Trials are a bit confusing times, and they can get heated. You’re talking about banning people, so it’s a given.
Here, I’ll list out:
GENERAL TRIAL PROCEDURES
Within this post, I’ll be listing the different parts of the trial. Forgive me if it’s a bit out of place: many different things occur at the same time during trial, and I wish to address all of them.
Filing Charges/Dispute
The person and/or other members of their party who are filing for trial shall be known as the “prosecution” in a criminal case, or the “plaintiff” in a civil case. The person who is being charged/disputed against shall be known as the “accused” in a criminal case, or the “defense” in a civil case (note that “defense” can also be used to refer to the accused in a criminal case.)
It is suggested to use the proper application form for the suit (which form you use depends on if the case is civil or criminal. If you are confused, ask the Viceroy). Whether it is mandated by the current Viceroy or not is another matter. If you have doubts, use the application. If you are currently banned from The East Pacific and are seeking appeal, contact an Arbiter through NationStates Telegram with your nation name, your motion to appeal, and the legal basis for your appeal.
Upon the motion, the Viceroy shall initiate a pre-trial. This action is required; if the Viceroy fails to set up a pre-trial thread within a week, talk to the Delegate and Provost as well as the Arbiters about it.
Pre-Trial
Pre-Trial is when the Conclave determines if the matter actually deserves a full trial. In other words, a) is the dispute or charge a matter for the court and b) in the case of the charge, is it possible that the accused is guilty?
The Viceroy will make a pre-trial thread. Here, you can ask questions about the trial, whether it be the charges or about the schedule, or anything else. You can, if you wish, try to debate whether your case is worth a full trial or not, but please keep it civil.
By this point in the process, you should be able to communicate with the Viceroy. The Viceroy should have also posted the trial schedule by this point!
During Pre-Trial, the Viceroy will begin to facilitate evidence between both parties. Evidence procedures will be explained later on.
Sometime before or on the pre-trial date, the Viceroy will post the pre-trial verdict. Should the case not be dismissed, it will go on to a full trial. If the case IS dismissed, it is a non-appeal action and the case is dropped.
Trial
Eventually, on the trial starting date the Presiding Arbiter, chosen in Closed Chambers, will post the trial thread. At this point, you should be notified of the trial. The PA is the person you contact from now on for trial matters, not the Viceroy (unless the Viceroy is the PA).
You will have a certain number of days to declare your presence. The Presiding Arbiter will tell you when you’re supposed to do so. If the defense/accused fails to declare their presence, it’s possible that the trial will end with only the prosecution’s argument being considered.
After that, each party will take turns, with each turn being a certain number of days as set by the Presiding Arbiter. If you cannot make it to post your statement during a turn, have someone represent you. At this point, it’s just a debate about the matter with evidence being used to support the argument. The PA will tell you when your turn starts and when it ends. Don’t post without the PA’s permission.
Eventually, the trial will be locked and the Presiding Arbiter will determine the verdict. This is at the Presiding Arbiter’s discretion.
Once the verdict is posted, the Viceroy will take the necessary steps in order to make sure the verdict is fulfilled. At that point, the trial will be moved to a seperate forum and the matter will be closed. If you wish to appeal the trial, look at the Standing Orders of the Conclave to see how to do so.
EVIDENCE PROCEDURE
While I will explain how to use evidence in this section, please read the Rules on Evidence and Procedure. These rules will help you understand how evidence works.
Before Pre-Trial
Before the pre-trial, both parties should submit evidence they wish to use to the Viceroy. It’s understandable if you cannot send evidence so quickly, but please ensure that you send in your evidence around 48 hours BEFORE the end of the pre-trial date.
The Viceroy will send you any evidence the opposing party has sent before the full trial. All evidence you send to the Viceroy will be sent to the opposing party. This is important, because all evidence will be sent. So be careful.
Trial
During trial, parties may introduce their evidence via “Motion to Introduce” to introduce evidence disclosed before/during pre-trial.
Parties may introduce new evidence via “Motion to Consider New Evidence”, or evidence not given during pre-trial.
Note: Parties may object to the usage of the inclusion of any evidence after a motion is made. The Presiding Arbiter will rule on said objection, and if the objection is successful, the evidence will not be factored into trial records and trial decision making.
Evidence Records
The pre-trial evidence record consists of all evidence given to the Viceroy during pre-trial. It shall be made available to any citizen upon request.
The trial evidence record consists of all evidence used in the trial, and is separate from pre-trial/discovery records. They are considered public records, so anyone whether they be a citizen or non-citizen may ask for them and receive them.
Appeals
It is understood that some evidence in a trial is of a personal nature, including but not limited to details of people’s OOC lives and IP addresses. Make sure to talk to the Viceroy about them. However, do understand that an appeal is dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and that you may be denied. However, you have a right to remove the evidence from consideration. If the Viceroy still decides to send the highly personal evidence to the other party, talk with regional administration and government officials to deal with the issue.
Be careful with evidence.
DECORUM
Be calm and civil to everyone around you. The matter is serious and the consequences immense.
We don’t need you to be present if you do not want too, but know not being present only hurts you.
The Presiding Arbiter doesn’t need to ask questions nor participate in debate. All they need to do is help guide you so you know the trial schedule and know when and when not to post. As well as rule on objections. Otherwise, they can remain silent or talk all over you, it’s up to them.
If you have not been contacted, take the initiative and contact the Viceroy yourself. Sometimes it gets a bit inactive here and we end up slacking off, so reach out.
If something doesn’t work out with scheduling, notify us right then. Don’t wait until later.
Trying to run from trial won’t work, you’ll still be tried.
Don’t attempt to bribe Arbiters. We were selected partially because of our sense in law, and partially because of our sense of fairness and loyalty to the East Pacific. More likely than not, trying to bribe us won’t win you any favors.
Don’t sneak in new evidence, it will be voided.
Do not attempt to derail the trial and focus on other topics. The matter at hand is the trial.
In the same way, don’t get hung up on unclear procedure or regulations. As Viceroy Barb put it: “The actions of the accused are the matter we are considering, not the freaking kitchen sink.” The Viceroy will handle such regulations and procedures. Your task is to debate the charges/dispute.