Title III. Judiciary.

Chapter 1. Courts.
Created by HB 1.008 Judiciary and Justice Act

Section 1. Supreme Court.

(a) The President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and there shall be one Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, and three Justices shall comprise a quorum of the Supreme Court, which shall meet at the seat of government of the United States.

(b) The Chief Justice shall determine the rules and procedures of the Supreme Court and of the United States District Courts, provided that the Supreme Court and United States District Courts shall operate in a manner consistent with the common law, and the Supreme Court and United States District Courts shall base their judgements upon the facts in evidence and the common law.

© The Chief Justice may appoint a Clerk of the Supreme Court to keep the records of the Supreme Court and to assist the Justices of the Supreme Court and, as necessary, the Chief Justice may also employ other staff members.

(d) The Associate Justices shall have precedence according to the date of their commissions, or if two are commissioned on the same date, according to their age.

(e) The Supreme Court shall have original or exclusive jurisdiction over:

1. cases between states, or between a state and a foreign power, or between a state and an organized territory;

2. cases against a foreign diplomat that is visiting the United States, or residing in the United States, for official purposes; and

3. cases between the United States and a state, including cases between a state and an unorganized territory.

(f) The Supreme Court may at its discretion exercise appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided by a United States District Court or a United States Circuit Court.

Section 2. United States District Courts.

(a) There shall be established a judicial district in each of the several states, and within that district a United States District Court, which shall meet in the capital of that state, except that --

1. the Pennsylvania judicial district shall include the NorthWest Territory; and

2. the Georgia judicial district shall include the SouthWest Territory.

(b) The President shall appoint with the advice and consent of the Senate a United States District Court Judge for each district, and an additional judge for the Districts of Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia, provided that each judge must reside within that court's judicial district, and rule from that court's courthouse, and provided further that the judge(s) of each United States District Court shall elect from amongst their number every year a Chief Judge to oversee the administration of the court.

© Subsection (a) notwithstanding, the Chief Judge of any United States District Court may order a case arising from the United States territories assigned to that Court's district to be decided in a trial occurring within the territory from which that case arose, and may order a Judge from his Court to travel to any federal building within that territory to hear the case.

(d) The Chief Judge of each United States District Court shall decide which of the Court's judges shall preside over each case referred to that court, though the Chief Justice must use a fair and impartial system to make this decision.

(e) Each and every Judge of a United States District Court may appoint a Clerk to assist that Judge and keep the records of that Judge's courtroom, and the Chief Judge of a United States District Court may also employ such additional staff members as he deems necessary.

(f) Each United States District Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over:

1. cases relating to crimes or offenses that are cognizable under the authority of the United States that are committed within that Court's district;

2. cases relating to crimes or offenses committed on the high seas against an individual that resides in that Court's district;

3. cases relating to seizures, forfeitures, and fines made under the authority of the United States within that Court's district;

4. cases made against the federal government by an individual or entity other than one of the several states;

5. cases by the federal government against an individual or entity other than one of the several states;

6. cases by an individual or entity that is not a state against a state in which that individual is not a citizen with the court whose district includes the state handling the case; and

7. cases by an individual or entity of one state against an individual or entity of another state, provided that the defendant has sufficient contacts with the court's judicial district.

(g) Each United States District Court shall have appellate jurisdiction over cases decided by the highest court of a state:

1. where the validity of a treaty or federal law is questioned;

2. where the decision is repugnant to the constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States; and

3. where the decision interprets a clause of the constitution, or a treaty, or a law, or a commission held under the United States.

(h) The Chief Judge of the United States District Court may provide for regular, en banc meetings of that court, and during those meetings, the Court may consider appeals of the decisions of individual judges of that court.

(i) All trials held in the United States District Courts shall be by twelve-man jury, with the jurors selected at random from amongst the United States citizens residing within that Court's district, and each Juror shall be paid $1 for every day of service, but both the defense and the prosecution shall be allowed to reject a number of jurors to be determined by the Judge based on said Jurors' bias, and no person shall serve on a Jury that is:

1. a law enforcement officer;

2. a person trained as an attorney;

3. a person convicted of any crime;

4. an officer of the United States;

5. an officer of a state government; or

6. an employee of any court.

(j) Subsection (h) notwithstanding, if a defendant and the prosecutor agree that the Judge may rule on his guilt instead of a Jury, the Judge shall do so, but no Judge shall preside over or rule on any case if that Judge has a vested interest in its outcome or a strong bias for or against the defendant, the plaintiff, or the prosecution.

Section 3. Circuit Court of Appeal.
(a) There shall be established three Circuit Courts of Appeal, constituted as follows --
1. First Circuit -- Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
2. Second Circuit -- Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Georgia, Georgia

(b) The President shall appoint with the advice and consent of the Senate three United States Circuit Court Judges for each Judicial Circuit, provided that these judges must reside within that circuit's jurisdiction, and provided further that the judges of each Circuit Court will elect from amongst their number every year a Chief Judge to oversee the administration of the court.

