[San Andreas Judicial Branch] March Newsletter

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Colt Daniels
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[San Andreas Judicial Branch] March Newsletter

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www.sajb.sagov.us
San Andreas Judicial Branch

Month of March Newsletter
"HERE FOR YOU | SAFE FOR YOU"

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Opening Statement

  • Colt Daniels
    Once again, this month has been a monumental one for the branch. On the 12th of March we had a press conference introducing the three court system which has already proved itself to be successful and a stepping stone to getting the branch where it needs to be. A story on that will be below. Also during the month of March we have continued to show the community the work we do here and in what ways it helps the citizens of our state through the 8 cases that we have concluded with an issuance of verdict. Furthermore we have stepped up recruitment, in the final week of March we have had 5 new applicants apply to join our team and assure that justice prevails in our great state. As always our team will continue to strive to make sure all charges placed are correct, all criminals that break our laws are punished, and that we leave no stone unturned in our tireless pursuit of justice.
Judicial Spotlight

  • Sai Modi
    Greetings. My name is Sai Modi. I was born in India, specifically the state of Maharashtra. I grew up in the busy streets of Mumbai as a child born to a middle-classed family. I have then lost my parents at a very young age, with little inheritance. It was extremely difficult for me to go through all of the hardships and to face them all, not to mention facing them alone. My past experiences really changed me, and how I view life in general, they taught me to be strong, and to be determined to achieve my goals. I then immigrated to the great land that is called the United States of America, specifically our great state of San Andreas. I grew up in San Andreas, studying Mechanical Engineering, then continuing on to study law at the University of Los Santos, ultimately gaining a Juris Doctorate degree with honors. I have then passed the state BAR examination, where I was then given an opportunity to be employed at the San Andreas Judicial Branch.

    I was recently promoted to a Senior Attorney here in the branch, most notably assigned to the Prosecution Division, representing the State of San Andreas. Prior to this assignment, I was able to represent both defendants as well as prosecute on behalf of the state, representing whoever needed it. I did have a chance in the past to represent an Appellant, Ms. Harley Pavlovich in her past appeal respectively. Since then I have been solely devoted to representing the state and working very closely with law enforcement, specifically the Los Santos Police Department. I enjoy my role and the opportunities I was given, as well as representing clients from both sides of the courtroom. I am very keen in working with and helping the Los Santos Police Department and the Los Santos County Sheriff’s Department in upholding and maintaining justice in our great state, as well as making sure that our citizens are safe and protected from the ongoing rise in criminal activity – as you are all aware. I also look forward to working with other members and attorneys of the San Andreas Judicial Branch as we all strive to achieve the same goals. If we do not maintain Justice, justice will not maintain us.
Concluded Cases
  • Dan Stanton v. Los Santos Police Department
    • VM05 - Drunk, Impaired, or Distracted Driving [GUILTY]
    Jack Okimoto v. Los Santos Police Department
    • GM11 - Failure to Comply / Identify [NOT GUILTY]
    • GM20 - Face Concealment [CHANGED]
  • Jonathan Mcstone v. Los Santos County Sheriffs Department
    • VF01 - Felony Evasion [NOT GUILTY]
  • Max Centrov v. Los Santos Police Department
    • SF07 - Bank Robbery [GUILTY]
  • Paige Dredd v. Los Santos Police Department
    • NM03 - Unlawful Assembly [CHARGE DROPPED]
    • GM11 - Failure to Comply / Identify [NOT GUILTY]
    • GM15 - Obstruction of Justice [GUILTY]
  • Felix Newnham v. Los Santos Police Department
    • WM03 - Possession of Weapon Modifications [GUILTY]
    • WF03 - Possession of Illegal Firearms / Weapons [GUILTY]
  • State of San Andreas v. Harvey Keller
    • VF01 - Felony Evading [GUILTY]
    • WF03 - Possession of Illegal Firearms / Weapons [GUILTY]
    • WM03 - Possession of Weapon Modifications [GUILTY]
  • State of San Andreas v. Chad Rapkov
    • GM14 - Obstruction of Justice [GUILTY]
    • GF24 - Perjury [NOT GUILTY]
Judicial Branch Promotions
  • Public Defense AttorneySenior Public Defense Attorney
    • Dakota Macaw
    Prosecuting AttorneySenior Prosecuting Attorney
    • Sai Modi
    Law StudentPublic Defense Attorney
    • Yuki Nakamura
    CivilianLaw Studnet
    • James Hawkes
    • Ares Light
Story of the Month
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  • Like stated, in the month of March we introduced the three court system. As court systems in place are as follows.

