's a good idea completely separate from the fact that it bans the sortitions.

Aniol Reixach de Juncosa

Alicorn

For.

Arlet Ginel

Alicorn

Against. Sometimes there's a bloody Nidalese and they need squared away and you don't want them let out again just because somebody was sloppy.

Abstain!

Abstain.

ruin-of-souls

For, let's do it.

Elected Delegate who is from De Fraga's Duchy

QTesseract

For. He doesn’t think that His Grace is checking how he votes but part of being a loyal subordinate currying favor is that you actually do what they want, sense motive exists

Desnia Puig

find-a-dream

tentativelyassembled

No one actually said anything about what she said except that Judiciary will maybe think about it, which she doesn't actually believe, but that's fine and doesn't mean she should never say words at the convention again. At least no one responded to the bit about Law and Goodness with a lot of oily words amounting to how perfect obedience to tyranny is Good actually. Getting the last word on that is probably Good even if they weren't very good last words?

Desnia really, really doesn't trust the Count who proposed this but the Archduke seemed fine and supported this. She hopes there's no other tricks here besides the one to send sortitions who don't want to be here home. Which... seems fine except how the people whose side she thinks of herself as on oppose sending them home. But it doesn't matter because the archmage said it won't do that. If she's understanding all the pieces right.

For. She hopes she didn't vote for anything bad when she wasn't paying attention, she's not sure whether she voted right here and she was paying so much attention!

Angry sortitioner

michaelblume

The archmage just said this has no effect on when he goes home. Abstain.

Guy who is very suspicious but not about any of the right things

Arete/Stars

Loads of people got arrested for the riots, right? Have they all been charged? He's pretty sure they haven't all been tried. This seems like a conspiracy to get some noble's anarchic servant let off free. Against.