When representing a client the first thing to know is that it does not matter if your client is innocent or guilty. Your job is to ensure they are fairly represented. You must approach each case fairly and support your client regardless of your personal feelings or the evidence stacked against them.

Once your client has been arrested, inform security you are on your way: Make a statement on the radio requesting your client remains silent until you arrive. Once you arrive you should be allowed a chance to speak to your client alone.

When you arrive at Security, you should ask for a private conversation with your client, but before this, you have some questions for the officers involved:

• Why was my client arrested?
• What was my client doing during the arrest?
• Did my client resist arrest?
• Did you follow due process?
• Did you read them their rights on arrest?

These questions will help you in court. Following due process is important, and failure to do so means the arrest is invalid. If this is the case, you can use this against Security in the court case.

You do not need to ask if your client is innocent or guilty, and you are potentially being illegally recorded or monitored. Ask these following questions:

• Did the officers read you your rights?
• Did the officers assault you or hurt you?
• Did the officers strip you in public?
• Did the officers ask before they went through your belongings?

These questions are important, as improper arrest procedure will help you argue for a mistrial. Make sure your client is aware that talking to the Security Officers will only be used against them.

Was due process followed during the arrest?
If not, you can state that your client was improperly arrested. Being stripped in public or arrested without having their rights read can be argued that the client was not even arrested for the crime they are accused of. You should be nasty about due process as this is necessary for a proper arrest.

Was your client hurt by Security during the arrest if they did not resist?
If so this is called a battery. Assault and battery are different, assault being the threat of harm, with battery being the application of harm to your client. Both can be used to discredit officers, especially if the client shows evidence of being harmed if they came in peacefully.

Minor crimes such as resisting arrest, possession of drugs, indecent exposure, trespassing, disorderly conduct, harassment and vandalism are still crimes and warrant a serious punishment usually between 30 seconds and two minutes in the brig. This is where you come in. Just because Security has the means and the motive to arrest people, doesn’t mean these people are guilty and this is why you signed up for space law school.

It is your job to ensure that your client gets fair representation and isn’t bullied by security. Your client will be grateful to see you and security will know before the horror begins that their day is about to get ruined.

Inform Security that your client deserves a fair trial before any form of punishment is carried out and offer them an easy way out. You can let them know that if they release your client immediately, the client will be unlikely to press charges for wrongful arrest, and the department will not be sued for wasting company time. In order to punish someone for a crime, they must first be found guilty, so incarceration as a punishment can be argued is an illegal act. It is not illegal though if they are holding your client for the purposes of bringing them to Space Court.

Defending minor crimes is easy because you can make things really unpleasant by adding special ramifications to the trial. You must apply pressure in court to ensure that the trial of the defendant is carried out swiftly and the prosecution wants to end it all. Time the court session and let people know every time you speak how much time has passed since the beginning of the trial so they are aware of the fact they are wasting not only the time of the client and stopping them from doing their valuable job, but also the time of every person in that courtroom. Remind everyone constantly that they are being hindered in their jobs because they are forced to take part in this unnecessary trial which is dereliction of duty as enforced by legal proceedings and a violation of space law warranting the sec officers time in the brig, and that this trial is setting back the profits of the company and is a disgrace. You will want to point this out at every available opportunity to drag the proceedings out and make security think twice before randomly arresting innocent people when you are on shift. 

Once court begins, the prosecution will have the burden of proof in which they  will have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the client had the means and the opportunity to commit the crimes.

After the trial is complete and your client is free, get the HoP to fine Security for a considerable amount of money, or the sec officers involved if security doesn’t want to know, then contact Security to let them know to set the arresting or prosecuting officers to be ticketed and arrested for the crime of wasting company time. It’s ok though you will represent them in court if they need it.

In the rare case your client is convicted, be happy in the knowledge you did your job to the best of your ability, and wait like a spider for the next one to fall screaming into your web.

Minor crimes such as resisting arrest, possession of drugs, indecent exposure, trespassing, disorderly conduct, harassment and vandalism are still crimes and warrant a serious punishment usually between 30 seconds and two minutes in the brig. This is where you come in. Just because Security has the means and the motive to arrest people, doesn’t mean these people are guilty and this is why you signed up for space law school.

