Magistrates

Magistates
Category:	Law Enforcement
Purpose	Investigate crimes with the Federation that cannot be investigated by ordinary means. The magistrate has the authority to be judge, jury and executioner when needed.

Overview

At the time when the Judge, Jury and Executioner starts all the Magistrate cadre are werewolves. They had the Wechselbalg gene. They were injured and saved by the blood of a werewolf, a Ranger, who rescued them from an ambush gone bad.They were further healed and upgraded by the Pod-doc, They joined the Rangers to to mete out Justice, going out on our own. They disbanded shortly afterward, they didn’t quite get the full Ranger training.

From an organization standpoint, the Queen’s Rangers were disbanded because they were deemed a hazard and a liability to Federation integrity. They were too obvious a violation of the universal accountability they hoped to maintain over our constituency. There were numerous complaints. Talk of convictions made without the law, of action without oversight and nonexistent consequences. The title ‘Rangers,’ it seems, spoke far too much of vigilantes in the night. We formally disbanded them, retrained them, and reassigned those people. They are now called ‘Magistrates.’

Grainger's overview of the purpose of the Magistrates to the Federation Council

The Magistrate Corps was formed long ago to represent the interests of Empress Bethany Anne. With the creation of the Federation and her subsequent departure, she established the Magistrate Corps to deal with pressing issues on the frontier, to help them keep the law, understand Justice as the Federation understands Justice. And most importantly, how Justice is delivered for the benefit of all. Magistrates were given broad powers and a mandate to uphold the law, bring lawbreakers to Justice, and reestablish the good order and discipline necessary for civilized society to move forward. Magistrates headed to the edge of space to ensure the safety of your hardworking citizens by removing those who would enslave them, those who would take from them, and those who would harm them. Justice. “The Magistrate Corps languished until it was recently resurrected by High Chancellor Wyatt when criminal issues were affecting neighboring systems, infringing on the rights of others. Again, the Magistrates headed to the frontier to help reestablish order by removing the worst offenders. Magistrates are law enforcement. They stop crimes in progress. They are investigators in that they collect sufficient evidence to determine guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt, then they apprehend the perpetrator. And finally, they judge the guilty and carry out the sentence. The job is unforgiving. Every Magistrate has been shot, beaten, blown up, and tortured. In the end, they have always prevailed because of the support of the member planets of the Federation.

The Magistrates answer solely to the Federation, a terrible and awesome task given by the Queen and Empress, Bethany Anne. It’s their responsibility, and cannot be legislated away.

Other aspects related during the series

• The Federation’s Magistrate emblem is a star holding the scales of Justice.
• At the time of this series in the Federation the majority of laws are judge-made,
• In the Etheric Federation, the terms “Barrister” and “Lawyer” are synonymous. Judges preside over trials. Magistrates are barristers/lawyers who also judge and mete out punishment. They are Judge, Jury and Executioner.
• Taxes are the only way governmental oversight can be funded. You cannot get a cut of seized assets since that incentivizes seizing assets. It could lead to corruption.
• From Rivka "You really need to see a prison from the inside. It’ll change how you request sentencing. Don’t punish people when you’re angry because you have to look at it later through a clearer lens. It will be sobering. Know what you’re doing. The punishment must be appropriate.”
• Jhiordaan is a place for people to realize the wrong they’ve done. When they get out, they’ve been punished, and there’s no public record of their incarceration. They start with a clean slate.
• The law isn’t a bludgeon used to beat people.
• From Wyatt “Magistrates are about keeping the peace. That is secondary to upholding the law. The first is what we do, and making it happen within the second is nice.”
• High Chancellor (Wyatt) and the Chief Arbiter (Lance Reynolds) already stated no additional magistrates. It comes down to Funding. People. Training. Trust. Turns out, the magistrates are really expensive. The five of them will do the job until they can do it no more.
• Station 7 had been the headquarters of the Magistrates, but then they had been spread farther and wider. After the retirement of the High Chancellor, Grainger had moved to Yoll.

Rules for when Magistrates gather to take cases

• First claim gets the case
• First one back buys the first round to be reimbursed by the last one back.
• Capital crimes buys shots.

Members

Magistrates

• High Chancellor Wyatt, retired by Crime Spree.
• Grainger (Leader)
• Rivka Anoa
• Felcario Renaldo Squitieri KIA
• Chi Siblinz aka Cheese Blintz
• Jael
• Buster Crabbe aka Bustamove with AI Philko
• Chaz (intern)

Support teams

Riva's Team

• Red (Bodyguard)
• Lindy (Bodyguard)
• Ankh'Po'Turn (Technical resource)
• Clevarious (Wyatt Earp SI)
• Sahved (Information Analysis)
• Cole (Heavy weapons and Mechanized Warrior)
• Clodagh Shortall (Engineering)
• Tyler Toofakre (Medic)
• Chaz (Magistrate Intern)

Activities

Judge, Jury and Executioner

The Interview

The future of the Magistrates is on the line after Red kills the apparent leader of the blood trade, Kortana Delaveen, at the end of Blood Trade after Kortana shoots Rivka and is about to kill him. She was the sister of Deleveen, ambassador from Fromme and wife to Bik Tia Nor, ambassador from Delagor.

Rivka is called to be interviewed in front of the whole Federation Council to justify her actions in the blood trade case and her previous cases. At risk is the entire Magistrate Corp as those ambassadors and ambassadors encouraged by corrupt organizations push to have the Corp disbanded.

Legal Aspects

• Cloning humans is a violation of Federation Law, Title 11, Section 10, Sentient Experimentation. I believe the punishment is five years’ incarceration, a steep fine, forfeit and destruction of all materials, and name struck from professional registers.
• Magistrates must have a Form 617 stroke 1A, Report of Execution filed when the judgement includes immediate execution.
• Federation Law, Appendix D, Chapter Seven, Section 1 relates to armed guards for heads of state being allowed wherever the head of state goes. That law applies to Magistrates as well.
• Sentient Trafficking is covered under Federation Law, Title 4, Section 1, Physical Crimes Against the Individual. Within the statute is the Sentient Trafficking sub-section, which relates to moving illegally detained persons. Illegal Detention can be added if other elements are proven.
• Title 5, Section 1, Crimes of Intent—Conspiracy
• Federation Commercial Charter 6143.217 is the registration rule for salvage companies.
• Rules of War as drafted by Rivka Anoa “The Articles of War. To provide a legal framework within which parties that have exhausted every other avenue and resorted to the use of force will operate with honor and dignity, regardless of the ultimate winner or loser. “Be warned, if other avenues to address grievances between the parties have not been exhausted, the penalties shall be extreme. “To wit, the final opportunity to avoid a costly war is the Court of Redress, to be established by the Federation High Court to handle intraplanetary disputes that could lead to civil war. The officers of the Redress Court shall be comprised of selected members of the Singularity, overseen by a sworn Magistrate. The Court of Redress must be petitioned before force is used. “Their decision shall be final. War will not follow.