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[Urist McScoopbeard]

* Welcome to the First Interplanar & Dimensional... *

~ WIZARD COURT ~

How to play:

Congratulations! You've taken your first step into the wizarding judiciary by completing your magical law degree and passing the lead-to-gold-bar exam!
This of course entitles you to act as a Judge, Prosecutor, or Defense Attorney at will.

Naturally, Wizard Court is a very confusing and complex environment and as such, certain mundane aspects of the law have been discarded in favor of our superior law-magic!
With a simple spell, Judges have access to all the details of a case without the need for a messy investigation.
Likewise, it is very rare that defendants are allowed to speak in court due to the dangers of vocal magic and access to a complete magical record of the mage's actions.

Instead, most court cases rely on individual magicians-at-laws' abilities to interpret the various codices on magic law across the multiverse.
As such, hearings are structured as follows:

***

Stage I: Judge Research
The presiding judge (anyone who feels like starting a new game) will accept a new case from the multiverse (dream up or generate a magical crime for our magicians-at-law to debate) and use their law-magic to download the events in question directly into their brain (don't worry, this is a mostly safe process, and tonal surgery is no longer required to remove any lingering memories). When they have processed the information they will write up a case summary to post for any enterprising freelance magicians-at-law to accept (legit, just write a summary of the events as you'd like them, could be vague or specific, based on reality, or a total fiction).

Resources: (to help you come up with whacky crimes)
https://www.mithrilandmages.com/utilities/Crimes.php
https://www.rangen.co.uk/world/lawgen.php
https://perchance.org/gzpz4ki16s

General Tips: (for interesting hearings)
*try people, not a generic crime. I.E. "Person did X", rather than "is X a crime???"
*more specificity in your brief will let your magicians-at-law construct better cases
*... but dont make it a chore.
*have a headshot for your judge and defendant/guilty bastard mage



Stage II: The Hearing
Once there is a prosecutor and defending attorney the trial begins in earnest, both sides will present their opening statements (just say what you are out to prove and which magical law you will be citing) and ask any clarifying questions about the case (for the judge to explain, although it is ultimately up the judge how much to reveal).

Resources: (to make you a better M.A.L.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Magic_(The_Dresden_Files)#The_Laws_of_Magic
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Laws

General Tips: (for winning and having a great time)
*the name of the game is citations, no MLA formatting God no, just link us to the page where you found the law supporting your argument.
*outside of the two Harry universes, there's plenty of obscure magical law, from real life anti-magic laws to homebrew DnD laws governing magic use--it exists, even if its kinda hard to find.
*have a headshot for your magician-at-law character!



Stage III: The Hearing, Part 2
Once any outstanding issues have been settled, the prosecutor and defense attorney will respond to each other's citations and claims (a separate post, try to poke holes in your opponents arguments or find new evidence in your favor!)

General Tips:
*dont be mean!
*but DO be sassy. (Think Ace Attorney)

Stage III¹/₂: The Hearing, Part X
If the judge feels there is insufficient evidence or at the request of one of the magicians-at-law, they can order additional rounds of rebuttals (more posts poking holes or finding new laws or refining arguments).



Stage IV: The Verdict
After having heard everything, the Judge closes the debate and makes his judgement on the mage in question. The punishment is up to them! Case closed, everyone retires to the magical break room, and we repeat the process all over again.

General Tips:
*it is up to you to uphold or throw out past precedent--unlike real life it's not like there's some kind of wizard court regulatory body!
*As a rule of thumb, when in doubt, do what's fun!
*if you are having trouble, try giving precedent to more obscure citations, I've seen things from homebrewed DnD flavor, to otherwise unheard-of anime, to weird metaphysical hippie stuff
*speaking of which, I'd try and shy away from any "real" earth law from like the 1600s, as a magical judge why do we care what mortals from a magicless planet think? Buuuut, if there's nothing else... you could admit it.



OTHER GENERAL TIPS: (for everyone)
*be weird, be obscure
*you may be forced to go outside of magic law to define something, that's okay!
*go off the rails every now and then, whats a good court without contempt?
*oh yea, alchemical law is good too.
*dont cite anything you've written solely yourself? Unless maybe as part of a larger collaboration, or maybe some sort of precedent sheet here on the forums if this becomes popular (lol)
*the more pics the better!
*collaboration on a defense or prosecution team is fine as long as everyone is cool with it, one judge at a time is probably easiest, but hey it's Wizard Court, there are currently no laws forbidding multiple judges
*anyone can play any role!

