Consolidated Criminal Justice Bill

Consolidated Criminal Justice Bill

Introduction
Whereas previous Criminal Justice statutes contain references to obsolete Law and have become out of date, and whereas some statutes are not entirely discursive of their subject matter, the Senate resolves to update and consolidate existing Criminal Justice Law.

Section 1: Crimes against Atlasia
The following shall be crimes against Atlasia:
1. The impersonation, or attempted impersonation, of another Atlas Forum member on the Atlas Forum.
2. The "hacking" or taking over control of another Atlas Forum members personal account without their permission.
3. Voter fraud, defined as the creation of identities other than ones primary identity in Atlasia and subsequently entering this identity into the tally of registered voters.
4. Posting pictures, other media, or links to the same of a pornographic nature on the boards provided for the purposes of Atlas Fantasy Elections.
5. Maliciously editing the AtlasWiki to remove legitimate content or create off-topic pages.
6. Posting threads on the boards provided for the purposes of Atlas Fantasy Elections of a sexual nature that contribute nothing to political or philosophical discussion.

Section 2: Punishment of Crimes against Atlasia
Sentencing of the crime shall be by the presiding Justice; He may use any combination of the following as punishment, depending upon the severity of the offense:
1. For offences described in Clauses 1 through 3 of Section 1:
i. Up to a one year ban from voting in any Atlasian elections.
ii. Up to two years ban from holding any office under the Republic of Atlasia.
2. For offences described in Clauses 4 through 6 of Section 1:
i. Up to a two month ban from voting in any Atlasian elections.

Section 3: Acts of Treason
The following acts are hereby declared Acts of Treason:
1. Rebellion, defined as the use of military forces to overthrow the Federal or any Regional government of Atlasia.
2. Aiding of a rebellion, defined as the fully knowing and intentional direction of funds, military aid, or strategic advice to a person or group seeking to engage in rebellion.
3. Terrorism, defined as the unlawful or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating civilians and/or the federal and/or regional governments of Atlasia.
4. Destruction of a Voting Booth, defined as deleting the thread in which a voting booth, or absentee voting booth, for an active election is contained.

Section 4: Punishment of Acts of Treason
Sentencing of Acts of Treason shall be by the presiding Justice; He may use any combination of the following as punishment, depending upon the severity of the offense:
1. Up to a lifetime ban from voting in any Atlasian elections.
2. Up to a lifetime ban from holding any office under the Republic of Atlasia.

Section 5: Trial Rules
Trial of all these crimes and Acts of Treason shall be done in full compliance with the provisions of Article III, Section 2 of the Second Constitution.

Section 6: Admissibility of Evidence
The presiding Justice may admit the following as evidence of the crime at his own discretion:
1. The actual statements made on the Atlas Forum itself
2. Screenshots of the statements made.
3. A quotation of the statement in a post by another Atlas Forum user.
4. The testimony of forum users who viewed the statement itself.
5. An admission by the accused in a thread on the Atlas Forum, or in a place viewed or heard by multiple persons, with recordings or testimony attributing to the same.
6. Evidence obtained through investigation of the IP address from which the offence was perpetrated.
7. Evidence given to the Court by the Forum Moderators or the Forum Owner, Dave Leip obtained in their capacity in that position.

Section 7: Rights of the Defendant at Trial
1. The defendant shall not be denied access to adequate legal counsel in the form of an upstanding, active citizen of Atlasia. The defendant also has the right to waive their right to legal counsel. If the defendant requests legal counsel, but is unable to secure his own adequate legal counsel according to the stipulations above, the presiding Justice shall request the chief judicial officer of the Region which said Defendant resides in, to serve as legal counsel to represent the defense. The chief judicial officer of the Region shall have the right to refuse such a request.
2. If there is no chief judicial officer of said Region or if the chief judicial officer refuses this request, the Senior Senator of the Region shall be appointed as chief legal counsel, or if there is no Regional senator, the Senior Senator of the District in which Defendant resides in shall be appointed as chief legal counsel. If the Senior Senator of the Region or District, as stated above, and the Defendant are the same person, then the Junior Senator of the Region shall be appointed as chief legal counselor, or if there is no Regional senator, the Junior Senator of the District in which Defendant resides in shall be appointed as chief legal counsel.
3. For this clause, active citizen is defined as someone who voted in the last federal election and upstanding citizen is defined as someone who is presently, or who has previously, held elected office in Atlasia.
4. The defendant shall have the right to a speedy trial as defined in Article III, Section 2. In addition to this provision, the following section will be used as definition of a speedy trial:
i. If a brief by the Plaintiff is not filed within one week (7 days) of the presiding Justice opening the trial against the defendant, the case will be dismissed and all charges will be dropped.
ii. A one week (7 days) leniency period may be granted by the presiding Justice by request of the Plaintiff, but any further delays may not be granted by the presiding Justice, except in the case of grave illness or publicly announced absence from the forum.

Section 8: Right to Appeal[/o]
In addition to any Rights of Appeal the Supreme Court may find under the Constitution, the defendant retains the following statutory rights of appeal against their conviction:
1. Procedural Appeals
i. Should the defendant wish to appeal his conviction on grounds of errors of procedure during the trial, he may do so to the full Supreme Court provided the appeal is filed within one month of conclusion of the trial.
ii. If the Supreme Court does find errors of procedure in the trial, vacation of the conviction shall not be automatic, but at the discretion of the Supreme Court.
2. Substantive Appeals
i. Should new evidence come to light, the defendant may appeal his conviction to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the evidence no longer supports his conviction or severity of his sentence.
ii. In reviewing the appeal, the Supreme Court may refer the question of guilt to a new jury in a new trial (without vacating the original conviction).
iii. The Supreme Court may also reduce the sentence if it determines that the severity of the offence is reduced in light of the new evidence.

Section 9: Repealed Legislation
The following Acts are repealed: Voter Fraud Act, Omnibus Criminal Law Act, and Treasonous Rebellion Act.
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Sponsor: Sen. MasterJedi

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