Superheroes and the Law

[Starhawk]

I’m curious to how other GM’s handle certain legal issues in their games. Things like: Do you allow telepathy as evidence or is it an invasion of privacy? What if a person requests a telepath in court? What do you do with ultra-powerful paranormals who probably can’t be contained by normal means—Menton, Grond, Firewing, etc.. Anyone have any crazy off-the wall laws in their game? such as certain costumes may be considered indecent in public settings. Basically I’m looking for an overview on how GM’s handle legal issues that might pop up in a world with paranormals.

FYI, Bob Ingersoll has a great site http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/law/ about how the “real world†legal system would handle certain legal issues but I’m looking for more how laws might be passed and implemented in a paranormal world….

[DrSavant]

The Law says;

 

I have seen and GM'd many games, so I have seen many systems. Here are some;

#1 Anyone with 3d6 K + is considered to be carrying a

lethal weapon.

# 2 The 3 telepath rule- Telepathy is only allowed IF

3 different telepaths gather the EXACT same information.

# 3 Androids, aliens, etc have NO legal rights

# 4 The use of Clairvoyance, X-Ray vision etc is NOT

admissable in court as it amounts to illegal search.

# 5 The use of Mind Control to make a suspect confess

is a Civil Rights violation.

# 6 If your duplicate (duplication) commits a crime YOU

are responsible.

# 7 Berserk, in some cases, might be grounds for a plea

of "not guilty by temporary insanity".

 

Above all be CREATIVE, and have fun!!!

[Darkstar]

Some local laws

 

In my campaign setting there are a number of common practices in dealing with paranormal abiilty:

 

1) Information gained using any mental powers is inadmissible in U.S. courts. Telepathy is used like the polygraph in some jurisdictions - although inadmissible as evidence, it is useful in investigations.

 

2) Self-aware machines (Robots, Androids, AIDs) have no rights under the law - they are property.

 

3) Paranormals who cannot be restrained by normal prison facilities are kept under sedation or placed in an induced sleep using a theta wave device. This procedure is covered under the 1968 Anti-Terrorist act - passed after the seizure of a SAC missle base by Dr. Destroyer.

 

4) Most operating hero groups try to acquire some form of government sanction for their activities. This allows cooperartion with law enforcement agencies and grants the heroes a certain amount of authority in criminal matters.

[McCoy]

Superoheros with Secret ID are allowed to testify in court masked. A voiceprint is taken and used as a positive ID that this is the same person if they need to be recalled on appeal or whatever.

[RevHooligan]

I have a more dystopian campaign, set in 2053. All metahumans are required to register (real and assumed names) with the Federal Govt. It is a misdemeanor for an unregistered super to use a power, and a felony if used in commission of a crime. The supreme court has refused to rule on the matter.

 

Registered superhumans are monitored by the Metahuman Affairs Department. "Heros" are expected to be under the authority of local or federal govt and freelancers must comply with citizen arrest laws and are legal resposible for damages and injuries. Many vigilante heros were defeated by their foes in civil action, not the streets.

 

Of course, my PCs are unregistered and very concerned about the diminished civil liberties in the USA.

[MoonHunter]

My rules are a long time rules...

 

My world has had masked vigilantees since the time of "The Hood" (i.e. Robin Hood), with powers growing over time. English Common Law would have the following additional laws that would be translated into US laws...

 

People with established and recognized by the government identities, can testify as these people, even though they are not their legal identity. This would allow heroes who are masked and accepted to testify. It also allows media starts to testify without having to give their real names. You can maintain these identities until convicted of a crime.

 

Common law recognizes "honary marshalls", that local authorities can extend courtesy privleges. Most municipalities require paperwork to be filed before these people are allowed a degree of police power and access.

 

The Geneva conventions prevents "Xs" those of extraordinary powers from being part of the military and taking part in military actions. Several treaties similar to nuclear prolification treaties have been signed to include meta humans in military and government positions.

 

The Use of a meta power in the commision of a crime automatically makes it a felony. If already a felony, it falls under the federal statutes. i.e. use a gun or a power, go to jail. This was enacted in the 1950s in the US and has been adopted by England, Canada, Japan, and Germany.

