#System lawyer

[the-silent-fellowship]

Judge & Lawyer

System Roles

[PT: Judge & Lawyer | System Roles]

“Judges are headmates that act as a judge in the system. If one's system has rules and a headmate breaks one of them, a lawyer will be able appointed to them to determine whether or not the headmate is actually at fault or not. A lawyer may also negotiate with the judge to reach a suitable punishment. However, if the system does not have a lawyer, this decision becomes the judge's sole responsibility.” - Pluralpeida(link)

“Lawyer refers to a headmate that can defend or go against an accused member with evidence given to the judge. This can help the judge make decisions. If a judge is not present in a system, a lawyer may take over their duties along with the usual.” - Pluralpeida(link)

[Judge ID: none yet]

[Lawyer ID: none yet]

[Tagging] @radiomogai, @pluralitywords, @pluralterms, & @system-term-archive

[redacted-coiner]

Mutual, Idol, and Family Systyle

Judge, Charge, Lawyer

Shepherd, Debugger, Buffer

DNI is listed within my pinned post. Please go read it before interacting with any part of my content. Ask to tag!

[mavisthemae]

A side thing I really, really enjoy about the Murderbot universe is its lawyers.

For one thing, Martha Wells refers to "corporate solicitors", not "attorneys" nor "counsel". In one book (can't remember which), Pin-Lee refers to her General Counsel which is the apex of in-house practice.

Pin-Lee is close to perfectly written, she is strategic, sharp as a razor, pugnacious and ever so slightly too aggressive for everyone else's comfort, of course is a workaholic and is almost always up to her eyeballs in documents and drafting.

In Fugitive Telemetry, the second that Mensah even suggests displeasure at Indah Pin-Lee has begun her legal research, is preparing to advise and is champing at the bit to draw up a legal fireball. And she is not happy when the tack changes, but of course takes instructions and backs down. (I myself have never hissed when the opportunity to really go someone evaporates, but I have certainly felt it.)

And Pin-Lee is much more than a brain on legs. She cares very strongly about and for her team: in Exit Strategy she's well aware how dangerous a situation she, Ratthi and Gurathin are in, tries (not well admittedly) to buoy the others up and is sensibly cautious when Murderbot approaches her. When Murderbot returns to Preservation Space she's the one who makes sure that not only does it know it's free to leave again if it wants but that it has the means to do so (with the hard currency and fake IDs). She swears, drinks, parties and loves watching gruesome I-told-you-so media about hostile fauna.

She's sized up Murderbot and totally runs rings around it in her own domain - one of the funniest things for me in Network Effect (besides "no hugging") was the revelation that she'd written its contract with PresAux so as to try and keep it safe from itself. To its outrage.

The court system is never explained (with no apparent government, how are Corporate Rim judges appointed and their decisions enforced? Is there any appeal system? My guess would be that it's essentially treaty-based with each participating polity enacting the necessary legislation and the corporations entering into some behemoth multipartite Deed the breach of which brings the wrath of all the counterparties raining down...but that's circular, because - I'll stop myself here on the basis that very few lawyers will be reading this!) I'll buy it though as equivalent to the tech hand-waving. It's something that doesn't get explained because Murderbot doesn't need to know or care about the details for it and the story to get the benefit.

Pin-Lee, my unexpected sci-fi hero!

[alibonbonn]

Guy who went to Baldur’s Gate law school and passed the Baldur’s Gate bar exam some time long ago

[dragonsareawesome123]

I love that all the law kdramas I’ve watched so far have all been dramas that are social commentary on how fucked Korea’s justice system is.

[puppppppppy]

oooh wait so the plot hole of “why doesnt a spirit medium just channel the victims spirit” is literally bc the DL-6 spirit channeling cant be repeated huh

[radioactive-earthshine]

Kon being famous for demonstrating a non-romantic marriage for the benefits. So sad hardly anyone remembers this 😞

He'd 10/10 be loudly supportive of marriage between people for any reason - get that tax break with your bro, get that immigration expedited, snatch that insurance, say fuck you to your bio relatives in-particular. Is this a "Legitimate Marriage" Pft. What are you, a cop?

He'd also be the guy that would coopt all his friends into buy houses right next to each other, tearing down the fences, and sharing resources as a miniature commune. And he'd actually do it and not just joke about it.

He'd also get divorced for benefits too.

[bookofmac]

I actually really love the anticlimax of the 60's hyped up meeting being a zoom meeting that only 16 of them attend. so much of the show is about how fickle and personal Evil acts are, yes they are gross and disgusting, but also systematised and impersonal. and what better way to represent that than showing Leland trying to tell a demon what the mute button looks like.

