Rule 2. Purpose; Construction; Definition of Terms

Words or phrases importing the singular number may extend and be applied to several persons or things, words importing the plural number may include the singular, and words importing the masculine gender may include the feminine and neuter.

When in these rules reference is made to a subdivision of a rule, that reference is to that subdivision and to any subdivisions thereof.

“Shall” and “must” impose a duty. “May” confers discretion. “Shall not” and “may not” impose a prohibition.

A heading, whether of a title, a rule, or a subdivision, is for convenience of reference and is not part of the rule.

A period of time prescribed by these rules is computed as provided by Rule 46.

A decimal rule is a part of the rule bearing the same integer and shall be construed with it.

“Absentia authorization” means the written authorization of the Chief Justice, or of a judge designated in writing by the Chief Justice, entered under 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(e) and Rule 18.3(f), permitting a trial to proceed in the defendant’s absence.

“Accusatory instrument” means a criminal information or an indictment. Every accusatory instrument, regardless of the person designated therein as complainant, constitutes an accusation on behalf of the State of Ridgeway, commences by the authority of the State of Ridgeway, and shall designate the person accused, who is known as the defendant. Every indictment shall conclude with the words “against the peace and dignity of the State,” as required by Const. art. V § 10.

“Arraignment” means the occasion upon which a defendant against whom an accusatory instrument has been filed appears before the Superior Court for the purpose of having the court acquire and exercise control over the defendant with respect to that instrument, of having the charges read and a plea entered, and of setting the course of further proceedings in the action.

“Arrest” means the taking of a person into custody by a law enforcement officer, with or without a warrant, in order that the person may answer for an offense.

“Arrest warrant” means the process of a court, issued by a state judge upon the grounds stated in 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.001– 131.002, directing that a defendant be arrested and brought before the court, together with the corresponding entry in the in-game warrants system required by Rule 6(1)(c). An arrest warrant is a single instrument in two parts, and neither part is effective without the other.

“Authorized investigative agency” means any investigative apparatus certified by the Attorney General, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 111.017.

“Bench warrant” means the process of a court in which a criminal proceeding is pending, directing that a defendant who has previously been arraigned upon the accusatory instrument be taken into custody and brought before the court for a purpose other than initial arraignment; and includes a default warrant issued under 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(i) and Rule 18.2(3), whether or not the defendant has been arraigned.

“Booking” means the entry of an arrested person into the records of the arresting agency and of the Department of Corrections and the delivery of that person into the custody of the Department of Corrections, as provided by 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.201 and 131.202. Detention preceding booking may be maintained in a holding cell established under 6 R. Stat. § 132.101.

“Capital crime” means an offense for which a sentence of death is permitted, namely treason, felony murder, murder in the first degree, and murder in the second degree, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.402.

“Clerk” means the Clerk of the Superior Court appointed under 3 R. Stat. § 131.101 and any deputy clerk acting under 3 R. Stat. § 131.103, whose acts are entitled to the same faith and credit as those of the Clerk; and, where the context so requires, the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

“Conviction” means the entry of a plea of guilty to, an admission to facts sufficient to warrant a finding of guilty upon, or a verdict or finding of guilty upon, an accusatory instrument or one or more counts thereof.

“Court” includes a judge, a magistrate judge assigned or referred a matter under 3 R. Stat. § 131.203, a special magistrate, and the clerk when acting within the authority conferred upon the clerk by these rules.

“Criminal default” means the entry upon the record, under 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(i) and Rule 18.2, of a defendant’s failure to appear as required. A criminal default is neither a declaration of fugitive status under Rule 33 nor a determination that the defendant’s absence was voluntary and deliberate.

“Criminal proceeding” means any proceeding that constitutes a part of a criminal action; or that occurs in a court of this State and is related to a prospective, pending, or completed criminal action; or that involves a criminal investigation. The term includes first appearances and probable cause proceedings under Rule 3.1, preliminary hearings under Rule 7.2, grand jury proceedings under Rule 5, warrant proceedings under Rules 6 and 44, expungement proceedings under Title Five, and post-conviction proceedings under Rule 30.

“Custody” means the actual restraint of a person’s liberty by a law enforcement officer, or the confinement of a person in a holding cell, jail, or penitentiary operated by or under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, which has the supervisory and protective care, custody, and control of inmates during post-arrest, pre-trial, and post-sentencing imprisonment as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 132.002.

“Default warrant” means the warrant for a defendant’s arrest issued upon the entry of a criminal default, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(i) permits and Rule 18.2(c) provides. A default warrant is a bench warrant and, like every warrant, exists in two parts as the definition of “arrest warrant” requires.

“Defendant” means the person designated as accused in an accusatory instrument, and, where the context so requires, a person who has been arrested and has not yet been charged.

“Detention” means custody maintained before the entry of a sentence, and includes detention for the execution of a search warrant under 6 R. Stat. § 131.015 and pre-trial detention under 6 R. Stat. § 131.203 and Rule 7.1.

“District Attorney” or “Attorney General” include assistant district attorneys or assistant attorneys general and other attorneys specially appointed to aid in the prosecution of a case.

“Felony” means an offense designated a felony by the Ridgeway Criminal Code, over which the Superior Court has original jurisdiction under 3 R. Stat. § 131.004(a), and upon which an arrest may be made without a warrant on the grounds stated in 6 R. Stat. § 131.006(b) and (c).

“Grand jury” means the body of seven persons impanelled and sitting under Rule 5 and 6 R. Stat. § 131.101.

