Court Sessions
Opening a session
A judge (sessions permission) sits at the judge's bench of a courtroom and opens a session on a case from Courtroom in the tablet. When court opens, everyone seated stands for "All rise" and sits again (Config.Courtroom.allRise).
Seats are placed per courtroom: judge, clerk / stenographer, prosecution, defense, defendant, witness, jury box and gallery. Press X to stand up from a seat.
During the session
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Phases | In session, recess, jury deliberation (the jury room door locks) |
| Gavel | Home key on the bench HUD, the radial menu or the tablet |
| "Order!" | Radial menu or tablet: the gallery is quieted for 15 seconds (pma-voice) |
| Swear in | A witness takes the oath with an animation |
| Objection | Prosecutors, defenders and attorneys press O (or the radial). The judge rules with PageUp (sustain) or PageDown (overrule) |
| Exhibits & media | Admitted exhibits, videos and evidence slides on the courtroom TVs |
| Contempt | A fine or the holding cell |
| Court reporter | Staff with record type what is said; each line goes into the transcript |
| Microphones | Stand or sit at a microphone point to be heard across the room (pma-voice) |
Bench HUD
While presiding, the judge sees the case, the phase and any pending objection, with the keys to rule on it, without opening the tablet. Turn it off or change the keys in Config.Courtroom.bench.
Presenting evidence
Courtroom → Present evidence shows the court case's linked MDT incidents and reports of every department, plus kartik-evidence forensic cases. Turn the slides from the tablet, with ← and → anywhere in the courtroom, or by targeting the Media TV.
Any https link can be played on the Media TV: YouTube, Vimeo, a video, an image, audio or a web page such as a Google Slides embed. Anyone can mute a TV for themselves.
Verdict & sentence
The judge records the verdict and the sentence: jail (xt-prison), a fine to the department, damages from the defendant to the plaintiff, a criminal record in the MDT, and optionally probation, community service, conditions and licence suspensions. See Sentencing.
Jury verdict calls the jury back and the foreperson reads the majority out. Everything lands in the case transcript.
Sounds & animations
The gavel, "All rise" chime, objection sting, gallery murmur, verdict and deliberation bell play with distance falloff. People act out the oath, objections and the verdict (the judge reads from a clipboard, the defendant stands). Set your own recordings in Config.Courtroom.sounds.