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| 03 Jul 2012 11:30 AM |
How Does our Court System Work?
1. The Structure of the Court System
The RNW Court system is based on the rules of a Bench Trial. The basic idea is that there are two sides, the plaintiff and the defendant, who present their arguments before an impartial judge (or judges). In a criminal case, the prosecutor acts as a plaintiff on behalf of the members or RNW in general. In our Court System, there is no jury and the Judge discusses the verdict with the Advisors and LordCopper.
You may not argue with the verdict - once the Advisors and I have decided, there is no changing and no debating.
2. The Timeline of a Case: Pleadings and Briefs.
A. Starting the Case (Pretrial)
A case usually begins when a plaintiff files a pleading with the Court. (Most people just say, "I'm bringing _____ to court for _____ reason") A pleading will contain the basic claims or charges that the plaintiff brings against the defendant. For example, if Bob accuses Jeff of hitting him, Bob’s pleading will say that he claims that Jeff assaulted or battered him.
Once a pleading has been filed, the defendant has an opportunity to respond to the pleading. This is simply called a "response." In the response, a defendant will usually give reasons why the claims of the plaintiff are not correct.
At this point in the case, the process of "discovery" usually occurs. During discover, both sides will research facts that they intend to bring to trial to prove that they are right and the other side is wrong. Both sides can make "discovery requests" of the opposing side for information. These are usually called "interrogatories." The rules for discovery are different in every jurisdiction (and can be pretty complicated), but generally, a reasonable request for information must be granted. A skilled attorney can write a discovery request just broad enough to get all of the information he or she wants without getting overloaded with useless information (although most attorneys tend to err on the side of being overbroad).
If a defendant fails to respond to a pleading or if his response does not dispute anything in the pleading strongly enough, then the plaintiff can submit a motion for a "default judgment." Basically, this motion asks for the Judge to look at all of the information before him/her and decide that there is simply no way that the defendant could win, even assuming everything the defendant claims is true. Generally, a defendant will be given a chance to respond to this motion. He will be allowed to file his own document stating reasons why the motion should not be granted. There are many other "pretrial motions," like a default judgment motion, such as motions to exclude evidence, or the like. Either side can file pretrial motions in both civil and criminal trials.
Similar to a default judgment is the "summary judgment" motion. Either side can file a motion for summary judgment at any time. This motion also asks the Judge to review all of the information before it and decide whether there is any chance for the opposing side to win, assuming that everything he/she claims is true. The opposing side, of course, is allowed to submit a response to this motion.
B. At Trial
At trial, both sides are given opportunities to present their view of the facts. The plaintiff is generally allowed to go first. The parties take turns giving an "opening statement." Then they may offer up their proof, usually in the form of witnesses. Following this, the parties give their "closing arguments."
In the case of a witness being called to the stand, the defendant or plantiff may ask them a series of questions. However, if the judge deems that the questions do not relate to the case, the witness is called to sit back down and the conversation is stricken from the record.
During court cases, either the defendant or plantiff may object to what is being said by the opposite party. If the Judge's response is "Sustained" the attacking party will be silenced.
3. Rules
-No talking while court is in session, with the exception of plantiff/defendant objecting to the opposite party's speech. -No walking around while court is in session, with the exception of guards. -Regarding talking, one or two small works will get you kicked immediately. However, a long string of words will result in an immediate ban. -In the case of exploiting, the case is paused and will resume at a later date (howecer, this usually happens soon after)
tl;dr - just kidding. There is no tl;dr, If you didnt read this, you'll probably lose your case |
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