FD - Time Limits on Trials

[mr_sniffles]

The following is a proposal to revise TNP Law 4 by Grosse:

TNP LAW 4
Criminal Trial Procedures

Replace the current text with the following:

Section 1. Duties of Attorney General in Trial Proceedings.
A - The Attorney General shall be the Chief Prosecutor in The North Pacific and shall be the default prosecutor for all cases brought to trial in The Court of The North Pacific.
B - If the Attorney General is charged, then a prosecutor shall be selected by the Chief Justice in a timely manner that is not arbitrary or capricious.
C - The Attorney General may also choose to delegate the Prosecutor's role to a Regional Assembly member.
Section 2. Trial Preparations.
A- The Attorney General or the prosecutor shall file a statement of criminal charges against one or more defendants in The Court of The North Pacific. A defendant shall enter a plea within 72 hours of the filing. In the event no plea is entered by that time, a plea of “not guilty” is assumed to have been made by such defendant.
B - The defendant, prosecutor and their legally recognized representatives shall have not more than seven days following the filing of charges and the entry of a plea to prepare all testimony transcripts and other evidence for presentation to a jury before a trial begins. For extraordinary cause shown, the Court may grant an extension of not more than seven additional days for the pre-trial preparation period. All evidence and testimony transcripts shall be ready for presentation to the jury before the trial begins.
C - If the defendant refuses to participate or requests counsel, a public defender shall be provided. The appointment shall be completed within seven days after the charges are filed.
D- Once criminal charges are filed, neither the accuser, the defendant, or any party legally recognized as representing them, may reveal or discuss any details of the charge prior to or during the trial except in open Court during the course of the presentation of evidence at trial or where specifically asked to do so by the presiding officer of the trial or a legal appointee of the Court.
E - If discussion about the charge, or subjects related to the charge, is already ongoing at the time that the charge is made, the accuser, the defendant, any party legally recognized as representing either of them, or the jury pool, are forbidden to continue participating in such discussions. Such ban shall continue until the case is resolved and closed by the proper legal official, as mandated by the Constitution, The North Pacific Legal Code, or any other laws of the Region.
Section 3.  Jury Selection.
A - A trial jury pool of not less than 20 eligible Regional Assembly members shall be randomly drawn by the Chief Justice during the first week of each judicial three-month term.
B - No later than seven days after a plea is entered, five jurors will be randomly selected by the presiding officer from a jury pool of Regional Assembly members.
C - Any member of the jury pool who has expressed bias as to the particular case or who has served on a jury in the past three months will be automatically excluded from the trial jury.
D - If either counsel believes one of the jury pool members is unfit to serve on the trial jury for reasons of bias or a conflict of interest, the claim will be presented to the Court within 24 hours. Within 24 hours thereafter, the presiding officer will review the claim and if he/she finds it valid, the next available juror will be chosen for the trial from the random drawing list. Once the trial is started, the juror is required to complete their obligation.
Section 4.  Trial Procedure.
A - The presiding officer shall list the charges against the defendant and give instructions to the jury regarding the procedures for deliberations, verdict, and recommended sentences if the defendant is found guilty.
B - The prosecutor will then present all of the evidence and the testimonil trescripts of its witnesses relating to the charges. Afterwards, the Nation on trial (or their counsel) will present all of the evidence and the testimony transcripts of its witnesses relating to the defense. Normally all of the evidence and testimony transcripts will be posted by each side at the same time within 24 hours after the Court directs the party to present its evidence.
Section 5. Jury Deliberations.
A - After both sides have presented their cases, the jury will deliberate on the verdict and, if the Nation is found guilty, determine the sentence. A majority of the jurors is required to reach a verdict and pass a sentence.
Section 6. Conclusion.
A - Once the jury has reached a verdict, it will be delivered to the presiding officer to be announced. The trial will be concluded once the presiding officer confirms and enforces the verdict.

Section 2. This amendment to Law 4 will be immediately effective upon its adoption as a Law.

 

[Grosseschnauzer]

A section 2 of the bill would include the following:

Section 2. This amendment to Law 4 will be immediately effective upon its adoption as a Law.

 

[mr_sniffles]

bump.

 

[Haor Chall]

If it will work.

 

[Flemingovia]

I too have doubts about the workability of this - and fear that if, for reasons of inactivity or oversight, trials stray over the time limits set, astute defence counsels would use this as a reason to call a mistrial.

I know if I was a defence counsel, that is precisely what I would do. And I would be watching like a hawk, because some of the targets are very ambitious.

I would rather that these targets were set as "aims" or "reasonable aspirations".

 

[Grosseschnauzer]

The primary time issue is the time a prosecutor and a defense counsel is going to take to prepare their cases.

I've yet to hear even one valid reason why 14 days should not be more than sufficient time for cases to be prepared.

Under this proposal, each side would post all of their testimony and evidence during trial at one time. (First the prosecution, then the defense.) That shouldn't take more than a day or two. Likewise, each representative would have to cooperate with the other in getting testimony recorded in time for the trial.

During the pre-trial phase, the Court would be summoning the actual jurors from the already selected jury panel, so they are in place.

What this would require, though is for the Justice to be firm about the grandstanding that was seen in the Fulhead Land trial. From what i can judge, that was more responsible for time delays than anything else once a jury was in place.

The time elements have to be worded in such a way as to be enforceable. And since the defense will be operating under the time standards just as much as the prosecution, that means the defense would be just as likely to be penalized for dilatory tactics.

Once this gets adopted, then we can look at revving the proposal for a bar association to create a corp of qualified legal representatives. With a University now in place, there will be a place to train representatives to meet bar association standards, which was a problem that was not resolved the last time the bar association idea was brought up. (That was when GBM was the AG.)