 

Vampirism is considered a disease, while lycanthropy is actually a genetic variation of humanity.

 

Assalt by Magik and assault by psionics are included in most states lists of deadly weapons.

 

Mental and Magikal powers are not admissable in court. They can be used as advisories, but tangible and reproducable evidence must be produced. (Evidence must be cooberated by two magicians one for the prosecutor and one for defense. One of them always opts to put in a "putz" with no power so the evidence is thrown out.)

 

AIs, aliens, and magikal creatures without human birth certificates, have no legal rights (except in california) except those extended as a courtesy of the court. Those with birth certificates are considered "people" and must obey the law.

 

That seems to be the ones that come up most often.

[JmOz]

While the possesion of a power is not a crime, most powers are considered "Deadly Weapons" when used in a crime

 

Masked testimony is allowed, but another way must exist to "Prove" identidy

 

Mental/Mystical powers may be used in investigations, but not in court, further more telepathy can only be used on surface thoughts, anything further is considered violating human rights. While not required a warrent is usualy issued

 

AI's/Aliens/etc...are considered aliens and can get citizenship after proving sentience

[SleepyDrug]

Dark Champions has a great review of the relevent US laws and how the existance of supers might play out in the legal world. It is worth getting for this alone.

 

The Highlights:

Important laws reviewed: Aggravated Assault, Concealing your Identity in Public (anti-mask laws aimed originally at bank robbers), Reckless Endangerment, Excessive Force; also possible laws banning specific powers and superhuman registration laws.

 

Defense to Crimes

 

Ammendments: 2nd (weapons), 8th (cruel & unusual punishments), 13th (slavery and compulsion), 14th (due process to all people)....it is this last that the definition of a person becomes important. This legal definition governs all non-human aliens, artificial intelligence computers, androids, robots, mutants, atlanteans or divergent human species, mutates or altered humans, clones, genetic constructs, and other forms of argueably not human lifeforms.

 

From Marvel Comics: Return from the Dead laws and treaties preventing super-humans from serving as part of a conventional military force.

[Harry Canyon]

Re: My rules are a long time rules...

 

Originally posted by MoonHunter

AIs, aliens, and magikal creatures without human birth certificates, have no legal rights (except in california) except those extended as a courtesy of the court.

Was that a shot at California? Whacha trying to say... dood?

 

 

Harry

 

(in the San Francisco Bay Area)

[MarkusDark]

Re: Re: My rules are a long time rules...

 

Originally posted by Harry Canyon

Was that a shot at California? Whacha trying to say... dood?

 

 

Harry

 

(in the San Francisco Bay Area)

 

I see it more as a testimonial to the Californian way of life - that we can judge someone as a person sans a piece of notorized paper.

[lemming]

Re: Re: Re: My rules are a long time rules...

 

Originally posted by MarkusDark

I see it more as a testimonial to the Californian way of life - that we can judge someone as a person sans a piece of notorized paper.

 

Heh. Reminds me of the AADA Road Atlas entry for Santa Cruz: "Everyone has a say, including children and domesticated animals (their votes are read by animal empath)."

[Blue]

Re: Superheroes and the Law

 

Admittedly a lot of this I haven't even taken into account, and likely won't until I have to.

 

Do you allow telepathy as evidence - I imagine finding out information without permission is invasion of privacy.

 

What if a person requests a telepath in court? - I think if the person had some kind of court approval I'd allow it, though those people would be hard to track down, being few and far between at this stage.

 

What do you do with ultra-powerful paranormals - Ah, but they can be contained! My superprison is one of those lock-em up and forget about 'em places. Jailbreaks will be unlikely until far into the game.

 

Anyone have any crazy off-the wall laws in their game? - I'm allowing heroes to maintain their privacy and "flaws" by requesting a closed court, the law already recognizing the necessity of superpowered individuals.

