Project Snowscape - Appeal and Hearing Process

• 1. Appeals are for infractions that incur 2 infraction points or below. Appeals for infractions that incur more infraction points will not be considered.

• 2. Appeals are to be made AFTER the punishment has been carried out for the violation involved.

• 3. To conduct an Appeal, the appealer simply needs to send a telegram or a Discord message to a relevant staff member (Roleplay Commander for RMB violations, Server Guardians for Discord server violations, and Customs Officers for any violations made when you are not an official member of the region.) The staff is responsible for informing you which staff role(s) you can appeal to in the warning or notice you received for the violation. The Appeal must contain, at a minimum:

  • 3a. The original warning / notice for the charge.

  • 3b. Photographic evidence (i.e. screenshots) that you did not, in fact, perform the violation, OR arguments that you did not perform the violation together with a reference to another member who can corroborate your statements.
    

• 4. It is up to the staff member receiving the appeal to consider your evidence and remove your infraction. There is no time limit for their decision.

• 5. Any and all appeal decisions, whether an acceptance or a rejection, must be reported to the appealer AND the Chairperson within 24 hours of the decision. Failure to comply with this clause will incur 2 infraction points on the appeal receiver's part.

• 6. You cannot appeal to yourself. Such appeals will be disregarded.
  

Hearings

• 1. Hearings are for infractions that incur 3 infraction points or above. Hearings will generally not be conducted for infractions that incur fewer infraction points.

• 2. Hearings are to be made BEFORE the punishment has been carried out for the violation involved.

• 3. Every Hearing is to be held in a designated #courtroom channel on the Discord server. However, special considerations can be made to hold a Hearing in the RMB for members who cannot join the Discord server.

• 4. Every Hearing is open to the public to observe and comment upon. Any non-Hearing-related remark in a #courtroom channel will be regarded as spam.

• 5. Every Hearing needs at least the following persons to conduct:

  • 5a. A Defendant or Appealer, who is the person being charged with the violation.

  • 5b. A Judge. The Judge must be the Division Head relating to the charge being considered, except:

    • 5b-1. If the charge involves a staff member other than the Secretary, the Secretary herself will judge the Hearing.

    • 5b-2. For charges involving the Secretary, any member of Project Snowscape can be the Judge.
      

  • 5c. A Prosecutor. The Prosecutor must be a staff member in the same division as the Judge. If Clause 5b-1 is executed, the Prosecutor must be a staff member in the same division as the Defendant. Typically:

    • 5c-1. The Prosecutor is a Roleplay Commander for roleplay-related violations.

    • 5c-2. The Prosecutor is a Server Guardian for Discord-related violations.

    • 5c-3. The Prosecutor is a Customs Officer for non-roleplay, NationStates-related violations, such as spying, fake accounts, or breach of trust charges.

    • 5c-4. The Prosecutor can be any other staff member if and only if there are no other staff members in the relevant division besides the Judge or the Defendant.
      

  • 5d. A Defender chosen by the Defendant. The Defender can be any member of Project Snowscape. If the Defendant does not choose a Defender by the time the Hearing starts, a staff member will be assigned as the Defender by the designated Judge.

  • 5e. The Judge, the Prosecutor and the Defender must be 3 different persons.

  • 5f. The Defendant can choose to defend themself, but cannot prosecute themself.
    

• 6. A notice must be sent to the Judge, Defender (if chosen beforehand), Defendant, and Prosecutor regarding the Hearing's date, time and channel, at least 24 hours before the Hearing commences.

• 7. At the beginning of a Hearing, the Judge will give an Introductory Statement detailing, at a minimum:

  • 7a. The Judge's, Prosecutor's, Defender's, and Defendant's roles and identities. The role will be stated as "Member" if the person being identified does not have any staff roles.

  • 7b. The charge the Hearing is conducted for, as well as the clause(s) that was (were) violated by the charge and references to this (these) clause(s).

  • 7c. The number of infraction points incurred and any expected punishments to be carried out by the charge.

  • 7d. The end date and time of the Hearing, which is 72 hours after the Hearing commences, except when extended for special reasons.

  • 7e. A call for the Defendant to announce their presence (this call needs not be met with an answer).

  • 7f. A call for the Prosecutor to present initial evidence.

  • 7g. Regardless of the designated start date and time, the first message from the Judge's Introductory Statement will be considered the official start date and time of the Hearing.
    

• 8. A Hearing is to consider one charge and one charge only.

• 9. The Judge can decide whether the Defendant is Guilty or Not Guilty at any point during the Hearing, after initial evidence was presented. However, if the Defendant is found Guilty, a formal notice must be made public regarding the Guilty decision within 24 hours of the decision, including, at a minimum:

  • 9a. All information in Clauses 7a to 7d.

  • 9b. The start date and time of the Hearing, as well as the Discord channel in which it was held.

  • 9c. Evidence that the Defendant has committed the violation.

  • 9d. Evidence for any and all supporting prosecution statements, together with the prosecution statements themselves.
    

• 10. The Judge can decide how the Hearing will progress after the initial statement and presentation of evidence. The Judge's adjudication (Guilty/Not Guilty decision) will end the Hearing, if not immediately appealed and overturned.

• 11. In the interest of upholding Clause 9, the burden of proof is solely on the Prosecutor.

• 12. If the Hearing expires without any decision made, a Not Guilty decision will be assumed.

• 13. If the Defendant fails to attend the Hearing 24 hours after it commences, a Guilty decision will automatically be made. The Judge, Prosecutor, and Defender are expected to be present at the designated start time of the Hearing and perform the steps detailed in Clause 7, with or without the Defendant.

• 14. Any and all Hearing decisions, whether Guilty or Not Guilty, must be informed by the Judge to:

  • 14a. The Defendant.

  • 14b. The Defender.

  • 14c. The Prosecutor.

  • 14d. The Chairperson OR the Secretary, whoever was not involved in the Hearing. (Reporting to the Chairperson is recommended.)
    

• 15. The relevant staff members (usually the Judge or the Prosecutor themself) will be responsible for carrying out the punishments associated with the charge immediately after a Guilty decision is made.

• 16. A Defendant that has been declared Not Guilty for a charge cannot be prosecuted again for the same charge, unless new and overwhelming evidence has been submitted to the relevant Division Head (the person to act as Judge) beforehand. In which case, another Hearing for the same charge can be conducted with the new evidence presented by the Prosecutor after the Introductory Statement.