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--- game_settings:stolen_land:general:thelaw:start [2026/08/25 07:59] – ↷ Page moved from stolen_land:general:thelaw:start to game_settings:stolen_land:general:thelaw:start johnb
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-====== The Law ======
-===== Overview =====
-There is no strict or complicated legal code that must be applied to the letter.  Instead application of the law is delegated to Magistrates who are required to Keep the Peace, rather than to impose a strict regime.  It is the magistrate job to  decide on a fair compromise or solution that most people can agree with and will stand up to scrutiny by a superior.  There are descriptions of crimes, a list of possible penalties and some guidance notes -  beyond that it is the magistrates decision.  There is generally a right of appeal to a higher court (ie a higher ranking magistrate) - but if the higher court thinks you are wasting their time, they may well impose and extra fine to cover their costs.  Senior magistrates also have more severe penalties that they can hand down.
-===== Crimes =====
-^  **Crimes against the Person**  ||
-|Public Insult|Name Calling, Libel, Defamation, Slander. |
-|Assault|Pushing, Shoving, Punching, Kicking, Minor Fight |
-|Wounding|An assault that causes physical wounds |
-|Kidnap|Includes wrongful imprisonment and similar crimes. |
-|Rape| - |
-|Killing|Unintentional killing |
-|Murder|Deliberate killing |
-^  **Crimes against property**  ||
-|Housebreaking|Entering someone’s property without consent. |
-|Theft|Taking something that isn’t yours. |
-|Arson|Burning something that isn’t yours |
-|Damage done to Crops| - |
-|Injuring or killing Animals| - |
-^  **Crimes against Society**  ||
-|Public Disorder|Anything from swearing in church to urinating in the street |
-|Threatening Behaviour|Treats of Violence |
-|Affray| Mass public disorder – Street Fights, Riots etc |
-|Tax Evasion| - |
-|Non-Appearance at a court| - |
-|Perjury| - |
-|Oath Breaking| - |
-===== Punishment =====
-^  **Punishments**  |||
-|1|Restitution|Repayment of value of item stolen. Public Apology. Etc  |
-|2|Compensation|Extra payment to the victim for trouble caused (cash, labour, hiring a bard to apologise) |
-|3|Community work|Minor work carried out, unsupervised, in the community.  Repairing local roads, weeding the park, painting the town hall, cleaning grave stones.  etc |
-|4|Fine|Normally Cash – paid to the court, state as a penalty. |
-|5|Stocks|Public Humiliation -  put on public display along with details of the offence.  May well be pelted with rotten fruit …. |
-|6|Flogging|Corporal Punishment – normally up to a dozen lashes.  Often left on public display for an added element of humiliation. |
-^  Punishments below this line may only be handed out by a Senior Magistrate.  |||
-|7|Indenture|Contracted to an employer for a fixed period (often years) paid a minimal wage while the rest goes to meet fines, compensation etc.  However, the punishment allows the convict to live with their family, albeit in very poor conditions. |
-|8|Hard Labour|The closest we get to prison.  Supervised labour, often in a mine, quarry or galley – for a fixed period.  The convict is generally chained and lives at their site of their work, in very basic conditions. |
-|9|Branding|Last Chance Saloon.  If a person with a Brand is found to be responsible for a serious crime it is the death penalty next. |
-|10|Exile|Stay out of the land.  Even setting foot here is worth the death penalty. |
-|11|Death Penalty|Normally by Sword or Axe. |
-Notes:  Start with lower level penalties and work upwards.  We do not send people to prison, remove limbs or disfigure them as a form of legal punishment. ++ more |We do not have a prison, and do not want the expense of building and running one. Amputations just reduce the criminal’s ability to earn an honest living and are not a clear warning sign in the same way that a brand is.++
-===== Guidance =====
-Give careful thought to the crime that you try an offender for. Sometimes more than one crime has been committed at the same time; the mugger who knocks a man to the floor and steals their purse has committed assault and theft. Sometimes there might be three, four or even more crimes to be considered.
-You primary role is not to punish a criminal, but to heal the harm that has been done to the community and discourage any repeat performance.  That doesn’t mean to say you should let an offender get away unpunished  -  just that any punishment should be proportionate and  appropriate, and  work in favour of the community rather than against it.
-Community Service might be more appropriate than a fine, for a peasant or young person.  Although, that might not be an appropriate penalty for a businessman or noble.
-You can stack punishments as well. A suitable penalty for a youth who steals a loaf of bread as a first offence might be an apology and community work. For a hardened pickpocket, it might be restitution, compensation and a fine.
-Indenture, Hard Labour, Branding, Exile and the Death Penalty should only be handed out by a senior magistrate as they are either severe or cannot be appealed. However, a branded criminal who is caught red handed or one who is killed during the prevention of a crime, will be considered to be a legal application of the death penalty - by any magistrate.