Criminal justice system of Caphiria

The criminal justice system of Caphiria is part of the Judiciary of Caphiria. Responsibility for criminal law and criminal justice in Caphiria is handled by the Ministry of Justice. Caphiria's criminal justice system features three primary tiers - the investigative system, the criminal court system, and the correctional system.

Types and classes of crimes

Caphiria's Penal Code provides for three classes of crimes including felony, misdemeanor and petty offense, as well as minimum sentencing requirements and whose classifications determine what type of court tries a case

The penal law provides that the court shall determine the sentence, but provides for maximums and minimums for each type of national crime. Provinces may adopt laws assigning penalties which exceed national law, and in those cases higher courts defer to provincial law for sentencing. There are five types of crimes established nationwide - First-class Felonies, Second-class Felonies, delicts, and infractions.

Petty misdemeanors and infractions are tried by prefectural courts, while the remainder of these national violations can be tried by district courts or by provincial courts with national charges added in addition to the primary charge brought forward by the province.

An attempt to commit a felony is itself a crime, whereas an attempt to commit a misdemeanor is a crime only if specifically prescribed as such by law.

Felony class

First-class

In Caphiria, First-class felonies are crimes of the most seriousness. They may be either violent or nonviolent. First-class felonies carries with it a mandatory life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole or the death sentence in the case of a few specific crimes. The most common first-class felonies are grave crimes, such as treason, rape, and murder, each of which can be punishable by death, as well as kidnapping, regicide, criminal conspiracy in the first degree, and criminal conspiracy to overthrow the state. Additional first-class felonies may be crimes against peace, crimes of apartheid, forced disappearance, attempted genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, the act of genocide, incitement to genocide, grand piracy, sexual slavery, unlawful/forced slavery, unlawful torture, waging a war of aggression, and war crimes

Second-class

Second-class felonies are not as severe as first-class felonies, but are still crimes of high seriousness. Like with first-class felonies, second-class felonies may be either violent or nonviolent. Second-class felonies carry a maximum of 25 years and a minimum of three years in the case of nonviolent felonies or six years with the possibility of parole after three years for violent felonies. Examples of second-class felonies are arson, animal cruelty, aggravated assault or battery, bribery, forgery, fraud, robbery, manslaughter, organized crime, perjury, tax evasion, criminal possession of narcotics with the intent to sell, criminal diversion of pharmaceuticals, threatening a magistrate, and blackmail.

Misdemeanor class

Delicts

Delicts are based around the idea of wrongful conduct and is an intentional or negligent act which gives rise to a legal obligation between parties even though there necessarily isn't a contract between them. When considering pursuing such a claim, one must prove, in addition to the existence of some recognized form of loss, that three additional criteria have been met: firstly one must demonstrate that the pursuer was owed a duty of care, secondly one must prove that the defender breached this duty of care and lastly one must show a causal link between the defender's breach of the duty of care and the loss complained of by the pursuer. Delicts carry a maximum punishment of 12 months of incarceration.

Examples of delicts are assault, petty theft, invasions of privacy and interference with property, false imprisonment, unlawful prostitution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation.

Infractions

Infractions are the least severe type of crime and are certain minor or petty offenses that may be proceeded against summarily, and without a jury. The appointed judge, or a panel of three magistrates, decides the guilt or innocence of the accused. Each infraction is specified by statute which describes the (usually minor) offence and the judge to hear it. These can include criminal and civil citations, where a person may be charged with a criminal or non-criminal infraction without the need of a physical arrest, such as in cases of non-violent fineable violations, crimes that carry little incarceration time, or non-criminal acts such as speeding. Other examples of infractions include public intoxication, simple assault, disorderly conduct, trespassing, shoplifting, vandalism, reckless driving, indecent exposure.

Criminal investigative system

The Codex of Latin Criminal Procedure contains the rules governing criminal procedure in every court in Caphiria and can be considered to be somewhere in between the inquisitorial system and the adversarial system.

The Codex contains five "books." Book I, the conduct of the prosecution and investigation, covers the authorities charged with prosecution and investigation, inquiries and identify controls, and investigating jurisdictions. Book II, trial jurisdictions, specifies proceedings in the assize court, the trial of delicts, the trial of contraventions, and citations and service. Book III, channels for extraordinary recourse, mandates procedures for the petition for review and petitions for revision. Book IV describes procedures for some particular proceedings. These include trial in absentia; forgery; a case involving the disappearance of procedural papers; the regulation of judges; transfer from one court to another; recusals; offenses committed abroad; and the prosecution, investigation, and trial of offenses in economic and financial matters. Book V, execution proceedings, covers the execution of penal sentences, detention, parole, sentence suspension, recognition of the identify of convicted persons, imprisonment for payment, statute of limitation for punishments, the record of convictions, the rehabilitation of convicts, and the costs of justice.

The Urban Cohort (CU) is the principal law enforcement agency and domestic security service of Caphiria, operating under the jurisdiction of the military and receiving oversight from the Office of Judiciary Enforcement within the Ministry of Justice. The CU utilizes two types of officers, public security officers (oesitiors) and field agents (vigiles). An oesitior does not possess the same authority as a vigilum; the most important distinction being public security officers do not have the power to arrest. Caphirian law states public security officers can not question someone for more than twelve hours, unless that someone is a major suspect of a crime, in which case it could be extended to twenty four hours. If an Oesitior found enough evidence for a crime, they can submit it to their commanding field agent for an arrest or if there is limited evidence or considered misdemeanor, they can impose administrative detention for up to fourteen days.