Note: We'll keep everything in one thread for now, but if there ends up being tons of discussion we'll move the hearings over to a dedicated Court House thread!
Note: Yes, this is an attempt at a game that might hopefully run without me one day so I don't kill it by being highly erratic.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

~ A CASE TO DIE FOR ~
Q.T. Wiz vs The First Interplanar Wizard Court

"Do not be alarmed, it is I, Judge M. Quin. I today present the case of Q.T. Wiz vs The First Interplanar Wizard Court"

"..."

"Do not be fooled by the defendant's enthralling aesthetic, he has been caught in the act of using magical means to desecrate a cemetery, and in the process, exhume a corpse. He was apprehended in the middle of casting a spell of unknown purpose and target after an anonymous tip. I would like to remind the defendant and potential magicians-at-law pursuing this case that he, of course, has no rights, and has for the duration of the trial lost the ability to speak--except under extreme circumstances. Furthermore, it is pertinent to add that hitherto this incident the defendant has no prior record, and was monitored behaving normally <for a wizard> for 72 hours before the anonymous tip."
"The court is now formally accepting both a prosecutor and defense attorney to try the case."

[Supernerd]

"I am Pisci! And apparently I am a wizard now! I hereby submit my application of intention to prosecute this case!"

[Urist McScoopbeard]

"Ah yes, venerable wizard Pisci! Welcome to the prosecution team, the court is thankful for your assistance! Please feel free to make your opening remarks as you please, I am sure a defense attorny will be along shortly!"

[Supernerd]

"Thank you, your honor. I believe I shall do just that! Here is my opening statement:"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Magic_(The_Dresden_Files)#The_Laws_of_Magic
"1. First of all, there is the Fifth Law of Magic; which prohibits the practice of necromancy, described as the summoning, binding and exploitation of the unwilling dead."

https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/b5rgj1/what_kind_of_regulations_would_a_liscenced/
"Secondo: I turn your attention to necromancy bylaws, of which there are two additional offenses!
2. You can't raise corpses or make undead of corpses which are in good standing with the law, except with written consent by the corpse, verified by an official.
3. Furthermore, you must stay at least 50 feet away from any marked graveyard whenever casting a spell which can raise the dead or create undead! (to prevent accidental collateral raising)"

"Today, I intend to prove that the defendant has violated... Two out of Three of these laws!"

[Urist McScoopbeard]

(bump) still lookin for a magician-at-law to play defense attorney, any takers?

[Supernerd]

"Um... Shouldn't there usually be someone refuting this right about now? This feels kind of awkward."

[Urist McScoopbeard]

"It appears there is no willing defense attorney! In that case, Q.T. Wiz shall be thrown into temporal flux for ALL ETERNITY, or until the court revisits the case."

[I am a lil tipsy so I do not want to propose a new case tonight, but if someone else wants to RP Judge, I'lll hop in as a magician-at-law]

[Demonic Spoon]

"It appears there is no willing defense attorney! In that case, Q.T. Wiz shall be thrown into temporal flux for ALL ETERNITY, or until the court revisits the case."

"*burp* I object yer honourship! I was merely taking some time formulate my case for the court, there being such a large body of legal provisions to consider! And definitely not just distracted by snacking on some pesky mundane bookthieves."

"Do not be alarmed, it is I, Judge M. Quin. I today present the case of Q.T. Wiz vs The First Interplanar Wizard Court"

"Do not be fooled by the defendant's enthralling aesthetic, he has been caught in the act of using magical means to desecrate a cemetery, and in the process, exhume a corpse. He was apprehended in the middle of casting a spell of unknown purpose and target after an anonymous tip. I would like to remind the defendant and potential magicians-at-law pursuing this case that he, of course, has no rights, and has for the duration of the trial lost the ability to speak--except under extreme circumstances. Furthermore, it is pertinent to add that hitherto this incident the defendant has no prior record, and was monitored behaving normally <for a wizard> for 72 hours before the anonymous tip."

"The court is now formally accepting both a prosecutor and defense attorney to try the case."