(c) Each Chief Judge of a United States Circuit Court of Appeal may appoint a Clerk to assist the Judges of the Court and keep the records of that Circuit Court, and the Chief Judge of a United States Circuit Court may also employ such additional staff members as he deems necessary.

(d) The United States Circuit Court shall possess appellate jurisdiction over all matters decided by a District Court, and once a Circuit Court exercises it's jurisdiction over a case, no District Court may exercise its review under Section 2(h) of this Chapter.

(e) Each United States Circuit Court shall hold regular session at each of the federal courthouses within its circuit, and during such session shall hear appeals from the District Court operating at that courthouse, except that the Chief Judge of a Circuit Court may select to hold session at any federal building in a United States Territory if the Chief Judge determines that holding session at the nearest federal courthouse would provide an unfair advantage to one of the parties in a case arising in that territory.

Section 4. Judicial Regulations.

(a) The Supreme Court and the United States District Courts shall have the power:

1. to issue writs of scire facis;

2. to issue writs of habeus corpus;

3. to issue writs of ne exeat republica but such a writ shall be issued only if a Judge is presented with satisfactory evidence that the defendant intends to flee the United States;

4. to issue injunctions as necessary to preserve the status quo in a dispute until all court proceedings regarding that matter are complete, but a court of the United States may not grant an injunction to stay proceedings in a state court except as expressly authorized by Act of Congress, or where necessary in aid of its jurisdiction, or to protect or effectuate its judgments;

5. to require the parties of a case to produce books or writings in their possession or power, which contain evidence pertinent to the issue, in cases and under circumstances where they might be compelled to produce the same by ordinary rules of proceeding in chancery;

6. to rule against any individual or entity that fails to comply with an order under part 5 of this subsection;

7. to grant new trials in cases where there has been a trial by jury for reasons for which new trials have usually been granted in the courts of law, but only the Supreme Court shall have this authority;

8. to impose and administer all necessary oaths or affirmations;

9. to punish, by fine or imprisonment, at the discretion of said courts, all contempts of authority in any cause or hearing before the same;

10. to issue a writ of mandamus when the court deems it necessary to ensure the enforcement of federal law, or the Constitution, or a decision of that court;

11. to stay execution of a verdict, at the discretion of the court, for purposes of protecting the defendant or allowing time for an appeal;

12. to grant bail for defendants in the custody of the District Court, or a state, and to set the amount of bail, or to refuse to grant bail;

13. to make rulings ad absentum if a defendant fails to appear;

14. to order a defendant to pay damages equal to those inflicted, or if no set amount of damages were inflicted, to order a defendant to pay damages per the order of the jury;

15. to issue a writ of venire and, if necessary, a write of venire facias;

16. to grant any Federal Judge, state judge, or other magistrate the authority to take a deposition de bene esse from an individual whose testimony is necessary in a civil case, so long as that individual lives more than 100 miles from the court in which the case is being considered, or if that person will die, or become unable to testify due to illness, prior to the trial;

17. to issue a subpoena compelling a person to appear to testify on a matter, civil or criminal, though a person may appeal such an order from a United States District Court to the Supreme Court, provided the Supreme Court accepts that appeal;

18. to issue a writ of dedimus postestatem;

19. to ignore defects in a form, warrant, judgement, or other document and to order said defects corrected;

20. to issue a writ of mittimus for a person upon receipt of information sufficient to warrant a prudent person's belief that the wanted individual committed a crime;

21. to issue a warrant authorizing the search of a person's home or other properties, but only upon receipt of information sufficient to warrant a prudent person's belief that evidence of a crime or contraband would be found in the search;

22. to issue other writs that may be necessary for the exercise of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the principles and usage of law; and

23. to invalidate an act of Congress or order of the executive if said at or order violates the Constitution of the United States of America.

(b) No person shall be tried in federal court for an offense that occurred more than seven years previous, except if that crime is a capital offense other than treason.

© The mode of proof by oral testimony and examination of witnesses in open court shall be the same in all the courts of the United States and all witnesses shall take an oath or affirmation of honesty before testifying.

(d) The administrator or executor of the estate of a deceased party may prosecute or defend in a case in which that deceased party was the plaintiff, petitioner, or defendant; and if the administrator or executor of such an estate declines to do so, the Judge presiding over the case may rule against the state; but if the administrator or executor of such an estate agrees to do so, he shall be allowed up to a year to prepare for such.

(e) If two or more plaintiffs file suit and one or more of those plaintiffs dies before the court renders a decision on the case, the remaining plaintiffs may continue the suit, dividing any rewards with the estate of the deceased plaintiff.

(f) Any justice of the peace may apprehend an individual that has committed a crime against the United States.

