Charging Rules & guidelines

Arresting & Charging

Rules & Guidelines

When arresting & charging someone, the following guidelines must be followed by the Law Enforcement Personnel performing the arrest. This will act as a barrier for protection and failure to follow these rules may result in administrative punishment.

The following only applies to Not Guilty pleas;

• If they are eligible for bail as outlined by the outlined conditions, the defendant must be presented with the option to bail out of prison.
• They must pay the bail in full prior to being released.
• If they do not wish to take bail, are unable to pay it or do not meet conditions for bail, they are to be imprisoned for 9999 days.
• The District Attorney's Office must be informed (via the Post Arrest Submission system) that the defendant has pled Not Guilty and the bail conditions must be relayed to the District Attorney's Office.

The following only applies to No Contest and Guilty pleas;

• No arrest can exceed 20 days. This is the maximum arrest length.
• Do not impound vehicles for longer then 14 days. This is the maximum impound length.
• Do not suspend licenses for longer then 14 days. This is the maximum suspension length.

The following only applies to No Contest pleas;

• The defendant must be charged with the maximum sentence for each of the charges brought against them.
• The District Attorney's Office must be informed (via the Post Arrest Submission system) that the defendant has pled No Contest.

The following only applies to Guilty pleas;

• The defendant must be charged with the minimum sentence for each of the charges brought against them.

Your Rights & Responsibilities

During this process, you do have some OOC rights in regards to this on top of your general standard legal IC rights. The OOC rights are going to be laid out here and how they apply to your case;

• You have the right for the arresting officer/deputy/trooper to explain this system ingame. 
• You have the right for the arresting officer/deputy/trooper to not press you into accepting an option that you do not wish to take. Nor can the coerce you into an option, by telling you what will happen outside of what is stated in this document. 
• You have the right to be able to accept a plea most comfortable to you, in order to accommodate your roleplay best. 
• You have the right to a speedy trial. And not just an IC right, but an OOC right. If your paperwork is taking longer then three days to be processed to even be brought into court for any reason, you have the right to bring these problems up to the Judiciary in order to get it resolved.
• You have the right to opt out of the system at any point (Excluding instances mandated by the Penal Code charge), if you feel it is hindering or providing a nuisance to your roleplay. 
• A player forfeits their right to a trial if they don't actively post on their courtcase. The system does not revolve around one or two players, but the entirety of the community — and if someone can't respect the time of everyone that's involved in the process, they should not expect their case to go for months on end due to their lack of response.

In short, you have rights during this process that extend into the OOC realm. This system is not here to make you sit longer then you wish, and stifle your roleplay, more so to enhance it for the betterment of the server and for you as a roleplayer. And thus, if you feel that is not the case, you may take appropriate action to resolve it in accordance with these rights. Exceptions may be made to these rights in areas of specific charges being mandated to go through the system, but otherwise they mostly stand.

If you have any questions about this system in regards to anything, including even how an officer/deputy/trooper handled the system, do not be afraid to message @T. McGaw | DHS 1101 with any concerns.