Resolution 9/Text

`Server Court`

`I. Overview`

`A Server Court (with its respective court proceedings and discussion channels) will be established having jurisdiction only over cases explicitly involving:`

`- S.W.A.G. resolution violations.`

`- S.W.A.G. resolutions found to overstep the boundaries of S.W.A.G.`

`- Violations of server rules as established in #rules.`

`Proceedings outlined herein are designed in order to prevent rigged court cases, eliminate as much bias as possible, and make sure that only serious cases are taken up by the server court.`

`II. Parties Involved and Case Validity`

`a. Valid cases will begin in the form of a publicly-announced lawsuit between S.W.A.G. (the plaintiff) and the accused (the defendant).`

`b. Case validity, if challenged by 2 of the 3 presiding judges, will result in a 3 day postponing of the case while a vote among all active players is conducted to determine the validity of the case in accordance with Section I of this resolution. If a case is found to be invalid by a simple majority (50% + 1) of active players that choose to vote, the case dismiss; otherwise, the case will continue after the third day.`

`c. The defendant will have the option to be represented by a willing lawyer of their choice. The defendant's lawyer may receive payment. The defendant may represent themselves if they so choose.`

`d. The plaintiff will be represented by a willing volunteer lawyer.`

`e. The case will be overseen by 3 judges, chosen at random from the active player base. If one of these judges is suspected by any active player of implication with a party involved in the case, 1 judge (randomly selected from the 2 other judges) will be allowed to remain, while 2 new judges will be randomly selected from the active player base to replace 2 dismissed judges. Judge challenges may occur 3 times.`

`f. Judges may not serve in more than one case as a judge in a row, but may serve as a juror if randomly selected and not found to be implicated.`

`III. Proceedings`

`a. Cases, after being approved for validity by the presiding judges, will begin with opening statements from the plaintiff's lawyer (hereafter referred to as "the plaintiff") and the defendant (or their respective lawyer, both hereafter referred to as "the defendant"), in that order.`

`b. Both parties will then have the option to cross-examine witnesses (maximum of 3 per party) of their choosing, first the plaintiff and then the defendant.`

`c. The defendant and the plaintiff will then make closing statements, in that order.`

`d. At this point, the case will be voted on during a 36 hour time period, beginning immediately after the plaintiff’s closing statement has been made, by an unbiased jury made up of 9 active players, chosen at random after the case has been presented and closing statements have been made. If a juror is suspected by any active player of implication with a party involved in the case, said juror along with 2 jurors chosen at random will be replaced by 3 new jurors chosen at random from the active player base. Jurors may be challenged 2 times by each party.`

`e. The plaintiff and defendant may not discuss court business with any members of the jury.`

`f. The jury will present their verdict to the presiding judges, who will present the verdict to the public.`

`IV. Rulings and Appropriate Punishment`

`a. The court may not issue punishments involving in-game property of any kind except in valid cases of griefing or stealing. In such cases, punishments involving in-game property may not exceed, but may equal, that which was destroyed or stolen.`

`b. Cases in which S.W.A.G. resolutions are found to overstep the boundaries of S.W.A.G. will only result in the nullification of said resolution.`

`c. Cases in which S.W.A.G. resolutions are found to have been violated will only result in the nullification of actions involving the resolution involved.`

`d. The jury may suggest a punishment found in #rules if the defendant is found to be guilty. Suggested punishments will be screened by the presiding judges for appropriateness and passed on to server mods for a second screening, followed by approval/enaction or disapproval and nullification of only punishments suggested by the jury that are found in #rules.`

`V. Nullification of Court Rulings and Miscellaneous`

`a. If a juror or jurors are found to have been implicated with the defendant after a verdict has been announced, the previous case verdict will be nullified and a retrial will commence with a new jury.`

`b. Jurors who knowingly accept jury duty while being implicated with the defendant, whether or not their leaning influences the final verdict, are encouraged to examine their hearts.`

`c. Presiding judges may strike comments/statements that do not follow the proceedings outlined in Section III of this resolution.`

`d. Presiding judges may not prohibit the audience from leaving reactions on court proceedings.`

`e. Server court may not have a permanent/official physical location in-game, but individual volunteer courthouses may host server court cases if they choose to.`

`f. Court rulings are not to be used as a precedent for future cases, i.e. everything in server court is conducted on a case-by-case basis.`

`g. Jurors may recuse themselves if they are known to be implicated with the defendant. This does not count toward either party's allotted challenges.`

`VI. Mutability of Resolution 9`

`a. Future S.W.A.G. resolutions may make changes to proceedings and rules outlined in this resolution but must receive 75% approval and a minimum voter turnout of 10 active players.`

`b. Resolutions involving resolution 9 may not receive expedited approval according to resolution 5.`