Law
The Law sphere encompasses anyone whose work ultimately ends in a court case, or the sanctioned use of force on US Soil. The hallmarks of a good Law app are the demonstration of a willingness to tell stories constrained by actual police procedure (even crooked cops need to know the rules they're breaking) and a delight in puzzle solving. Cops, Attorneys, Judges, CSIs, PIs, Tracers, Repo Personnel and so on are all examples of the Law Sphere. While most of the Law Sphere focuses on Criminal law, if we get civil attorneys there will be stories to be told there, as well.
Police
Police Officers are employees of the City (or State) whose job it is to keep the peace, detect and apprehend criminals, and provide aid and assistance to the citizenry. They have special authority to use force, arrest and detain individuals, and conduct various breaches of privacy and the sanctity of property. Consequently, they receive specialized training and are subject to scrutiny and various degrees of oversight of their activities to curtail abuses of these powers.
Police officers perform a variety of duties but often specialize in certain tasks. Two types of officers are common: Police Officers and Detectives. The former are the face and hands of the department, they perform traffic stops, and perform foot and car patrols. The latter have received focused training in methods to gather and follow evidence in order to identify perpetrators. A DPD officer is known as 'Officer' or 'Investigator.' State officers are known as 'Troopers.' Officers only have higher ranks as needed for command purposes.
Stat Minimums
Trait | Patrol | Sr. Patrol | Investigator | Sr. Investig |
---|---|---|---|---|
Intelligence | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Alertness | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Athletics | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Brawl | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Empathy | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Streetwise | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Subterfuge | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Drive | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Etiquette | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Firearms | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Melee | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Larceny | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Academics | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Computer | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Investigation | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Law | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Medicine | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Science | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Technology | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Willpower | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Resources Background | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Legal
When police finish an investigation and identify a suspected perpetrator, District attorneys pick up the case and represent the City or Commonwealth to the judiciary, securing warrants for arrest or searches as needed, which then enable the police to take further actions. Once a suspect has been apprehended, the DAs are responsible for arguing the case - based on the gathered evidence - before a court and jury in pursuit of a conviction. They are opposed by defense counsel (also attorneys) who argue the suspect's case using the same body of evidence.
Civil cases involve torts, situations that are not crimes against the entire community, but rather harms inflicted upon individuals. Plaintiff's and Defendant's attorneys argue these cases and tend to specialize in areas like environmental law, family law, personal injury law, and so on.
In all cases, the attorney is expected to be an investigating agent on behalf of their client. It's not all just paper work.
Stat Minimums
Trait | District Attorney | Defense Attorney | Civil Attorney | Corporate Attorney |
---|---|---|---|---|
Intelligence | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Wits | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Empathy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Expression | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Intimidation | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Streetwise | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Subterfuge | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Etiquette | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Performance | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Academics | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Computer | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Finance | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Investigation | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Law | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Medicine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Science | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Resources | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Judiciary
The culmination of all law sphere activities is some kind of encounter in court. Many (but not all) cases are decided by juries, but judges are responsible for keeping trials moving, reviewing motions, and instructing the jury if there is one.
Apps for the judiciary will be handled on a case by case basis and very carefully screened.