Magistrates

JJE01 You Have Been Judged/01

Judge, Jury, and Executioner. That's what they were, in reality. The Magistrate flowed through the door to loom over the court. The trial had come to a close, the moment of Justice had arrived. Barrister Anoa had built a sound case and argued well. The jury would have to put him away. She nodded politely to the defense. Atticus “Custer” TikabowThey argued different points of law. The jury decided, and the counsels wiped their hands of it all and went back to their offices. The Magistrates had to mete out punishment. In cases without a jury, they heard the evidence, ruled, and carried out the punishment instantly. Punishment up to and including death. “Would the jury read the verdict?” the Magistrate ordered. The courtroom remained standing. The verdict was read, and the Magistrate pronounced,“My appreciation goes to the jury for your work in this case. You are released from your duties.” The Magistrate intoned the words as he did at the end of every jury trial. The Magistrate stood and walked out. He’d won, and she’d lost. She shook his hand as decorum dictated.

JJE01 You Have Been Judged/11

Grainger has a gift for her, a Magistrate’s Jacket. It belonged to Magistrate Felcario Renaldo Squitieri. He died in the line of duty.” “What greater testament to what we do than to have the tools of our trade carry on? These jackets let everyone know who we are. Perps who challenge us will find themselves on a slab in the morgue or breaking rocks somewhere. If you don’t make it, someone else will pick up the torch and keep going. What would the Federation be without the rule of law? “People shouldn’t have to take up arms to protect themselves, so we do it for them. The only ones who should be afraid when they see this jacket are the criminals.”

JJE01 You Have Been Judged/12

“Access Granted to Rivka Anoa: Magistrate Case Files.” She touched the icon, and a full library appeared. She was fascinated by the sheer amount of information that was available. Even in law school, she hadn’t had access to an entire universe’s legal proceedings, precedents, and laws. She reached out a finger to start browsing when an icon popped up, turned red, and started spinning. Her only choice was to select that one. That's how they were assigned.

Unofficial rules: Since the Shlongmeister won’t tell you the rules, here’s another one you need to know. After one of these, first back buys the first round, to be reimbursed by the last one back. The best story gets to pick first next time. Capital crimes buy shots. And there’re a few more. I’ll shoot you a list before I Gate out of here.”

JJE01 You Have Been Judged/01

You Have Been Judged Meeting of five of the Magistrates. all except Rivka are werewolves.

JJE01 You Have Been Judged/12

Four fellow magistrates (all werewolves) who comprise her system. Each takes a case, either by choice, or assigned.

Cheese Blinz: a short man, broad grin. Real name Chi Siblinz. an R2D2 research facility that the brass thinks has been penetrated, but they expect it’s an inside job. A cozy murder mystery on Shaiboloa. The reason they’ve asked for our help is that it’s within the ruling circle.

Bustamove" Same size as Grainger, blond hair, blue eyes.A thin scar showed white around the top of his head.Real name, Buster Crabbe, old-time Earth movie star. Scar? Don’t mess with the trilobites. They’ll cut you.”

Jael: Plays with names. Has short nickname for fellow members. Torah 7, murders in a country where murders are legal.

Grainger: Called Leibchen by Jael. Real Name is Lieblen Schlongheim Blood Trade, holdover from Earth. Entrepreneurs are kidnapping anyone who is enhanced—the more enhanced they are, the better it is—and then the scumbags are draining their blood to sell on the black market. Had never officially studued Law. learned i the School of Hard Knocks. (JJE 02/2)

Rivka Anoa (See Rivka Anoa, Characters)It’s a trade dispute that could escalate into a war between neighboring systems.

JJE02 Destroy The Corrupt/02

THE MAGISTRATES, THEIR INTERPRETATIONS, AND THE RICO ACT. Lexi, the AI who works with the Magistrates researching things as needed, has found that they all work and study differently. Jael dispenses with case law in entirety and delivers her own interpretation of the law as promulgated by the Federation. She says that she is a judge, and her determinations will provide precedent for those who follow. Chi puts his weight behind precedent, but he looks for the penalties first, giving weight to those with the harshest punishments. Grainger has never studied law with me."

Rivka reviews the RICO bases. “There have to be at least two of the predicate offenses such as murder, kidnap, arson, drug dealing, and so on. Those are all felonies, and they must attach to an enterprise, not an individual. Enterprise and predicate are critical factors in charging under RICO instead of charging just the crimes. Racketeering is the umbrella under which the rest of this garbage happens. How is that different from conspiracy?” “Conspiracy is when two or more people agree to commit a crime and intend to see it through. There is an intent component as well as an act, but the act is challenging to prove before a crime is committed. It is usually applied post facto as an additional charge and sentencing factor for the main crime.” “Got it. Just like RICO, there are both civil and criminal versions. I’m not their mom to tell them to play nice with their contracts, so forever more, unless I specifically ask, don’t show me the civil side of the law. I mete out Justice to criminals.” Rivka slapped her hand on the table for emphasis.

Author's notes

Chap. 6 Keep in mind that everything a Magistrate does reflects on the legal system of the federation. Only the guilty can be punished. If punishment is directed, it must be carried out. A Magistrate can NEVER lose a fight to mete out Justice. If they don’t think they can beat a perp, then they have to call for backup, which gives the perp a chance at trial and getting off. Chap. 9 She starts to understand the Magistrate process better, which is akin to the judges of the old west who would show up to hear cases and then move on according to a schedule

TVC 05/11 Talks to Barnabas about murder of Hurwood on Brakalon ship. He tells them all, then leaves, with the idea that Hurwood was a traitor to the Senate, not the country, and that it was the Senate who had ordered his death.