Court of Common Pleas

The Newport Justice Center, the meeting place of the Court of Common Pleas after its completion on August 12.

### Formed

July 10, 2020
Day 1, Year 1 BK

### Imperial Magistrate

lostcity99

"*I believe that the Court of Common Pleas has the common sense to consider the nuance in any situation.*"
—ratatoing8990
The **Court of Common Pleas** is the governing judicial body of the First Newportian Empire. It wields the authority to resolve disputes between private citizens, corporations, and organizations in the form of lawsuits. The Court of Common Pleas is headed by the Imperial Magistrate, a position directly appointed by the Emperor. The current and fifth Imperial Magistrate is lostcity99, who was appointed by Emperor lonellamaMV on October 12, 2020 (Day 5, Year 18 AK). Membership in the Court varies between cases, as the body consists of "all active and permanent subjects of the Empire, except any involved in the specific lawsuit", according to the Imperial Constitution. The Court currently meets in the Newport Justice Center in Downtown Newport.

## History

The structure and procedures of the Court of Common Pleas were heavily influenced by City Ordinance XXI. Passed by the Newport City Council on June 22 (-5:3), Ordinance XXI was the first Newportian legislation to establish a judicial framework. On July 10 (-1:1), City Ordinance XXI and the Council were superseded by the Imperial Constitution, which officially established the Court to inherit the judicial power of the Council, "act as the jury in all lawsuits, and ... deliver a verdict by plurality vote", according to Article IV. After the Carrot Revolution of August 19 (8:1), the Constitution was rendered obsolete by the Carrot Accord. Although the Accord rejects the authority of the Constitution, it does preserve the authority of the Court: "The Court of Common Pleas shall continue to operate under the Eternal Emperor's authority and his Imperial Magistrate."

## Structure

The Court of Common Pleas is headed by the Imperial Magistrate, who is appointed by the Emperor and acts as the judge in all lawsuits. According to Article IV of the Imperial Constitution, "the Imperial Magistrate shall also have the power to dismiss any case deemed unlawful or trivial, ensure all cases adhere to current law, mediate the court process, and impose reasonable penalties on the guilty party, if necessary and allowed, following the verdict of the Court of Common Pleas." If the Imperial Magistrate is directly involved in the case at hand, a temporary Interim Magistrate is appointed by the members of the Court.

While the Imperial Magistrate acts as the judge, the members of the Court of Common Pleas act as the jury. Only the members of the Court have the power to decide the verdict of a case, which is determined by a plurality vote of the Court following the closing arguments of both parties. According to Article IV of the Constitution, the Court consists of "all active and permanent subjects of the Empire, except any involved in the specific lawsuit", with the term "active" meaning "any player that has been online at any point during the week preceding the lawsuit".

## Cases

*Main article: List of Newport court cases*