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	JUDICIARY

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There are a number of different types of court in Lendosa, one for each of the legal codes. Some of the Codes are not used enough to justify a permanent court, and so courts are assembled as needed. There are always Civic, Administrative, and Military Courts active, and a Confederate Court is maintained in a dormant state.

There are four levels of courts, corresponding to the political divisions of the Lendosan Confederation.

• District Court or Municipal Court
• Regional Court
• National Court
• Confederate Court

Generally, minor and moderate crimes will begin in the lowest level of courts, while more serious crimes (such as murder) will begin in a Regional Court. No crime ever receives its first hearing in a National Court or a Confederate Court unless it comes under the Confederate Code (see legal codes), meaning that it is related to the security and stability of the Confederation itself.

Judges, all of whom must have legal training, are appointed by the civil service without political involvement. Judges have different seniorities, with those presiding over a higher court having precedence over those presiding over a lower court. The highest judge, and the head of the Lendosan judiciary, is called the Arbiter.

The courts operate in a way different to courts elsewhere. There is a presiding official over the court who administers its activities, and there is a jury. This jury consists of ten citizens. In the prosecution and defense, one does not bring in lawyers to represent one's case. Instead, two governmental lawyers are brought in. One works on the assumption that the accused is guilty, and one works on the assumption that the accused is innocent, and they both attempt to argue the case. They are paired up by their experience, so nobody will have a better lawyer. These lawyers are not responsible for producing evidence - all evidence is searched for and presented by the police, and it is the responsibility of the lawyers to use the evidence to argue at what the evidence shows.

There are slightly different laws about witnesses as well. It is illegal for anybody to refuse to give testimony, and the penalty for refusing to give testimony or giving false or misleading testimony is to recieve the same punishment that the accused would recieve if found guilty. Essentialy, if you witness a crime, it is illegal not to give evidence. However, since it is quite possible to give evidence without your identity being revealed, witnesses should not fear retribution for doing so. It is not possible to refuse on the grounds of incrimination; saying so would simply launch an investigation. It is also not possible to recieve 'immunity from prosecution' deals in exchange for anything.