Revision as of 20:20, 18 June 2014

The Law sphere encompasses anyone whose work ultimately ends in a court case, or the sanctioned use of force on US Soil. The hallmarks of a good Law app are the demonstration of a willingness to tell stories constrained by actual police procedure (even crooked cops need to know the rules they're breaking) and a delight in puzzle solving. Cops, Attorneys, Judges, CSIs, PIs, Tracers, Repo Personnel and so on are all examples of the Law Sphere. While most of the Law Sphere focuses on Criminal law, if we get civil attorneys there will be stories to be told there, as well.

Police

Police Officers are employees of the City (or State) whose job it is to keep the peace, detect and apprehend criminals, and provide aid and assistance to the citizenry. They have special authority to use force, arrest and detain individuals, and conduct various breaches of privacy and the sanctity of property. Consequently, they receive specialized training and are subject to scrutiny and various degrees of oversight of their activities to curtail abuses of these powers.

Police officers perform a variety of duties but often specialize in certain tasks. Two types of officers are common: Police Officers and Detectives. The former are the face and hands of the department, they perform traffic stops, and perform foot and car patrols. The latter have received focused training in methods to gather and follow evidence in order to identify perpetrators. A DPD officer is known as 'Officer' or 'Investigator.' State officers are known as 'Troopers.' Officers only have higher ranks as needed for command purposes.

Stat Minimums

Duty Carry Equipment

+ - Officers may select between the .40 and the .40C as a primary weapon. The .40C is acceptable as a back-up weapon, or the officer may arm an acceptable secondary weapon at their own expense. All duty-carry handguns must be carried fully loaded, with a chambered round.

++ - The shotgun is only issued to officers with a car and is required, by department regulation, to be loaded with 4 rounds and be locked in the carrier in the trunk when not in use.

+++ - The X26 Taser is not commonly issued, but it is available upon officer request.

+ - Officers expecting armed resistance, with time to prepare may add trauma plates which grants a 4th armor die at a 1 die penalty for all dexterity pools while the armor is worn.

Legal

When police finish an investigation and identify a suspected perpetrator, District attorneys pick up the case and represent the City or Commonwealth to the judiciary, securing warrants for arrest or searches as needed, which then enable the police to take further actions. Once a suspect has been apprehended, the DAs are responsible for arguing the case - based on the gathered evidence - before a court and jury in pursuit of a conviction. They are opposed by defense counsel (also attorneys) who argue the suspect's case using the same body of evidence.

Civil cases involve torts, situations that are not crimes against the entire community, but rather harms inflicted upon individuals. Plaintiff's and Defendant's attorneys argue these cases and tend to specialize in areas like environmental law, family law, personal injury law, and so on.

In all cases, the attorney is expected to be an investigating agent on behalf of their client. It's not all just paper work.

Stat Minimums

Judiciary

The culmination of all law sphere activities is some kind of encounter in court. Many (but not all) cases are decided by juries, but judges are responsible for keeping trials moving, reviewing motions, and instructing the jury if there is one.

Apps for the judiciary will be handled on a case by case basis and very carefully screened.