Masked Vigilantes In Trial

[Wanderer]

Re: Masked Vigilantes In Trial

 

As a defense attorney' date=' I would LOVE to know if a hero has cheated on his taxes. If he's cheating on his taxes (a crime of moral turpitude), what's to say he's not lying about what he did when arresting the defendant? He's lied before (his taxes), why not about this? Courts use any prior criminal record a witness has to impeach the witness all the time. [/quote']

 

Sorry, bad example here. I forgot that in America, cheating taxes is seen and treated as a rather serious crime (ask Al Capone..). Think of a rather trivial misdemeamour (sp. ?) that carries no real moral turpitude, yet might be embarassing.

 

The identity verification would be used to determine that the person behind the mask is actually the person who caught the defendant.

 

True, of course, but this issue might be satisfied in a number of ways that don't force disclosure of civilian identity. Besides the registration scheme discussed, if hypothetically, super powers always came with a unique and recognizable individual "power signature", then the super might be postively identified. The crux of the matter is that the crucial justice issue here is that the masked individual testifying is identified as the "genuine thing" and not an imposter. On the contrary, there is no overwhelming due, fair process stake from failing to disclosure the civilian ID and full life history of the super.

 

 

Maybe what the community wants are protectors who aren't doing the same things as the criminals they are accusing of crimes. If Capt. Justice is accusing me of a crime, I would love to know that Capt. Justice, in his civilian identity, has been convicted of perjury, falsely reporting a crime, or any crime that he is accusing me of doing.

 

Any clever attorney or DA would love it, no doubt, but I am very, very skeptical that someone would be deprived from a fair trial if a witness' full life history is kept from the attorney and DA. They may still cross-interrogate to their content, and they have access the history of the super identity.

 

 

As long as these supers register with the government, as other government agents do, and work under the exact same restrictions, they SHOULD be ientitled to legal protection. However, if they operate with no official oversight, they should be treated as private citizens, with all the consequences that brings.

 

Some supers might operate as full-time government agents. Many others, likely, would be under a status akin to reserve military or national guard or part-time SWAT, being on their own much of the time, but with the government being able to deputize or activate them for law enforcement or national security emergencies. Their identities would be registered in a top-secret database, and they would have the legal sanction of goverment agents.

 

Speaking as an attorney, I do have a problem with your assertion that lawyers "backstab" people. They do file suit for clients that have been injured by the actions of others.

 

OK, the fault does not lie with lawyers as people (though speaking as a physician, ambulance chasers do exist), but in a legal system that condones and encourages suits of dubious character that by their very intial existence, seriously harm time, gainings (legal expenses) and peace of mind of people and are harmful to the society as a whole.

 

 

Same with the 'good samaritan' laws, that would protect a super from lawsuits if he is acting in furtherance of the public good. However, this would be subject to a reasonableness standard. For example, if a super dove behind a car for cover in a super battle, and that car was disintegrated, then he would probably be safe. If however, he picked up the same car and threw it in the river because he was angry that the bad guy got away, he should be liable for the damage to the car.

 

Taking a rather popular example as a bench standard, how about the suits that force Incredibles supers to retreat ? Would "good samaritan" laws ban and severely discourage suits from suffering injuries or property damage while being saved in natural or supervillain-caused disaster, in a suicidal attempt, or in the course of a superpowered battle, provided the super did not purposefully or grossly negligently caused collateral damage, but was not asked to exceptional diligence in an emergency situation ? If not, they would not be up to the task.

[TheEmerged]

Re: Masked Vigilantes In Trial

 

Disclaimer: Legal issues are not my cup of tea and most certainly not my area of expertise.

 

How I handle it for my current campaign is a strict registration act (NRA, the Nova Registration Act of 1979) and a government-run sanctioning system (SAT, the Superhuman America Team, enforced by PRIMUS). The nova in question 'identifies' themselves with the court via a PRIMUS certification -- that is, PRIMUS informs the court that the masked person on the stand has given them the appropriate security codes and is who they claim to be.

 

Oh, you're a vigilante that hasn't registered? Then using your powers without registering is a federal felony. Please try to look good for the cameras while you "die attempting to escape..." The bloodsucking lawyers are the least of your concerns.

 

RE: Security of data. Let's remember we're talking about a nova world. Not only do you have super-hackers, you have super-IT guys too. I doubt the actual give/take would be that different from the real world (where it's basically understood any data can be stolen & decoded, the trick is to make it so well encrypted it takes too long to decrypt to be useful).

[pinecone]

Re: Masked Vigilantes In Trial

 

Disclaimer: Legal issues are not my cup of tea and most certainly not my area of expertise.

 

How I handle it for my current campaign is a strict registration act (NRA, the Nova Registration Act of 1979) and a government-run sanctioning system (SAT, the Superhuman America Team, enforced by PRIMUS). The nova in question 'identifies' themselves with the court via a PRIMUS certification -- that is, PRIMUS informs the court that the masked person on the stand has given them the appropriate security codes and is who they claim to be.

 

Oh, you're a vigilante that hasn't registered? Then using your powers without registering is a federal felony. Please try to look good for the cameras while you "die attempting to escape..." The bloodsucking lawyers are the least of your concerns.

 

RE: Security of data. Let's remember we're talking about a nova world. Not only do you have super-hackers, you have super-IT guys too. I doubt the actual give/take would be that different from the real world (where it's basically understood any data can be stolen & decoded, the trick is to make it so well encrypted it takes too long to decrypt to be useful).

Yes data security is a big issue...I run it as being stored in a optical data base to protect vs cyber-kinetics (this is real doughtful...it's not been tested yet, but it make folks feel good) But the main second level of security is that the data base does Not concain your secret id...just your super id, it won't say "yes this is Bruce Wayne" it just says "Yes this is Bat man" so stealing the data base is only the first step towards cracking an ID and it would be cheaoer and easier to do it some other way....this was on purpose, one to save costs on security by making it "not worth stealing" and two, to get the supers to buy into the program...in most of my games aprox 75% of all Super heros are registered, the rest "just deal"......

[Publius]

Re: Masked Vigilantes In Trial

 

As someone else has commented' date=' that would probably not the way such a system would work. Actual information about the super's ID would be strictly kept in the database of the regulatory agency, which would then issue a written statement, or send a representative to testify, that the masked individual taking the bench is really Hyperion or Dr. Spectrum..[/quote']Actually, I already assumed all of that. You presume that the individual giving the scoop in my example is someone outside of that agency. By "The Powers that Be" I meant someone actually inside of the agency that the supers have run afoul of. Politicians don't act rationally, they act politically, and if it is politically expedient to hang your butt out to dry, they will with aplomb. Thus the discussion of how secure the system is is rather moot. Who needs supervillains when we have politicians?

 

For the same reason' date=' any legal system that would include supers registrating should necessarily include a superhuman protection and relocation program, issuing brand-new IDs to supers and their loved ones whose IDs are blown, care and expense of the government.[/quote']Yup, got that one already. But if the super in question has tanked off The Powers That Be (once again, politcos in the agency that is to relocate them) will they get that same treatment?

 

Once more: are there logical reasons to maintain the integrity of the system? sure there are, but there are also political people in these positions, and these sorts of individuals make political decisions not because they are "sound and wise policy" but because they are "what (I feel) needs to be done at this moment".