lord high justice of vargo
[[lord_high_justice_of_vargo]] last edit on
Apr 7, 2007
2:26 AM
by Anonymous
Directly stolen from P's post:
LORD HIGH JUSTICE
The chief magistrate of Vargo is the Lord High Justice, who is responsible for ordering and supervising the courts of the Triumvirate and presiding over trials in the Council of Keys. The offices and court of the High Justice remain in the Municipal Palace of Vargo City, and the High Justice is one of the few great officers that still directly impacts Vargo City's life through his courts.
The court system, in general, tries freemen, guilders and low nobles - knights and some baronets - though nobility are entitled to more protections in court than than freemen. Occaisonally, serfs end up in Triumvirate courts, but they are far more usually disciplined by their master. The High Justice himself tries very few cases; instead, most cases are tried by magistrates. In the city, those magistrates are largely paid members of the Reeves' Guild; elsewhere, they are lay magistrates appointed by the High Justice from wealthy local landowners or aristocrats. Provincial governors and lieutenants-governor are high magistrates in their provinces, and have the traditional right of appointing the lay magistrates within their territory. City magistrates in Vargo City are usually hired directly by the High Justice's office, while Reeve magistrates in Seren, Siolta and Kenealy are hired by the local burghers who hold the city charters.
The Lord High Justice has traditionally had a small force of bailiffs to keep order and run errands. During Lord Caius' tenure, these bailiffs were named lictors and greatly expanded. Since Lord Euan became High Justice, the name 'lictor' has remained, but the numbers have shrunk to pre-Catonian figures.
LORD HIGH JUSTICE
The chief magistrate of Vargo is the Lord High Justice, who is responsible for ordering and supervising the courts of the Triumvirate and presiding over trials in the Council of Keys. The offices and court of the High Justice remain in the Municipal Palace of Vargo City, and the High Justice is one of the few great officers that still directly impacts Vargo City's life through his courts.
The court system, in general, tries freemen, guilders and low nobles - knights and some baronets - though nobility are entitled to more protections in court than than freemen. Occaisonally, serfs end up in Triumvirate courts, but they are far more usually disciplined by their master. The High Justice himself tries very few cases; instead, most cases are tried by magistrates. In the city, those magistrates are largely paid members of the Reeves' Guild; elsewhere, they are lay magistrates appointed by the High Justice from wealthy local landowners or aristocrats. Provincial governors and lieutenants-governor are high magistrates in their provinces, and have the traditional right of appointing the lay magistrates within their territory. City magistrates in Vargo City are usually hired directly by the High Justice's office, while Reeve magistrates in Seren, Siolta and Kenealy are hired by the local burghers who hold the city charters.
The Lord High Justice has traditionally had a small force of bailiffs to keep order and run errands. During Lord Caius' tenure, these bailiffs were named lictors and greatly expanded. Since Lord Euan became High Justice, the name 'lictor' has remained, but the numbers have shrunk to pre-Catonian figures.