Investigation

The two basic elements of a crime are the act of doing that which is criminal (actus reus), and the intention to carry it out (mens rea).

Once the CU becomes aware of the fact that a crime was committed, the investigation process begins: in Caphiria, the public prosecutor has the duty to initiate criminal proceedings. The provocatus (the person who is suspected to have committed the crime) can charge a lawyer to investigate on that person's behalf, in order to prove innocence. The District Court can appoint experts to carry out examinations; and, when the examination cannot be repeated (for instance, an autopsy), he must inform the provocatus, so that he can appoint another expert, to ensure his right of defense. In the case of interrogations, of searches and of seizures, the provocatus can ask that his lawyer be present.

The CU has to secure warrants to search for or seize evidence. A warrant is also necessary for an arrest, although if the crime is very serious or if the perpetrator is likely to flee, it can be obtained immediately after arrest. An Oesitior can summon a civilian for investigative purposes, and can use force if the civilian refuses to cooperate, and when approved by a superior officer. Caphirian law states Oesitiors can not question citizens on authorized grounds more than eight hours, unless the citizen has violation that could result in administrative detention, in which case, the questioning could be extended to 24 hours.

Within twenty-four hours after placing a suspect under detention, the CU has to present their case before a prosecutor, who is then required to apprise the accused of the charges and of the right to counsel. Within another twenty-four hours, the prosecutor has to go before a judge and present a case to obtain a detention order. Suspects can be held for ten days (extensions are granted in almost all cases when requested) pending an investigation and a decision whether or not to prosecute. In the 1980s, some suspects were reported to have been mistreated during this detention to exact a confession. These detentions often occur at cells within police stations, called daiyo kangoku. A suspect can be taken into custody after arrest and before prosecution for up to 23 days.

During the preliminary investigations, a judge seldom intervenes. The judex primo inquisitionis (Judge for the Preliminary Investigations) controls the actions of the District Court prosecutor, when the personal rights of the provocatus are at stake. No provocatus can be wiretapped, unless the Judge for the Preliminary Investigations has authorized it. All measures must be adopted by the Judge with an order, and he must also publish written explanations of his decisions.

Correctional system

Main article: Correctional system of Caphiria

The final step in the criminal justice system is the correctional system. The correctional system of Caphiria (including prisons) operates under the Department of Incarceration, part of the Ministry of Justice. The Department of Incarceration has the primary role, responsibility and authority to change prison laws, rules and regulations.The correctional system is split between an administrative detention system and a judicial incarceration system, each with its own types of staff, facilities, and procedures. Caphirian law makes a legal distinction between the concepts of detainment, indictment, and imprisonment. As such, the balance of power is spread very evenly across the correctional system and the legal system, and the legal authority across the various departments is very clear.

On confinement, prisoners are first classified according to gender, nationality, type of penalty, length of sentence, degree of criminality, and state of physical and mental health. They are then placed in special programs designed to treat their individual needs.

Administrative detention

The administrative detention system is composed of public security departments at the township, regional, and provincial levels of Caphiria. These public security departments can issue detention orders and hold detainees at their own detention centers for a maximum of 90 days. There are two types of legal detainment: administrative and compulsory.

The most common type of detention, administrative detention, is for misdemeanors in accordance with the law for up to fifteen days or thirty days for multiple misdemeanors. Teenagers of sixteen years old or younger, and women who are pregnant or feeding an infant less than one years old are exempt. Teenagers aged fifteen to seventeen are exempt from their first misdemeanor. Due to Caphiria's lack of formal juvenile facilities, administrative detention centers are used in place for juvenile offenders.

Compulsory rehabilitation, the second type of administrative detention, is typically imposed on drug addicts who refuse or failed community rehabilitation, or who began to reuse after previous community rehabilitation for a duration of two years ordinarily. As with administrative detention, local public security departments issue the order for compulsory rehabilitation. Rehabilitation centers are often run by the public security departments and, in some places, in cooperation with public health departments. Compulsory rehabilitation may also be used as a form of treatment for other types of addiction or mental health illness. Compulsory rehabilitation programs are in three month "blocks", which guides prisoners in “structured activities” to help prisoners with alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental illness through individual and group therapy.

Incarceration system

The incarceration system's main responsibilities are to ensure the completion of criminal penalties by convicted persons. The management and administration of prisons and adjacent correctional institutions are operated by the Department of Incarceration, which also ensures the protection of the prisoners’ physical well-being and rights under the Caphirian government. The incarceration system is intended to resocialize, reform, and rehabilitate offenders. As the principal law enforcement agency, the IPF is responsible for responding to calls for service, investigating criminal activity, and regularly patrolling high-crime areas.

There are three types of "incarceration institutions" operated by the Department of Incarceration: open prisons, prisons, and provincial prisons.

The Department of Incarceration maintains a local head office in each province. There, a prison service department controls the organization of the prison service, personnel matters, basic and advanced training for prison staff, budgets, construction, cooperation in prison service legislation, the employment of prisoners, and vocational training and education for prisoners. It also reviews petitions and complaints and its representatives visit and inspect the prisons regularly.

The incarceration system designates each facility under one of several security levels. Most prisons and provincial prisons where offenders serve sentences of less than 24 months, or are held in pre-trial and pre-sentence custody, have cells at different security levels within the same facility.