"Thank you, your honor. I believe I shall do just that! Here is my opening statement:"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Magic_(The_Dresden_Files)#The_Laws_of_Magic
"1. First of all, there is the Fifth Law of Magic; which prohibits the practice of necromancy, described as the summoning, binding and exploitation of the unwilling dead."

https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/b5rgj1/what_kind_of_regulations_would_a_liscenced/
"Secondo: I turn your attention to necromancy bylaws, of which there are two additional offenses!
2. You can't raise corpses or make undead of corpses which are in good standing with the law, except with written consent by the corpse, verified by an official.
3. Furthermore, you must stay at least 50 feet away from any marked graveyard whenever casting a spell which can raise the dead or create undead! (to prevent accidental collateral raising)"

"Today, I intend to prove that the defendant has violated... Two out of Three of these laws!"

"*ahem*. I rebut that the prosecution is trying to muddle the case here by bringing up unrelated charges! The specific actions that the accused has been charged with carrying out is the desecration of cemetery, and the exhumation of a corpse. This could have been carried out for any particular purpose, such as a study specimen for fleshmancy experimentation or the accused merely being peckish."

"Neither desecration nor corpse exhumation are particularly forbidden by wizarding law¹, which more concerns itself with matters of greater import rather than such humdrum yet noble research efforts, and such a charge would be better served being referred to a mundane court or religious court."

"Nowhere in the information provided by the judge is it indicated that the accused did, or was planning to, perform any magic from the august school of necromancy. I challenge the prosecution to prove such, or bring forth charges that will actually hold up in wizard court."

"I would further request that this case be thrown out for wasting the wizarding court's valuable time. If the case however persists, I would request information on the ownership or lack thereof of the cemetery, and the species of the corpse being exhumed. Was this perhaps for example, a pet cemetery? Are the local religious authorities even aware of, or particularly angry about this desecration? Were there any non-Wizard Court affiliated witnesses or recordings of the event?"

"Is there any indication that the accused may have been mind controlled or not in their right, wizardly, mind while carrying out the supposed crime?  I would request that the silence of the accused be lifted so that they may provide a testimony for the motivations of their actions, though a written testimony or mind delve transcription of motivations and reasonings would also be acceptable."

"Further, is desecration here referring to a specific magical spell or ritual, or merely the logical consequences of the action of exhuming a corpse itself via magical means from the graveyard? What type of spell was used to carry out the desecration? Was the body exhumed by magical means or mundane means? If magical, what sort of magic? Earth elementalism most probably?"

"Thank you, yer honourship, the defence rests."

¹ I struggled to find a specific citation on this, as laws are generally more about what you're not allowed to do, or what you're required to do than what you're allowed to do. I would generally expect that the onus is on the prosecution to provide actual charges with citations, and the defence to refute that, with or without citations, as applicable. Here I am arguing that there is no current evidence of necromancy. The onus is on the prosecution to prove that desecration and exhumation are wizardly illegal, or find evidence of necromancy, in which case I will attempt to fight against those charges.

I would also generally like more information before citing some of the laws I actually am considering using in the defence. Hence the boatload of questions.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

"Case reponed! Thank you kindly Tomato Wizard, I knew an experienced Magician-at-Law would come along--now we don't ave to worry about overcrowding the bottomless pit (which does have a mathematically proven bottom unfortunately). "

"*ahem*. I rebut that the prosecution is trying to muddle the case here by bringing up unrelated charges! The specific actions that the accused has been charged with carrying out is the desecration of cemetery, and the exhumation of a corpse. This could have been carried out for any particular purpose, such as a study specimen for fleshmancy experimentation or the accused merely being peckish."

"Neither desecration nor corpse exhumation are particularly forbidden by wizarding law¹, which more concerns itself with matters of greater import rather than such humdrum yet noble research efforts, and such a charge would be better served being referred to a mundane court or religious court."

"Nowhere in the information provided by the judge is it indicated that the accused did, or was planning to, perform any magic from the august school of necromancy. I challenge the prosecution to prove such, or bring forth charges that will actually hold up in wizard court."

"I would further request that this case be thrown out for wasting the wizarding court's valuable time. If the case however persists, I would request information on the ownership or lack thereof of the cemetery, and the species of the corpse being exhumed. Was this perhaps for example, a pet cemetery? Are the local religious authorities even aware of, or particularly angry about this desecration? Were there any non-Wizard Court affiliated witnesses or recordings of the event?"

"Is there any indication that the accused may have been mind controlled or not in their right, wizardly, mind while carrying out the supposed crime?  I would request that the silence of the accused be lifted so that they may provide a testimony for the motivations of their actions, though a written testimony or mind delve transcription of motivations and reasonings would also be acceptable."

