Law and Justice
How it works
The King's laws are the twelve points, and they bind everywhere. Breaking any of them is blasphemy. Disputes are judged at the lowest level that can handle them.
Enforcement
Restitution first; labor hours when it cannot be paid; frontier forts for repeat offenders; the front line or life in prison for murder or treason.
Notes
The parts marked "first draft to edit" below were drafted by Claude, not taken from your notes.
Who judges what
- First draft to edit: Village elders hear disputes under common law, with the village priest or monk present as a moral witness. A mayor judges small matters in a town, and magistrates do in a city.
- First draft to edit: Each county has roaming circuit judges, approved by the county's ruling body (for now called the county board of governors), who hear serious crimes and appeals.
- First draft to edit: The senate hears only disputes between counties and breaches of the King's laws that a county will not act on.
- Guilds judge their own members for professional misconduct, and expulsion ends a person's official career. An expelled artisan or engineer can still freelance for those who will hire non-guild workers.
Punishment
- For non-violent crimes, restitution paid immediately always comes first. When it cannot be paid, a reasonable number of labor hours pays it instead.
- Repeat offenders serve at frontier forts. Jails exist in cities, large towns, and forts.
- For murder or treason, the convicted choose between fighting kobolds on the front line and life in prison.
- The King alone can give a death sentence, by special edict.
- First draft to edit: Courts lean toward mercy for people who escaped kobold slavery and turned to crime, but they never excuse preying on the weak.
Arrest and investigation
When there is significant evidence of guilt, the accused is held in the nearest jail until a circuit judge arrives. When there is only suspicion, the accused stays free and the local police investigate, or the local militia where there is no police force.
See The King's Law and The Government.