[rarepears]

Stardew Valley x SVSSS AU where Shen Yuan inherits a farm from a relative and decides that maybe the country air would help his poor health. While there he hires a farmhand to help him named Binghe, who looks eerily similar to the Binghe of the terrible webnovel he read before coming there. In truth, it's actually a transmigrated Bingge hiding his identity so he could have his own nice shizun! But what's this? The local sheriff, Liu Qingge, isn't a big fan of Bingge and has been suspicious of him for months.

Is Shen Jiu the local lawyer that everyone hates because You Can't Trust Lawyers Period but everyone will still go to him if they have any sort of legal help (even if it's just neighborly disputes over where the fence goes on the boundary lines and doesn't exactly warrant a lawyer to step in). Then they complain about Shen Jiu's rates ("ripping off people! He doesn't do any real work around here.") and cast disdain upon his city-style fashion and mannerism.

Yet somehow everyone still likes Mayor Yue Qingyuan who graduated in a fancy city ("wow, I hope my son will be as smart as you, mister mayor!").

Shen Yuan consults lawyer Shen Jiu on a couple matters about labor contracts and tax law. His first taste of the townsfolk is an... interesting one.

[satomikristen]

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

But, whatever [Marius] did, and whatever mitigation he sought, he always had to fall back on this: [Jean Valjean] was a convict; that is, the creature who has no place on the social ladder, being below the lowest social rung.

[Marius] had not yet come to distinguish between what is written by man and what is written by God.

On God, Marius is no better than Javert at this point.

[toxicourse]

the system community has felt eerily similar to the dsmp community as of late. my lawyers requested i do not elaborate.

[rainbowsandwhumperflies]

The Winged Servant - 12

content warnings: discussions surrounding medically induced amnesia, royal/servant whump, angel whumpee, discussions surrounding corporal punishment (torturing onyx lol), let me know if I missed anything!

prev chapter | masterlist

The guard took me down three staircases and through too many hallways to remember before opening a metal door. “They’ll be waiting for you right in here. There aren’t guards in there, but those two are plenty capable and I will be waiting out here regardless, so no funny business.” I didn’t miss the click of the lock sliding into place as the door closed.

There was a table in the middle of the room. It had a white tablecloth on it, but it looked like it was metal and sterile under that.

Kieran was waiting at the table. Kieran and… someone else. The someone else would clearly rather I didn’t know. They were wearing a mask, blue and gray and big enough to cover every inch of their face. They had loose enough clothes to hide the curves of their body and their hair was pulled back into a bun that hid the texture and length of it—even the color outside of how dark it was.

“Hi, Onyx,” Kieran said softly. “How’s your arm?”

“Good, sir,” I whispered, bowing my head slightly. “Thank you for the concern. And, um, the medical help.”

“Of course. How about you come sit down, yeah? My friend here is going to stay anonymous, but you can call them Blue. We just wanted to ask you a few questions, if that’s okay?”

He was speaking so gently. As if I wouldn’t understand him if he was blunt with me. I wondered if I should tell him that I knew how to be a good servant, or if that was too irrelevant to the conversation. “Of course, sir.”

“What’s your full name?” Blue asked. They did not sound upset with me, but it was a far cry from Kieran’s soft tone.

“Onyx, Mx.”

“And… your last name?”

I glanced away, focusing my eyes on the tablecloth, tracing the gold embroidery with my eyes. “My apologies, Mx, but you would have to ask the royal family for that kind of information. I don’t know it anymore.”

“No? Why not?”

“I gave it to them, Mx, when I was seventeen. I don’t remember anything from before being a servant. It’s better this way. I'm more productive.”

Kieran and Blue stared at each other for a long moment before looking back at me. “They erased your memory?” Kieran asked slowly.

“Yes, but- but I agreed, sir. I offered to let them do it, because I wanted to become the best servant I could.”

“Okay, but your offer was before they actually did the procedure, right? So the only reason you know that you offered is because they told you.”

“Yes, sir,” I agreed. “I’m very grateful to them for telling me, since they don't usually tell me about before. As is their right, of course.”

“Jesus Christ,” Kieran whispered. “You’ve been with them this whole time, haven’t you? What did you do when they were overthrown?”

“... What?”

“When they were overthrown. Since they’re no longer royal. Did they just take you with them when they left the castle?”

This was similar to what Dr. Charlotte had said—she hasn’t ruled a country for the better part of the last decade—but it couldn’t be true. “The Rao family has ruled Sathenn for sixteen generations, sir. And I don’t- I don’t think I’d ever seen the castle before last night.”