"Further, is desecration here referring to a specific magical spell or ritual, or merely the logical consequences of the action of exhuming a corpse itself via magical means from the graveyard? What type of spell was used to carry out the desecration? Was the body exhumed by magical means or mundane means? If magical, what sort of magic? Earth elementalism most probably?"

"Thank you, yer honourship, the defence rests."

¹ I struggled to find a specific citation on this, as laws are generally more about what you're not allowed to do, or what you're required to do than what you're allowed to do. I would generally expect that the onus is on the prosecution to provide actual charges with citations, and the defence to refute that, with or without citations, as applicable. Here I am arguing that there is no current evidence of necromancy. The onus is on the prosecution to prove that desecration and exhumation are wizardly illegal, or find evidence of necromancy, in which case I will attempt to fight against those charges.

I would also generally like more information before citing some of the laws I actually am considering using in the defence. Hence the boatload of questions.

"In response to the defense's questions, the Court will reveal and rule on the following:

One, check the legal practices of Tamriel [there is a lot of stuff from The Elder Scrolls which mentions necromancy, both forbidding and permitting it] as well as first hand quotes [NPCs in game talk about it constantly, I'll admit that as expert testimony].

Two, unfortunately, our perfect law-magic did not detect the target of the spell Q.T. Wiz had intended to cast, as he was ensorcelled (by our law-magic) in the middle of his incantation--although the corpse was already fully exhumed by that time. That said, the situation warrants suspicion which is grounds for a trial here in Wizard Court.

Three, the Court is aware the cemetery is publicly owned by a largely politically non-magical kingdom, and that as of this hearing any religious authorities in said kingdom are unaware of the specifics of this incident--although we have stopped monitoring the crime scene at this time. Local magic authorities may have already stepped in, but it is their responsibility to contact us unless the defense can think of a sufficiently serious reason to warrant our more direct involvement. And on this point, given these prior clarifications, the Court will not move to dismiss or strike the case as of yet.

Four, according to the magical probe Q.T. Wiz was subjected to upon processing, no evidence was found of prior ensorcellment or unusual brain chemistry, that said, the Wizard Court does not have a baseline for the many varieties of species throughout the universe, or even for the many slightly different humans these worlds share. For Heavens' sake, I am a living puppet!

Five, firstly--Q.T. Wiz has indeed used a wand-based spell of non-verbal construction to simultaneously move both the ground and the body in question as well as separate the corpse from its surroundings--the gentleman was buried without a coffin sadly--in more specific terms, we do not believe Q.T. Wiz's power to come from any sort of elementalism, Spiritualism, or Divine/Semi-Divine connection, the construction of the spell was 100% mathematically based (perhaps best described as alchemical in nature, although no transmutation occurred) and used only the raw energy of universal/multiversal construction.

Secondly, the Court in this instance will drop the charge of desecration, as while the body was exhumed magically, there was no magic used with the intent to dishonor a god, diety, or religion--and while we are not sure if that is a crime or not, its' non-magical nature prevents us from examining it further at this time.

Finally, referring to the earlier request to lift Q.T. Wiz's silence, the answer shall remain No. However, we will allow, perhaps ironically, the court-sanctioned reanimation of the exhumed corpse for questioning if the defense believes it to be useful."

[Thanks for joining in! Also yes, feel free to include those feelings and statments in your rebuttal/conclusion and the court will take is under advisement--although remember the struggle in this game is really trying to figure out what is actually a crime at all lol]

[also yes, more info is good, and whoever is playing the Judge--me in this case--should always be there to expound when they can]

[Urist McScoopbeard]

"I would also at this time like to remind both the defense and prosecution that we are examining a case based primarily on A.) an anonymous tip, and B.) our perfect law-magic that is able to recount events to us--the accused is primarily standing trial for the initial tip as provided by they-who-shall-not-be-named-as-to-protect-their-legal-rights, but the Court may choose to prosecute or dismiss, rule or drop on additional POTENTIAL crimes discovered in the specifics of the case."

[Supernerd]

"Now, before we do anything like exhume the corpse ourselves, or gods forbid, letting the defendant utter even a single word, I feel that we should first make an attempt to contact one of the witnesses in a non-intrusive manner. After all, we are puppets, tomatoes, and fish of magic and dignity!"

"I propose that we hold a séance in order to request the voluntary presence of the spirit of one or more of the people who was laid to rest at the scene of the crime to serve as a witness. If even one of them still had unfinished business in this world, then they will be able to give us a firsthand account of what happened before the arrival of the authorities."