 

[mr_sniffles]

Without a question, the make or break deal for this proposal is whether or not a charge can be thrown out if either party fails to meet the deadline. If so, who decides? The judge or the opposing party?

Lastly, by how much time would it take to have the case fail to meet up to these new obligations? A minute, a day, a week?

 

[Grosseschnauzer]

Without a question, the make or break deal for this proposal is whether or not a charge can be thrown out if either party fails to meet the deadline. If so, who decides? The judge or the opposing party?

It's up to the Court to decide how to handle issues with time standards. The other party(ies) can bring an issue to the Court's attention, but the Court decides. (For instance, the court may find a technical time violation excusable in light of the Constitutional guarantee of a fair trial, but on the other hand the Court is obligated to enforce the time standards so that the trial is fair to the other party at the same time.) If a party repeatedly violates time requirements then the Court could decide that in fairness the case should be dismissed or impose some other restriction or sanction (in the case of a defendant), such as restrictions on the evidence that can be presented or issues that can be raised.

Lastly, by how much time would it take to have the case fail to meet up to these new obligations? A minute, a day, a week?

The Court would have to make that determination based on what the Court believes is appropriate and fair.

Since this would be a statute if adopted, the RA would be able to amend time standards if the conclusion is reached that the Court is being too strict or too lenient in their application. In the meantime, the Court is free to augment the time standards by adoption of Court rules and in applying standards contained in the Constitution.

This bill would not require one-day to complete a trial, but it wouldn't allow six months, either. A case that meets all stated time standards should take about three-four weeks from beginning to end.

 

[Grosseschnauzer]

TNP LAW 4
Criminal Trial Procedures

Replace the current text with the following:

Section 1. Duties of Attorney General in Trial Proceedings.
A - The Attorney General shall be the Chief Prosecutor in The North Pacific and shall be the default prosecutor for all cases brought to trial in The Court of The North Pacific.
B - If the Attorney General is charged, then a prosecutor shall be selected by the Chief Justice in a timely manner that is not arbitrary or capricious.
C - The Attorney General may also choose to delegate the Prosecutor's role to a Regional Assembly member.
Section 2. Trial Preparations.
A- The Attorney General or the prosecutor shall file a statement of criminal charges against one or more defendants in The Court of The North Pacific. A defendant shall enter a plea within 72 hours of the filing. In the event no plea is entered by that time, a plea of “not guilty” is assumed to have been made by such defendant.
B - The defendant, prosecutor and their legally recognized representatives shall have not more than seven days following the filing of charges and the entry of a plea to prepare all testimony transcripts and other evidence for presentation to a jury before a trial begins. For extraordinary cause shown, the Court may grant an extension of not more than seven additional days for the pre-trial preparation period. All evidence and testimony transcripts shall be ready for presentation to the jury before the trial begins.
C - If the defendant refuses to participate or requests counsel, a public defender shall be provided. The appointment shall be completed within seven days after the charges are filed.
D- Once criminal charges are filed, neither the accuser, the defendant, or any party legally recognized as representing them, may reveal or discuss any details of the charge prior to or during the trial except in open Court during the course of the presentation of evidence at trial or where specifically asked to do so by the presiding officer of the trial or a legal appointee of the Court.
E - If discussion about the charge, or subjects related to the charge, is already ongoing at the time that the charge is made, the accuser, the defendant, any party legally recognized as representing either of them, or the jury pool, are forbidden to continue participating in such discussions. Such ban shall continue until the case is resolved and closed by the proper legal official, as mandated by the Constitution, The North Pacific Legal Code, or any other laws of the Region.
Section 3.  Jury Selection.
A - A trial jury pool of not less than 20 eligible Regional Assembly members shall be randomly drawn by the Chief Justice during the first week of each judicial three-month term.
B - No later than seven days after a plea is entered, five jurors will be randomly selected by the presiding officer from a jury pool of Regional Assembly members.
C - Any member of the jury pool who has expressed bias as to the particular case or who has served on a jury in the past three months will be automatically excluded from the trial jury.
D - If either counsel believes one of the jury pool members is unfit to serve on the trial jury for reasons of bias or a conflict of interest, the claim will be presented to the Court within 24 hours. Within 24 hours thereafter, the presiding officer will review the claim and if he/she finds it valid, the next available juror will be chosen for the trial from the random drawing list. Once the trial is started, the juror is required to complete their obligation.
Section 4.  Trial Procedure.
A - The presiding officer shall list the charges against the defendant and give instructions to the jury regarding the procedures for deliberations, verdict, and recommended sentences if the defendant is found guilty.
B - The prosecutor will then present all of the evidence and the testimonil trescripts of its witnesses relating to the charges. Afterwards, the Nation on trial (or their counsel) will present all of the evidence and the testimony transcripts of its witnesses relating to the defense. Normally all of the evidence and testimony transcripts will be posted by each side at the same time within 24 hours after the Court directs the party to present its evidence.
Section 5. Jury Deliberations.
A - After both sides have presented their cases, the jury will deliberate on the verdict and, if the Nation is found guilty, determine the sentence. A majority of the jurors is required to reach a verdict and pass a sentence.
Section 6. Conclusion.
A - Once the jury has reached a verdict, it will be delivered to the presiding officer to be announced. The trial will be concluded once the presiding officer confirms and enforces the verdict.

Section 2. This amendment to Law 4 will be immediately effective upon its adoption as a Law.

This has been incorporated in the Legal Code as TNP Law 19, and the xhangs to Law 4 included in this law have been incorporated into Law 4.