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The Department of Criminal Justice is designed to handle internal discipline problems when there is a dispute of the facts. A member of crew will act as a judge, while any member of the guild can be hired as defense representation, should the accused choose to have legal representation within the guild. The moderator who initially acted as the accusing party will take the role of prosecutor, or may opt to give this position to another moderator.

The process by which a trial is held is called a court-martial, and will be conducted in the most professional manner possible.



Definitions:
The DA, or District Attorney, is the prosecution, responsible for representing the guild and its people in a trial. The DA has the burden of proof: that is, they must prove that the accused is guilty of wrongdoing. The defense is not obligated to prove innocence.
The Defense Attorney, or Defense Counsel, is the defendant's or defendants' representation.
The Jury is ultimately responsible for the fate of the defendant. Each jury member is encouraged, when caught between the verdicts and is completely indecisive, to lean towards exoneration and declare the defendant not guilty, or determine that the punishment required for a guilty plea be in line with the defense's claim.
The Judge is the moderator of the court. (S)He will enure that the rules are followed, and rule in cases of contempt.
Contempt of Court is a situation in which a member of the court repeatedly or seriously breaks the rules of the court in such a manner that he/she disrupts the trial.

DO NOT post in this thread without permission. If you wish to become a member of the Department of Criminal Justice as a Defense Attorney, PM Gear-Richie.

Rules of the Court

• Do not speak out of turn. Each member of the trial will have the time to speak his or her mind when that time is alotted.
  
• No flaming. In a real court of law, personal attacks and browbeating are not permitted. The same goes here.
  
• Make your arguments count. Don't throw around useless arguments and waste the court's time.
  
• If the judge marks you in contempt of court, you will not be able to participate further until an established point in the trial, if at all. If you are the DA or Defense Council, a replacement will be appointed.
  
• If deliberations take longer than two days, the judge can declare a hung jury and a retrial, or extend the deliberation deadline at his/her discretion.
  
• Mistrial Policy: The defense and the prosecution is allowed to motion for a mistrial if they believe that the trial's rules have been broken in such a manner that a verdict can not be reached, or the verdict reached is null and void. The judge ultimately decides whether to grant or deny the request for a mistrial. If granted, the defendant will be retried.
  
• Double Jeparody: No defendant can be tried twice for the same crime, except in the event of a mistrial.

The Department of Criminal Justice reserves the right to add, remove, or edit rules as necessary to promote the fluidity of the department and its activities, aswell as to promote fairness and justice in court.