“So you didn't work for them as an employee, or at least not after the memory thing.” Blue tilted their head. “How do you know that the Raos didn’t just grab you off the street and wipe your memory?”

I frowned. “His Highness Prince Ryan told me that I volunteered.”

“And you took his word for it. Right.” They wrote something down on their clipboard. “Did you try to leave?”

“Of course not, not on purpose,” I breathed, staring at them in shock. “I’m- I know how to be a good servant, I can be, I swear.”

“And you didn’t ever want to, or you were just too scared to? Do you understand the difference in the question I am asking?”

“I don’t… think I understand, Mx. I don’t leave because that’s what’s required of me as a servant, and I can be a good servant. It’s not about what I want or how scared I am, I just don't leave.”

“... Right.” I could not see their expression, but I didn’t think they looked convinced. “And what would happen if you did try to leave? Would you… get in trouble in some way?”

“Of course, Mx. But I know my place, I swear I do, I wouldn’t run.”

“Okay. But if you did.”

“I wouldn’t, Mx,” I insisted. “I swear. I can be good, I wouldn’t run.”

They paused for a moment, but nodded eventually. “Okay. Sure. You wouldn’t run. But do you get in trouble for other things, then? Other, smaller mistakes, maybe? Can you describe… I don’t know. Can you describe the most recent incident?”

The most recent one was… last night, despite the fact that last night felt much further away than it was. “Each morning, I bring breakfast to Her Majesty,” I explained. “Yesterday, I was late, Mx. I was punished for that.”

“What kind of punishment?”

“I usually wear a shock collar, Mx, and His Highness Prince Ryan shocked me three times. One for each minute I was late. A fair punishment.”

Blue had been scribbling on their paper, but froze as I spoke. “So you- when you say punishment, you mean corporal punishment.”

“Of course, Mx. Punishment is required for me to become the best servant I can be. How else am I supposed to learn to be better? I make much fewer mistakes than when I was new.”

Kieran was frowning at the wall, and I flinched when he turned his gaze toward me. “Tell Blue what you told me about your wing.”

“My wing wasn’t broken as a punishment, sir,” I explained again, not understanding the relevance. I hadn’t understood the relevance of any of these questions, but it didn’t matter, because the prince had said to do what I was told. “It was only to keep me from flying. But it’s- it’s okay, now, it barely hurts, it’s been years. His Highness Prince Cardan broke it before I gave the royal family my memories, so I don’t remember it happening.”

“That’s convenient,” Blue muttered. “Fine. Okay. Last couple questions, because I can’t stomach this for much longer. What do you know about what you were doing in the castle last night?”

I hesitated. “One of the guards said that we were breaking in.”

“Mhm. Were you aware of that before you came here?”

“... The royal family can’t break in anywhere, Mx. They’re entitled to any building they like.”

“Allow me to rephrase, Onyx. Were you or were you not aware, last night, that you came here as part of a group on a mission to kill people?”

“That’s not-” I hesitated. “They weren’t here for that. They were here for… for Kieran, they said. Anyone that they hurt was someone in the way of their rule—it’s not that they wanted to hurt people.”

“Didn’t they? I’ve seen the camera footage. You were an accessory to murder before you even got into the door. That didn’t make you hesitate at all? It didn’t surprise you enough to ask any of the Raos what you were doing here?”

Right. The guard with the purple hair. Outside, guarding the castle. Guarding Kieran. Dead, after someone had killed her, someone that had arrived in a car with me.

“No, Mx,” I said. “I didn’t- I didn’t ask. I’m not supposed to ask questions. It would be a waste of time. I’m just supposed to do what I’m told.”

Blue took a slow, measured breath. “Okay. I have good news and bad news for you, Onyx. The good news is that I think putting you on trial wouldn’t get us very far because you somehow managed not to realize that the Raos were killing people. Even after watching them kill people. The bad news is that you are ridiculously loyal to people that have been lying to you for longer than you remember existing. These people are dangerous to everything this country stands for. That makes you dangerous by proxy, regardless of your intentions or information, and we can’t exactly let you free either.”

You are ridiculously loyal to people that have been lying to you.

These people are dangerous.

“That doesn’t- it doesn’t matter if they lie,” I managed. “It doesn’t matter if they’re dangerous. It’s not the same for them, Mx. They tell me what they want me to know so that I can be the best servant possible. Sometimes that doesn’t include the full picture.”

“Why do you need to be such a good servant?” Blue asked. “Why does their comfort matter so much more than yours? They might have the best servant in the world, Onyx, but what is the point of serving them so much if they give you nothing in return?”