(g) Any plaintiff or defendant may represent himself or herself in court but may also chose to be represented by an attorney, and in a criminal trial, if a defendant desires the assistance or the representation of an attorney but cannot afford one, the court will hire an attorney to assist or defend him, paying a reasonable rate, but the court shall only hire an attorney for this purpose if there is no attorney willing to provide these services pro bono, provided that said attorney is qualified in the eyes of the court.

(h) In a criminal or civil trial, the prosecution shall provide the defense a copy of all evidence that the prosecution intends to site, and the prosecution shall do so a reasonable amount of time prior to the trial, and if the prosecution fails to do so, the trial shall be recessed until the defense can prepare properly to respond to the evidence.

(i) Each and every Federal Court shall endeavor to provide an individual accused of any crime with as much time as reasonably possible to prepare a defense.

Section 5. Sovereign Immunity.

(a) The federal government, its officers, and its employees, shall not be immune from prosecution, and shall not be immune from suit, but shall only be sued in a court of the United States, and not a court of any foreign nation or any of the several states.

(b) Section 1 notwithstanding, the courts of the United States shall be immune from suit.

Chapter 3

Chapter 5. Punishments.
Created by the Penal Act of 1789

Section 20. Punishments.
(a) The commission of a capital offense shall be punishable by:
1. death;
2. a term of imprisonment not to exceed the offender's natural life;
3. a fine not to exceed the sum of $5,000 and the cost of trying and imprisoning or executing the offender; or
4. any combination of the above.

(b) The commission of a felony shall be punishable by:
1. a term of imprisonment not to exceed twenty years;
2. a fine not to exceed the sum of $1,000, restitution, and the cost of trying and imprisoning the offender; or
3. any combination of the above.

(c) The commission of a misdemeanor shall be punishable by:
1. a term of imprisonment not to exceed twenty years;
2. a fine not to exceed the sum of $500, restitution, and the cost of trying and imprisoning the offender;
3. probation of up to five years; or
4. any combination of the above.

Section 21. Justifiable Crimes.
(a) No person shall be convicted under any part of this Title if:
1. that person is a soldier, sailor, or military officer of another country, whose actions were at the orders of that country, which was at a state of war with the United States;
2. that person is a law enforcement officer, who took such actions in a reasonable effort to capture a person suspected of committing a crime, or known to have committed a crime;
3. that person took such actions reasonably to defend himself, or to defend another, from a reasonable threat;
4. that person took such actions reasonably necessary to defend his property; or
5. that person took such actions pursuant to orders issued to him as a member of the militia or officer or enlistedman of the Army or Navy.

(b) It shall not be murder for a Judge to sentence a person to death as provided by law, or for a prison guard to imprison a person as provided by law, or for an executioner to carry out an execution as provided by law.

© No Federal Court, or United States Military Court Martial, shall recognize dueling as justification for any crime specified by the United States Code.

Section 22. Fugitives.
(a) For the purposes of the acts of Congress and the Constitution, a "fugitive," is:
1. a person for whom any court in the United States has issued a writ of mittimus;
2. a person that violated a bail agreement made with a federal court, state court, the court of an organized territory, or the court of an unorganized territory; or
3. a person that escaped from the custody of the federal government, a state government, the government of an organized territory, or the government of an unorganized territory.

(b) For the purposes of the acts of Congress and the Constitution, the "appropriate authority," is, respectively, the:
1. law enforcement agency charged with apprehending the fugitive by the court that issued a writ of mittimus for that fugitive;
2. law enforcement agency charged with apprehending violators of bail agreements of the court with whom the fugitive signed, then broke, a bail agreement; or
3. law enforcement agency charged with apprehending escapees from the custody of the government from which the fugitive escaped custody.

© It shall be the duty of each and every state, organized territory, and unorganized territory of the union to pursue, and arrest, any fugitive that is residing or traveling within its jurisdiction and, upon apprehending that individual, it shall be the duty of that state, organized territory, or unorganized territory to inform the appropriate authority of the arrest of that fugitive and to surrender that fugitive to the custody of an agent of the appropriate authority, and said agent shall be authorized to detain that fugitive while transporting that fugitive through any part of the United States.

(d) Subsection © shall not be construed so as to force the federal government, a state government, the government of an organized territory, or the government of an unorganized territory to surrender custody of a fugitive that committed a crime within the jurisdiction of that government, but said government may only refuse to surrender custody of such a fugitive during the course of that fugitive's trial and imprisonment for the crimes he committed against that government.

(e) Subsection © notwithstanding, a fugitive apprehended by any authority under this act shall be permitted to appeal his apprehension to a federal court, and a federal judge may order such fugitive released if that judge determines that:
1. that fugitive is not, in fact, a fugitive; or
2. the appropriate authority has not attempted to take custody of that fugitive despite having been informed of his detainment more than six months prior to the date of the appeal.