Question bout da laws?

A

AllianceCHI

Baron
Can someone be tried fur a crime more than once in Valdanis?

Jehan
 
More like they get off free the first time, and then someone later on can prove that they did do it.

Bart
 
Unless I am mistaken about the nature of Valdanian law, it's entirely up to the Lord who presides over the case. It's entirely possible for a criminal act to be committed, but the defendant has their sentence commuted, even expunged, on account of extenuating circumstances and the Lord's best judgment. Of course, if you're asking whether a kind of "double-jeopardy" is attached to crimes, most likely not. If the Lord decides a person is guilty of a crime for which they were previously acquitted, so shall it be. I will bow to a Valdanian law scholar, but I have yet to see a functioning kingdom where the rule of law surmounts the word of the king.


Master Dramthin Hartsboon
Simple Keeper of the Tainted Grove
 
"Double-jeopardy" says, in effect, one cannot be tried a second time for a crime for which one was, at first, found innocent. It's not really a law, per se, but more a mode of presiding over the law. It has its proponents, mostly among ne'erdowell democrats and other advocates of lesser government, who suggest that law should stand firm above the will of the lords and the land's people. I am not huge fan of such thinking as it leads to inscrutable customs and arcane precedent trumping the better judgment of well-meaning and intelligent lords.


Master Dramthin Hartsboon
Simple Keeper of the Tainted Grove
 
Dhat Law should take precedent over dhe whim of Lords and Kings sounds like a right proper way to run t'ings. Kings and commoners should be bound by dhe Lady Justice. I do nye like to see what happened in Salamis all dhem years ago to happen anyvhere else. A horrible oppressive King and Court. Change required dhe entire town to rise up and slaughter every noble in town. Nye saying dhat dhat eez Justice, for eet eez nye. Eez terrible. Jus' saying dhat eet eez what happens when some are above dhe Law and ot'ers are nye.
 
There are certainly nobles who do not embody the higher concepts of nobility, but that is hardly a reason to discount the system. When Justice overwhelms the Just, people are no longer an element of the system, they become spiritless wheels on a runaway carriage. If the laws are not executed and monitored by an intelligent and thoughtful agent the slightest missteps or mistakes become unforgiveable infractions: healers who lose patients are guilty of murder; eating a fallen apple from an orchard is theft; bumping into a person becomes assault. All power is transfered to those clever enough to abuse and misuse the written word; a world rule by barristers.

Let me put it this way, would you rather be judged by an arbitray series of byzantine and archaic precedents created by dead people you'll never meet - or a living, breathing steward with whom you can speak and reason?


Master Dramthin Hartsboon
Simple Keeper of the Tainted Grove
 
wow dramthin... dat makes a lot o sense never heard it said like dat before.

Thanks fur yar thoughts.

Jehan
 
Ah, dhis makes sense. You mean as magistrata to keep dhe Law and interpret dhat to changing times and all dhat...makes proper sense, it does.
 
Well, the lords should be the only ones interpreting the laws, magistrates should only execute a lord's edict and bring anything which isn't cut and dry to her attention. The whole point is underscoring the fact that justice, peace, and harmony all spring from the lord and her stewardship.

Of course, this is all theoretical, and, I daresay, rhetorical in a land such as Wayside where power is not descended from lords but, instead, comes from a plutocratic oligarchy. Here, the rules are different for, if I understand it correctly, the Magistrates themselves are a kind of guild, or an extension of one at the very least. As such, it's very likely a magistrate can and does hold supreme mandate over the law and can exact its edge at her will. One would need seek an Arborian law scholar for a more precise understanding.


Master Dramthin Hartsboon
Simple Keeper of the Tainted Grove
 
Redact a portion of that last bit. I forgot where I was for a moment, mist-jumping plays merry havoc with one's sense of direction. In Valdannis, the word of the king is law, guilds have nothing to do with it and magistrates, sheriffs, or other officials only have the power to execute orders or wield what authority is handed them by their master.


Master Dramthin Hartsboon
Simple Keeper of the Tainted Grove
 
I have ne'er seen a magistrata in Valdanis. I jus' figured dhat knights were made sheriff, magistrata, and all else whilst dhe king can nye be dhere.
 
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