    The Superior Court - Link
    • All cases that are brought to the San Andreas Court System start their journey at the Superior Court of San Andreas. Also known as the trial court, this is the venue where trials take place in both criminal and civil cases. This court has what is known as Original Jurisdiction because its where all cases originate from.

      When we eventually open up to allow for civil cases, their trials will also take place in the Superior Court.
    The Court of Appeals - Link
    • When a specific decision made by a judge in the Superior Court is disputed by one of the parties, they may bring it to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals is intended to only hear disputed decisions from the lower court and, as such, this court has what is known as Appellate Jurisdiction.

      Typically, the decisions that are appealed to the Court of Appeals are ones involving motions. For example, if I were to deny a specific Motion to Suppress that you believe should be granted and you have a legal basis for believing so, then you may post that decision to the Court of Appeals and file a Motion to Stay Pending Appeal in the original case to let me know that the decision is being reviewed by the Court of Appeals.

      The Court of Appeals will then review only the information regarding the Motion to Suppress and then will either:
      • Affirm the decision made by the Superior Court Judge
      • Reverse the decision made by the Superior Court, passing the case back down to the Superior Court with the only change being the new decision
      • Reverse the decision made by the Superior Court, but then ordering a new trial with a new judge
      The above circumstances apply when a decision on a motion is appealed, however, if you would like to appeal a verdict on a case, you must file it within 72 hours of the verdict's issuance with the below in mind:
      • You must have a legal basis for the appeal
        • There were errors in the trial's procedure
          OR
        • There were errors in the Judge's interpretation of the law
          OR
        • New evidence has come to light proving the defendant's innocence
      • Only the defendant may appeal a verdict
        • The Double Jeopardy rule states that no person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. This means that if the defendant has already been put at risk of jail time and fines, the prosecution may not bring the same situation back to court if they lose, as it would be putting the defendant in jeopardy of facing jail time and fines twice for the same situation.
    The Supreme Court - Link
    • The submission information is not yet published for the Supreme Court, but essentially, it acts as a way for parties to appeal decisions made by the Court of Appeals.

      This requires that the case originate in the Superior Court, then a specific decision has already been appealed to the Court of Appeals, and then the decision may be brought to the Supreme Court.

      The biggest difference in the Supreme Court is that the court is not required to take on any cases. As such, most of the time, the decision made in the Court of Appeals is likely the final decision on the matter because only a select few ever are accepted to be heard by the Supreme Court.

      A case must pass several layers of checks before the Supreme Court even takes on the case:
      • Petition
        • The petition asks both parties why the court should even hear the case - not about why the court should rule in their favor, but rather, why the decision in the Court of Appeals is not sufficient and the potential impacts that may occur from that decision.
      • Merits Brief
        • If the petition is granted, then parties are permitted to submit arguments as to why the court should rule in their favor - this is where the main points of the decision should go.
      • Oral Arguments
        • Should the court require so, a hearing will be scheduled so that all parties with an interest in the case may present oral arguments to the court why they should rule in a specific way.
      • Deliberation and Decision
        • The court will then adjourn and will discuss the case, determining any impacts that may result from the decision and otherwise weight each parties case.
        • After a decision has been made, the decision will be either:
          • Affirmed and passed back down to the lower court to resume the trial
          • Reversed and passed back down to the lower court to resume the trial with the new decision in place
          • Reversed with new instructions on how to proceed, including but not limited to a new judge on the case
Closing Statement
  • Thank you for reading this newsletter. The Judicial Branch is proud of being able to deliver this information to you, as we believe that transparency is the key to success. As the Judicial Branch continues to grow, not only in members but the citizens faith in the system, so does our teams desire to push new boundaries.

    We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you can find the San Andreas Judicial Branch on LifeInvader. We have plans to expand our outreach on our LifeInvader page, through various videos and posts that we think the public will enjoy.
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