This was something I had asked too, once. It was years ago, when I was new and I had phrased it differently, but I remembered it. Why is my happiness less important than yours, Your Highness?

Prince Cardan had laughed and asked me how happy I thought he was. And he’d said that happiness- “Happiness serves no purpose, Mx. It doesn’t protect me or keep me safe or provide me with food. The royal family does that for me, if I do my best to be a good servant.”

“They’re not going to be the royal family ever again, you know. They’re-”

“When was the last time you ate something, Onyx?” Kieran interrupted.

Blue glared at him.

“... Last night, sir,” I answered quietly. “At dinner.”

“I think that the conversation Blue is trying to have with you would be better managed over a meal. How about we get you some breakfast?”

Blue was still glaring, and Kieran didn’t look happy. …But someone had asked me a question, and I was supposed to answer it. “Yes. sir.”

“Okay. Blue—paperwork. Try to start questioning Lucia if you have any extra time. Onyx—how do you feel about crepes?”

~

taglist (btw i appreciate you so so much): @kaleidoscope-of-thoughts @toyybox @rainydaywhump @risk606

[peachdues]

I was catching up on the drama that was someone arguing about the law with you even though you’re a lawyer?? Anyway I looked at their blog to see their last response and you’re not missing anything new besides them insisting you’re an overconfident law student (wouldn’t a law student know more than them too tho??). BUT in a different post they’ve claimed to run a subreddit in which they constantly research and fact check people?? They then ban people, giving long explanations as to why, and doing so supposedly changes peoples minds/opinions all the time??? I can’t help but feel like they thought this is what was happening with you. So anyway their qualifications for knowing more than a trained lawyer are, let me check my notes, ah yes running a subreddit

P.s. thank you for educating myself, and many others, about what laws actually mean for us! You are a saint for taking time out of your busy day to clarify what is initially vague for the general public’s understanding. Keep being amazing 🩷🩷

God, I wish I was still an overconfident law student. That way, I wouldn’t have to be paying my student loans (yet). Or, even better, I wouldn’t have to get my ass up at 4:30 tomorrow morning for a trial in another county 😭

I went and snooped on the Reddit claim — it very much gave me the same kind of “I’m so smart and when I tell people they’re WRONG they THANK me and then everyone CLAPS” vibe.

Which…to me screams their prefrontal cortex hasn’t developed. Like I said, their grammar spoke volumes about their age lmao.

I think that’s someone who probably believes, to some degree, that they are the smartest person speaking at All Times, and anyone whom contradicts them is Wrong and Stupid. In the end, they let their own emotions, inexperience, and — you guessed it — ignorance totally derail any attempt at a coherent argument (which, wasn’t that coherent to begin with).

And look, by no means am I an authority on anything. Never blindly trust anyone who purports to be THE authority on all things (like our alleged Reddit moderator). All I did was share what I read from the Bill, and how it very likely could be interpreted to enact widespread censorship. And, it’s not like anything I was saying was new — it’s straight out of the Project 2025 handbook, which the current administration has been following diligently!

Love you all so very much! Thanks for being here 🤍🤍

[fluentisonus]

marius having been a german translator in the 1830s makes him perfectly positioned to later be reading early marx & engels when you think about it

[odinsblog]

This Supreme Court is illegitimate and deeply corrupt

Two years after John Roberts' confirmation as the Supreme Court's chief justice in 2005, his wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, made a pivot. After a long and distinguished career as a lawyer, she refashioned herself as a legal recruiter, a matchmaker who pairs job-hunting lawyers up with corporations and firms.

Roberts told a friend that the change was motivated by a desire to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest, given that her husband was now the highest-ranking judge in the country. "There are many paths to the good life," she said. "There are so many things to do if you're open to change and opportunity."

"When I found out that the spouse of the chief justice was soliciting business from law firms, I knew immediately that it was wrong," the whistleblower, Kendal B. Price, who worked alongside Jane Roberts at the legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa, told Insider in an interview. "During the time I was there, I was discouraged from ever raising the issue. And I realized that even the law firms who were Jane's clients had nowhere to go. They were being asked by the spouse of the chief justice for business worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and there was no one to complain to. Most of these firms were likely appearing or seeking to appear before the Supreme Court. It's natural that they'd do anything they felt was necessary to be competitive."

Roberts' apparent $10.3 million in compensation puts her toward the top of the payscale for legal headhunters. Price's disclosures, which were filed under federal whistleblower-protection laws and are now in the hands of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, add to the mounting questions about how Supreme Court justices and their families financially benefit from their special status, an area that Senate Democrats are vowing to investigate after a series of disclosure lapses by the justices themselves.

(continue reading)