eminence grise

To get started, I'm not sure if everything I address falls under the responsibilities of the judiciary but I hope everything falls on the right ears in the end. Also I will not go into detail with everything right now. About the fundamentals, I'm pretty sure only way to have a properly functioning legal system is some kind of OOC plea after every arrest. It's simply necessary to not overflow District Attorney's Office with having to arraign everyone even if they have no plan to fight the charges. OOCly pleading not guilty means that District Attorney's Office will start the procedure to arraign the defendant. To avoid situation where one waits for arraignment in jail longer than he would serve if convicted, decent bail system needs to be implemented. OOCly pleading guilty should be roleplayed as if defendant was taken to the NPC judge where he pleaded guilty. Then he shall be imprisoned by the LEO in accordance with standards set in the penal code. Additionally some cases should be forced to the court. (CKs, some strike system for repeated offenders etc) Difficult part if finding the right environment for trials. I encourage you to keep it in game as much as possible, however I know that there are issues with matching timezones etc. It would need discussion in larger group. There are also few more specific points I'd like to bring out. 1) Introducing court clerk as an actual player filled position would not be smart move. At least not right after the launch as we do not know the actual interest in the judiciary roleplay, it would be somewhat waste of resource. You could simply NPC court clerk as it holds no crucial functions (If there are some, feel free to correct me). 2) Warrants should be a must. I have explained it's importance before so I will simply copy it. Warrant applications can be distributed through forum or even Discord with proper plugin. 3) Straightforward legislation for procedural aspects should be set in stone. It may not seem that important at first but it can make the system collapse in long term. Also adjusting some of the Californian landmark cases to San Andreas will help create the realistic environment. 4) Introducing state level RICO act would add depth to both legal and illegal roleplay. Plus, possibility of your illegally gained assets being confiscated, brings in the need for white collar aspect in organised crime. Roleplaying around legal fronts would then serve it's purpose as it allows you to cover the tracks of illegally obtained cash.

Both bail system and public defender aspects are enforceable but I wouldn't go into detail right now. I'm not sure what you meant regarding cases being dismissable due to case law. If it's about lack of state level precedents, it would need some adjusting, yes. However I don't think it is a major issue and it is quite easily fixable. Also, most landmark decisions come from US Supreme Court and they are directly applicable. They form strong enough base for satisfactory defense but State precedents would be additional improvement. For educational purpose and to avoid misunderstandings that outside of the US there is anarchy, 4th Amendment is simply an expression of right to privacy and home immunity which are universal principles. It is enforced in every modern democratic country with the rule of law.

I agree with Matt here. As I have been part of the judicial scene of GTA W for long enough, there weren't any major issues with the warrant system. It's especially important when it comes to large scale operations. Having judge approve warrants, would be another filter to avoid metagaming. I'm sure it would reduce situations where after raid, heated argument arises whether it was based on OOC information. Obviously it would not be complete guarantee but it would help without a doubt. Also, I'm positive that there is enough interest in the judiciary to provide server with enough judges so there would not be excessive waiting period on the warrants. I understand that this is a game and we should not go too deep into the complex reality of legal system and overdevelop bureaucracy but having some kind of separation of powers would do server good. Tying hands of law enforcement agencies to some extent, will enhance the quality and thoroughness. Plus the OOC aspect I mentioned before. Fiendfyre mentioned that issue before was lack of cooperation by LEO factions. That's why I think it is important to have properly functioning legal system ready once the server opens. It is much more complicated integrating such affecting addition once LEOs have already gotten used to the system without courts. Obviously LSRP should not aim to be duplication of GTA W but after all legal system is universal and GTA W based theirs on it. So I hope staff of LSRP are willing to apply that same universal foundation and adjust it to avoid stepping on the same rake as GTA W did in some of the aspects.

First and foremost, you should not divide community to illegal and legal sides. Integration between these two aspects is essential if we are to build realistic environment. We should avoid situation where people who focus mostly on illegal roleplay, get isolated from the legal scene entirely or worse, develop some kind of rivality between the two. Also, mentions of LSRP not being able to compete with GTA W in legal aspects is highly overestimated.