 

Additionally, one of the things that might encourage heroes to work for the campaign's primary city is the fact that they can maintain an insurer to cover "accidents" during superpowered combat that might be caused during a fight. Mostly I want the players thinking about NOT performing reckless actions, so the threat of lawsuits is always there. On the other hand I want them to have a fallback in case of an honest mistake. Such is the peril of modern heroism!

[Big Willy]

It depends on the kind of campaign you want to run. If you want to go easy on the players, you can just "fudge" any legal issues that arise; but if you're actually interested in the legal process, and the implications of the characters' behaviour, then that implies a campaign that's about more than just pounding on the bad guy and going home happy. In this case, even if you're dealing with the sort of baroque, post-modern world where Atlantis is a member of the UN and teleporter booths have replaced the automobile, you still need to think about how the law would have evolved to deal with superhumans when they first appeared.

 

A few things occur to me.

 

Powers as Weapons

Powers that clearly are weapons (gravity rods, laser pistols etc) would fall under the same legislation as knives and firearms. There would be classification issues around the firepower of particular systems - the Iron Man armour is clearly more like an F-15 than a .38 handgun - but basically it's a question of how far the right to bear arms extends.

 

Innate powers are a much trickier issue. Just possessing them couldn't reasonably be a crime, any more than being good at tennis could be. Using them in the commission of a crime, on the other hand, would certainly be an aggravating factor, and a reactionary government might well consider outlawing the use of powers in certain, or any, circumstances. If you want an anti-super police state, this would be a logical way to start bringing it about.

 

Secret Identities

I can't imagine the authorities ever allowing someone to testify in court without knowing who they are. There are plenty of circumstances where a witness' real name and/or likeness might be concealed from the public with official approval, but the idea that the state would just take a voiceprint or retina scan from Batman and then make no attempt to establish his real identity is a complete no-no.

 

Telepathy

This is a biggie. In the early years of superheroing, it's going to be impossible to get a conviction on the basis of telepathic evidence. It would be like bringing a case on the basis of a Tarot reading: it's so off the wall that you'd need other evidence to corroborate the information, and if you've got other evidence then why bother with something that's going to be laughed out of court? That's not to say it couldn't be used, quietly, in an investigation - just that when it comes to the trial it better not be all you have.

 

Even once the existence of telepathy is firmly established, it still needs to be determined whether a particular person has the gift. The mooted "3-telepath rule" for verification is a quick and dirty compromise, but ultimately individual telepaths are going to have to be accredited somehow if they're going to deemed as reliable witnesses.

 

And the problems don't end there. Reading someone's mind is almost certainly a civil rights violation of some kind, and lawyers will argue for decades about how best to classify it. Is it a seizure of assets (information), that merely requires a warrant to enforce? Or is it a way of coercing testimony, which might be illegal under the 5th Amendment? Such questions will arise early in the development of telepathy law, and any proposed solution will be highly controversial.

 

Considering all of the above, I wouldn't put an officially-acknowledged Psi Corps into any campaign before about 2020.

[Victim]

Somewhat tangentially, could a super hero or team of supers create a corporation to shield themselves from most damages. I remembered how corps can be used to limit loses as compared to partnerships and such, and wondered if it would work for supers.

[Wyrm Ouroboros]

Monetarily, sure. Legally? Har!

[Klytus]

Originally posted by Big Willy

Secret Identities

I can't imagine the authorities ever allowing someone to testify in court without knowing who they are. There are plenty of circumstances where a witness' real name and/or likeness might be concealed from the public with official approval, but the idea that the state would just take a voiceprint or retina scan from Batman and then make no attempt to establish his real identity is a complete no-no.

 

This, in my games, is the difference between Sanctioned and non-sanctioned heroes. Sancioned meta-humans have their IDs registered with the Paranormal Affairs Department. They have recognized code-names (i.e. their Super hero names) and as such, they can give testimony in court while in costume. Non-sancioned metas, however, while tolerated, cannot give testimony in court so long as they insist on concealing who they are. This is why most law enforcement agencies really don't like the non-sanctioned heroes. Yes, they mean well, and have legitimate concerns of privacy and a reasonable fear of the Government - but they are a huge legal headache when it comes to the process of prosecution and keeping the bad-guys in jail.