–VETOED BY EGO–
Bylaw #4 - Stardate 10073.1
Governing Rules About Violations, Investigations, and Tier Sorting (GRAVITieS), Part 1
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this document is to list and define the way that justice is dealt with in Star Fleet. This bylaw will not supersede or overwrite any processes that have already been established in other bylaws.
DEFINITION OF PUNISHMENTS
All punishments will fall under one of the tiers listed below.
TIER 1 . Permanent Ban
This includes a permanent ban from one or all Star Fleet related resources and must be made via Presidential edict.
TIER 2 . Temporary Ban
This is any type of ban that is not a Tier 1 punishment, and must be made via Presidential edict. The resource and time frame must be specified in the edict.
TIER 3 . Rank Demotion, multiple ranks
This is any demotion comprising of more than one member rank loss, and must be made via Presidential edict. All characters above the punished member’s new rank must immediately be demoted to the member’s highest member rank.
TIER 4 . Rank Demotion, single rank
This is any demotion comprising of a single member rank loss, and must be made via Presidential edict. All characters above the punished member’s new rank must immediately be demoted to the member’s highest member rank.
TIER 5 . Removal from position
This is any removal from the position of Commanding Officer, Department Director, Executive Assistant, or Fleet Commander by the president, for the purposes of punishment. This may be done by edict or by an official post in command, depending on the severity of the punishment.
TIER 6 . Official Presidential Reprimand
This is an official reprimand from the Office of the President, and may be made publicly in command or privately via email. No edict is issued.
TIER 7 . Unofficial Presidential Reprimand
This is an unofficial reprimand from the Office of the President, and may only be made privately via email.
TIER 8 . Non Presidential Punishment
This is any punishment given out below the Presidential level by ship Commanding Officers, Fleet Commanders, Department Directors, or Executive Assistants during the normal discharge of their duties. The Office of the President cannot issue Tier 8 punishments.
PUNISHMENT STACKING
Should any one offense be considered especially heinous, resulting in a Tier 5 or above punishment, the offender may receive punishments in multiple Tiers.
COMPLAINTS
If the complaint is member generated, the complaint is sent to the proper authority in the chain of command with all supporting evidence. The alleged offender will be told that there has been a complaint lodged against him, what the complaint is, who the complainant is, and what evidence has been presented to support that complaint. The alleged offender will be given the opportunity to explain his point of view and present any evidence on his behalf, as well as validate any evidence requiring validation as explained below. The deciding authority will make a decision, inform both parties, and provide punishment as necessary.
No complaints may be made anonymously. A complainant can be either an individual, a ship, fleet, department, or the club itself. All complaints must be brought forth within one month of discovery of the alleged offense or violation. All subjects involved in a complaint must cooperate with the investigating authority to the best of their abilities, including but not limited to sending all requested evidence and being truthful at all times.
APPEALS
Appeals to Tier 1 and 2 punishments are subject to the rules laid out by the Executive Government Oversight in the related bylaw.
Tier 3 or 4 demotions from the rank of Fleet Captain or above may be appealed to the Executive Government Oversight. The process for doing so is the same as an appeal for a Tier 1 or 2 punishment. The President’s decision is final and is not subject to appeal for all other punishments in Tiers 3-7, except as listed below. Abuse of Presidential Power complaints can be reason to initiate the Impeachment process as described in other bylaws.
Tier 8 complaints can be appealed through the proper chain of command. Should a Tier 8 complaint be brought to the Office of the President, the result must involve a Tier 7 or higher punishment, or a finding of acquittal.
EVIDENCE
The following are considered valid evidence when investigating a complaint:
IM and PM logs with time and date stamps
IRC Logs from the Internet Department sanctioned IRC Logger
Chat room logs
Emails with full headers detailing club related business
Posts on Star Fleet
Any Star Fleet system generated logs
Should a correspondence, either requested or submitted for evidence, contain both club matters and personal matters, the sending party will delete all personal matters not club related prior to submitting the remaining portion as evidence. The other party will be asked to send the same correspondence with any personal matters deleted for verification.
Should one party not have a copy of the requested correspondence to provide to the investigating authority, the redacted copy that has been submitted as evidence will be sent to them for verification.
Should one party dispute the contents of a correspondence copy or log, the investigating authority shall have the final say about what evidence will be accepted for review.
Jen (President)