Does the "Remembered Sentance" count against you during the trial?
I don't think so, but I didn't write that part of the code.
And the issue was I was declared "Not Guilty" yet I was then "Let go" only to have a SECOND charge of escaping prison added to my criminal record.
That does sound like a bug, and I'm not sure how it could have happened. Are you sure you noted exactly when the second charge was added?
Edit: I savescummed with a liberal with 12 vandalism charges, and no matter how many times I try to get a not guilty verdict, I'm nearly always convicted with the public defender, what gives?
The public defender will get you convicted of prettymuch anything, prettymuch guaranteed, even if it's loitering.
Can a dev clarify if the justice system was actually changed or if I'm just incredibly unlucky? I remember being able to get off tons of murders, but not anymore, even with a sleeper judge and liberal jury.
The decision of whether you are convicted or acquitted consists of a prosecution score and a defense score. If the defense score exceeds the prosecution score, you will be acquitted. If the prosecution score is higher, you will be convicted. If there is a tie, the jury is hung and you may or may not get another trial.
The prosecution score depends on:
- The political leaning of the jury
- The number and severity of the crimes for which you stand accused
- Whether or not the prosecution is an arch-conservative nemesis of your elite liberal lawyer
The defense score depends on:
- Your lawyer's (or your, if self-defending) Law and Persuasion skill rolls
- Whether or not you have a sleeper judge
It is not difficult to get your rap sheet to be so long and so damning that there is nothing that you can do but accept the inevitable conviction. A small number of serious crimes and you might still get away with a dynamite lawyer and a sleeper judge, but only with a few.
I don't know when the justice system was last tweaked. It's been the way that it is for as long as I've been here.