Law and Order

Law and Order

Like most places in the Empire, Sonnefurt experiences a good deal of criminal activity, however, being in the country, a lot of this is banditry and petty crimes which can be dealt with effectively by the right authorities. However, with the influx of trade into the river port, a new breed of criminal has developed over the years, and organised crime mobs have penetrated the Barony slowly and covertly.

The Barony has many systems in place to deal with the crime that persists throughout its lands.

The Judicial System in Sonnefurt

Sonnefurt Judicial Court(s)

The Judicial Court is the highest authority on the law of the Barony, succeeding only to the Courts of Wissenburg on cases of incredible importance. It makes the law and oversees it on behalf of the Baroness, who has no control over the law, a fact dating back to the time of Herman Tol, who thought it immoral for the Baron of Sonnefurt to have too much power.

It is overseen by the Council of Towns and Villages of Sonnefurt, who either preside themselves, normally for the more interesting cases, or hire lawyers to act as judges. Due to political manoeuvring on the Council, it is normally Lord Herwin Augustus who is tasked with assigning the judges and presiding most of the important cases.

The Judicial Courts act as the main courtrooms of the city of Sonnefurt, dealing with petty crime but will also oversee cases deemed too important to leave to the Barony’s municipal courts and cases that provide problems for the entire Barony. The Judicial Court is the only authority besides the Baroness that can declare someone an outlaw.

Due to political intrigue in Sonnefurt, no juries are permitted at the Judicial Courts, and the decision lies on the Councillors instead. This can mean than the Council manipulate justice to serve their own ends, like Marshal Eichhorn using it to recruit soldiers and mercenaries. However, the system is surprisingly fair, particularly under Lord Augustus, for his love of being a lawyer means an utmost respect for carrying out the procedures properly and fairly.

Attached to the Judicial Courts are a series of chambers, where the few lawyers of the Barony work. Many of these lawyers are employed by the Judicial Court directly and represent mainly defendants, and also relatively poor accusers. Their wage comes partially from the Council themselves, but also from small fees charged to their customers. These employed lawyers are also trained judges and many oversee the petty crimes deemed worthless by the Councillors.

The lawyers not employed by the Courts work in a freelance market, selling their skills and motivation to the highest bidder. This does often mean that the richer a client, the more likely they are to win, as Council paid lawyers lack the motivation to truly defend their client.

The Judicial Courts also have a network of jail and holding cells underneath, which serves as the main prison in the Barony. The lowest depths of these prison cells run parallel to the towns sewer system, and this is where the worst criminals are often left to rot if they are not to be executed.

Municipal Courts

The Municipal Courts of the Barony are found in the town halls of each of the towns and villages of the Barony. These Courts oversee the petty crimes of their towns, and refer cases to the Judicial Courts in Sonnefurt if the case is deemed too important. The Municipal Courts are only allowed to issue fines and minor punishments. If the fine required is larger than 300GC or the punishment more than a flogging, then the cases are immediately assessed by the Judicial Courts and then the punishment approved.

Each Municipal Court has an attached jailhouse somewhere in their town. These jailhouses are often only used for brief punishments and holding the accused before trial. If a prisoner is deserving of a greater punishments, they are moved to the jails in Sonnefurt.

Law Enforcement

The Town Watches

Each town in the Barony has its own town watch. Outside of Sonnefurt, in the outlying towns, these watch for threats to the Barony and the towns themselves, as well as watching for criminal activity within the town. In Sonnefurt, the town watch is only tasked with watching from crime, there are separate lookouts employed to keep an eye on the towns safety.

The Town Watches number from four to ten men per patrol, depending on the location and are tasked with lighting the town’s lamps every night, and declaring every hour the time and the state of the town (eg one o’clock and all is well). Should they catch a criminal, they are allowed to uses reasonable force to capture them, and can keep them overnight in their jailhouses. Sonnefurt has many of these dotted around the town, most other towns only have the one attached to their municipal court.

The Soll River Patrol

Although not officially part of the Barony’s law enforcement, the 9th Regiment act as a tool for keeping crime levels low, particularly in Sonnefurt and Ertingen. They lead their own patrols from time to time to crack down on smuggling. Anyone caught smuggling with be kept in the River Patrol Jailhouse in the Military District of Sonnefurt, awaiting trial at the Soll River Patrol Headquarters in Wissenburg.

Vigilantism

Vigilante justice is not condoned by the authorities of the Barony but is often let slide as it reduces the workload of the system hugely. Of course if the acts of vigilantism are taken too far, then it becomes a matter for the Courts to deal with, and thus they prefer it not to happen. The main areas vigilante justice takes place is in the farmsteads and the countryside of the region, due to the lack of law enforcement in place. Farmers take matters into their own hands against bandits and poachers, and are often armed to protect their livelihoods. In the towns vigilantism is often limited to fights or property damage, but this can cause run-ins with the local town watch.

Punishment

Below are several examples of the different crimes that can lead to different punishments.

Fines(amount depends on whim of Judge and seriousness of crime)
Failure to pay taxes; failure to complete censuses; incorrect storage of goods; illegal crossing of the River Soll

Stocks (sometimes combined with flogging, amount of time depends on whim of Judge and seriousness of crime )
Adultery; bestiality; cheating at gambling; drunk and disorderly behaviour

Flogging (level varies on whim of Judge and seriousness of crime)
Theft; minor assault; poaching; cattle rustling; failure to heed militia call (if signed up)

Jail (amount of jail time depends on whim of Judge and seriousness of crime)
Industrial sabotage; fraud; smuggling; unlicensed pimping; money laundering; violent assault

Mutilation
Rape (castration); blasphemy (branding); armed robbery (pistol hand)

Execution
Unlicensed magic (burnt at stake); witchcraft (burnt at stake); heresy (burnt at stake); murder (hanging); banditry and outlaws (hanging); treason against Barony (decapitation); treason against Wissenland(referred to Wissenburg); mutiny and sedition (firing squad); desertion from Sonnefurt military (firing squad)

Fines are administered in the Courtroom, they are paid to the local authority

Stocks are located in the Market Squares of all the towns. Sonnefurt has one in each district’s public areas.

Floggings are carried out in public, normally where the stocks are located.

Jail sentences of length are all served below the Judicial Courts of Sonnefurt.

Mutilations are deemed too gruesome for the public, they are carried out in private, with the exception of branding, which takes place in a very public location and is normally carried out by a Priest of Sigmar.

Executions are incredibly public events, drawing large crowds from all over the Barony depending on the criminal’s notoriety. The public will be notified well in advance of any execution and notified of the criminals path so they can jeer and torment him before his death. Burnings at stakes and decapitations take place in Sonnefurt’s main Market Square. The heads of victims are placed on pikes at the entrance to Sonnefurt. Hangings are carried out by the hometown of the criminal and take place at the gallows outside of each town. They are left to hang for several days. Military executions are private, only army personnel are allowed. They occur in the Military District of Sonnefurt and are performed by randomly selected soldiers.