It is your job to ensure that your client gets fair representation and isn’t bullied by security. Your client will be grateful to see you and security will know before the horror begins that their day is about to get ruined.

Inform Security that your client deserves a fair trial before any form of punishment is carried out and offer them an easy way out. You can let them know that if they release your client immediately, the client will be unlikely to press charges for wrongful arrest, and the department will not be sued for wasting company time. In order to punish someone for a crime, they must first be found guilty, so incarceration as a punishment can be argued is an illegal act. It is not illegal though if they are holding your client for the purposes of bringing them to Space Court.

Defending minor crimes is easy because you can make things really unpleasant by adding special ramifications to the trial. You must apply pressure in court to ensure that the trial of the defendant is carried out swiftly and the prosecution wants to end it all. Time the court session and let people know every time you speak how much time has passed since the beginning of the trial so they are aware of the fact they are wasting not only the time of the client and stopping them from doing their valuable job, but also the time of every person in that courtroom. Remind everyone constantly that they are being hindered in their jobs because they are forced to take part in this unnecessary trial which is dereliction of duty as enforced by legal proceedings and a violation of space law warranting the sec officers time in the brig, and that this trial is setting back the profits of the company and is a disgrace. You will want to point this out at every available opportunity to drag the proceedings out and make security think twice before randomly arresting innocent people when you are on shift. 

Once court begins, the prosecution will have the burden of proof in which they  will have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the client had the means and the opportunity to commit the crimes.

After the trial is complete and your client is free, get the HoP to fine Security for a considerable amount of money, or the sec officers involved if security doesn’t want to know, then contact Security to let them know to set the arresting or prosecuting officers to be ticketed and arrested for the crime of wasting company time. It’s ok though you will represent them in court if they need it.

In the rare case your client is convicted, be happy in the knowledge you did your job to the best of your ability, and wait like a spider for the next one to fall screaming into your web.

If you are hired outside of your role of Legal Defence – for example to prosecute another player or deal with another legal issue, this following letter may be issued to your client. This will outline the terms and conditions of your agreement and stop them from hassling you and help prevent scope creep. You need to focus on the case at hand. Copy this letter and use a writing program to change instances of Firmname, Clientname and Lawyername to the correct names. Once your client has signed this, you will have successfully onboarded them. If you are hired to handle NanoTrasen legal issues, the bill will be paid by NanoTrasen. 

—

Firmname Legal Department

Employment of Lawyername by Clientname

Dear Clientname,

Thank you for choosing Lawyername to represent you. This letter will act as a confirmation of our recent discussion regarding the scope and terms of our working together.

We have been hired to represent you in the following case: 

Our Agreement: 

Firmname has agreed to represent you in your legal case, and your representative shall be Lawyername. Our fee for your case will be: Credits per cycle/Total. You are entitled to 5 minutes per cycle in relevant legal advice and assistance whilst we work on your case, any extra will be billed at Credits per minute. You will be billed for assistance rendered via Radio, PDA Messenger services. Your representation in court and upon arrest will be handled financially by NanoTrasen, unless you have hired a monkey in a suit. These terms are subject to change based upon the complexity of your case if it goes beyond the scope of our agreement, but you will be informed at the first available opportunity if this is the case, and a new legal representative can be hired to represent you. In the event of the death of Lawyername or injury preventing assistance with your case, NanoTrasen will allow you to select a suitable representative to represent you, usually this will be the Head of Personnel. In such a case, this agreement is voided, and the fees will be paid to the Head of Personnel by NanoTrasen.

Yours Sincerely,

Lawyername of Firmname Legal Department.

If you have been hired outside criminal defense, you should bill your client using block billing. You make a note of each cost individually and do not lump multiple payments together. This prevents player confusion.

Block Billing on an invoice looks like this:

Lawyer: Dalton Frost
Case: The Case of Wanton Pugilism

5 Min | Consultation | Free
5 Min | PDA Message | 25C
5 Min | PDA Message | 25C
10 Min | Sec Records Investigation | 75C
10 Min | Drafting Letter | 200C
5 Min | Dalton Frost | PDA Message | 25C

Total: 550C

To Be Paid By: Crickets the Clown

The following are my guides to Space Law, teaching you how to represent your client!

Guide to Space Law – Defence