[Urist McScoopbeard]

"Unfortunately, the corpse is already, and remains, exhumed--and was of course, confiscated as evidence. That said, the Court will authorize a seance before attempting any necromancy. Thankfully, it will be quite trivial to summon the spirit of our deceased sirrah--for us anyways, the Departments of Divinity and Afterlife Affairs will naturally be swamped in paper. Anyways, I will initiate the seance on our Ghostalizer 3000. Hello, Spirit... are you there?"

"... <static> OooooOOOOOOooooOOOOOOOOh AAAAAAAaaaaaagh--sorry about that I'm <static> what do you need?"

"Ah yes, well unfortunately it appears that your corpse was exhumed without your consent and this hearing of the First Interplanar & Dimensional Wizard Court was curious if you could relate to us the circumstances of your demise and whether or not you have any knowledge of the recent happenings of your old mortal body, and for that matter, if you have any enemies or other reasons why the defendant, Q.T. Wiz would wish to dig you up?"

"<static> Q.T. Wiz you s<static> I don't know him, or at least don't think I did in <static> in fact, it's a bit hard to remember things before I was disembodied!
I was a simple <static> and I don't know why anybody would want to move my body? I'm sorry I <static> ... [static intensifies] I wish I could be of more <static>elp!"

"Hrmph, unfortunately it appears our connection to this particular afterlife is quite unstable. I will open the floor to further questions from the defense and prosecution, but I remind them NOT to bother the spirit unduly. And finally, given the condition of the spirit witness the Court has decided to allow a reanimation if either counsel so pleases--although we will continue this interview until all parties are satisfied. At the close of any remaining questions or examinations, we will be moving forward to the primary rebuttals."

[Urist McScoopbeard]

"Ah yes, I almost forgot. On the topic of calling other witnesses, that would be permissible, however I must warn both Magicians-at-Law that the only witnesses in this instance are flora and fauna, and while I would CONSIDER admitting their testimonies (through Druids of your choosing) [you RP it please], I will A.) not allow this to become a (literal) Kangaroo Court, and B.) will closely examine any flora you choose to question for signs of magical tampering of coercion. Sugar water is strictly forbidden to be offered as a reward!"

[Demonic Spoon]

"In response to the defense's questions, the Court will reveal and rule on the following:

One, check the legal practices of Tamriel [there is a lot of stuff from The Elder Scrolls which mentions necromancy, both forbidding and permitting it] as well as first hand quotes [NPCs in game talk about it constantly, I'll admit that as expert testimony].

[Oh, finding things about necromancy being legal was relatively easy, it was exhumation and desecration that were hard, and I was contesting that there is any necromancy involved at all.]

"Thank you, yer honourship! That was most enlightening. *Ahem*"

"Thus the two potential crimes currently laid before the accused is Primus, the exhumation of a corpse, Secundus, the suspicion of using Necromancy."

"This humble defence wizard will note with some amusement that a seance is in fact an application of one of the most orthodox paradigms of Necromancy, i.e. communing with the dead, and that if necromancy is illegal, this court has already committed a crime by carrying it out."

"In a discussion among some learned Magi of the legality of Necromancy and associated practises, summating and condensing extensive and complicated legal codes, it was concluded that Necromancy and associated activities is perfectly legal, assuming that you do not bring ruin upon your Sodales. Some key citations:"

>From a Hermetic Law perspective, there's absolutely nothing wrong with [re-animating corpses and binding ghosts]; corpses are just decaying meat (as the soul has left)
>The actual rules against necromancy would be someing more akin to "don't mess with the Church" - which is a specific implementation of "don't bring ruing[sic] upon your sodales" - as Crusades are only fun for historians.
>Your actions are distasteful, but Hermetic society knows they're non-Infernal and as long as this remains clear and you don't anger the Church or disturb the spirits of dead magi or so on your disgusting habits shouldn't be an issue.
>Necromancy is not banned per say in the Order.
>No witnesses = no problems! ^1.

"As such I would argue that even if the accused was planning on performing necromancy of any sort, it would be perfectly legal. And as there are no witnesses, there is no anger from religions or churches, and no ruin has come to the accused's Sodales as a result of his actions or corpse exhumations, then he is perfectly innocent and should be released. Thank you, yer honourship."


^1.Discussion and Summation of the Legality of Necromancy under Hermetic Law