“In-game incident” means an event occurring within the game environment of the State that gives rise to an arrest at a time when no accusatory instrument charging that offense is pending. A person arrested subsequent to an in-game incident shall appear before a court of law where an on-duty state judge is present in game, as required by 6 R. Stat. § 131.204 and Rule 3.1, and shall be booked and delivered to a Department of Corrections facility and held until the sentence of imprisonment expires, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.201.

“Indictment” means a written accusation by a grand jury, returned to a judge of the Superior Court in open court, which charges one or more defendants with the commission of one or more offenses and which serves as a basis for prosecution thereof.

“Indigent” means any defendant who is unable to procure counsel with his funds.

“Indigent but able to contribute” means any defendant who is unable to procure counsel with his funds but is able to contribute funds for the cost of counsel.

“Infraction” means a civil infraction, or a vehicular infraction under the Ridgeway Vehicle Code over which the Superior Court has original jurisdiction under 3 R. Stat. § 131.004(b). An infraction is not punishable by a sentence of imprisonment, and infractions are subject to removal upon petition as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.606.

“Information” or “criminal information” means a written accusation, subscribed and sworn as provided by Rule 3(6), authorized by a judicial officer upon a determination that probable cause exists, and filed with the Superior Court, which charges one or more defendants with the commission of one or more offenses and which serves both to commence a criminal proceeding and as a basis for prosecution thereof.

“Interested person” includes the adverse party, a co-defendant, and a witness who is to be deposed.

“Judge” includes a judge of a court, a judge properly assigned to a court, a visiting justice designated and assigned under 3 R. Stat. § 121.102, a magistrate judge, and a special magistrate when in the performance of those duties imposed and authorized by these rules.

“Law enforcement officer” or “peace officer” means any person employed by a law enforcement agency of the State and certified as a peace officer, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 111.016.

“Misdemeanor” means an offense designated a misdemeanor by the Ridgeway Criminal Code, over which the Superior Court has original jurisdiction under 3 R. Stat. § 131.004(a), and upon the charging of which process shall issue as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.004 and Rule 6(1)(a).

“No bill” means the determination of a grand jury not to present an indictment against an accused, endorsed and returned as provided by Rule 5(13).

“Offense” means conduct for which a sentence of imprisonment, a fine, or any other penalty is provided by statute, and includes a felony, a misdemeanor, and an infraction.

“Plea” means the defendant’s answer to an accusatory instrument, entered as provided by Rule 12, and, where appropriate, the occasion upon which such an answer is entered.

“Presence warning” means the notice and warning prescribed by 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(c) and Rule 18.1, without which no defendant may be tried in absentia by reason of a failure to appear.

“Proceeding communications” means the Discord channel or channels designated by the court for a particular criminal proceeding, in which the court sits, argument is heard, testimony is taken where the court so directs, and notice among the participants is given. The proceeding communications are not the electronic filing system; a communication made in the proceeding communications is not a filing, and a filing is not made by transmission to the proceeding communications.

“Prosecuting attorney” means the Attorney General or assistant attorneys general, district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, special assistant district attorneys, or other attorneys specially appointed to aid in the prosecution of a case.

“Prosecutor” means any state attorney, special counsel, or other authorized attorney permitted to prosecute criminal offenses before a court of law, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 111.019.

“Related offense” means one of two or more offenses which are based on the same criminal conduct or episode or arise out of a course of criminal conduct or series of criminal episodes connected together or constituting parts of a single scheme or plan.

“Return day” means the day upon which a defendant is ordered by summons to first appear or, if under arrest, does first appear before a court to answer to the charges against him, whichever is earlier.

“Sentence” means the imposition and entry of punishment upon a conviction, and includes a term of imprisonment measured by the sentencing timer, a fine, probation, community service, and a sentence of death where permitted by 6 R. Stat. § 131.402. No sentence shall exceed the maximum permitted in accordance with sentencing game mechanics, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.310.

“Sentencing timer” means the period of confinement applied in the game environment upon booking or upon the entry of a sentence, by reference to which the period of pre-trial detention is measured under 6 R. Stat. § 131.203.

“State judge” means any Supreme Court Justice, visiting justice, Superior Court Judge, or magistrate judge, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 111.018.

“States” includes the prosecuting office or agency and all officers or agents responsible thereto.

“Summons” means

criminal process issued to a person requiring him to appear at a stated time and place to answer to criminal charges; or

process issued to a person requiring him to appear at a stated time and place to give testimony in a criminal proceeding; or

process issued to a person requiring him to appear and produce at a stated time and place books, designated papers, documents, or other objects for use in a criminal proceeding.

“Superior Court” means the Superior Court of the State of Ridgeway, or a session thereof for holding court.

“Trial in absentia” means a trial, or a stage of a trial, conducted in the defendant’s absence upon an express waiver of presence under Rule 18(c) or upon an absentia authorization entered under Rule 18.3. The removal of a disruptive defendant under Rule 45 and the temporary absence of a defendant who is thereafter produced are not trials in absentia.

“Username” means the account name by which a person is identified within the game environment of the State and within the electronic filing system. A defendant, witness, juror, attorney, or other participant shall be named by username in every accusatory instrument, warrant, summons, order, and paper filed in a criminal proceeding. Where a username is unknown, the person may be identified by any name or description by which the person can be identified with reasonable certainty.

“Verdict” means the announcement by the court in a trial without a jury, or by the jury in a trial upon a charge of treason, of its decision upon the defendant’s guilt of the charges submitted to or considered by it.

“Victim” means a person against whom an offense is alleged to have been committed, and includes a person who reports criminal activity to the Justice Department or to the crime report hotline of an authorized investigative agency, who is entitled to the contact, notice, and adjudication provided by 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.701–131.709.

“Warrants system” means the in-game system in which arrest warrants, search warrants, and bench warrants are entered and maintained, and in which the entries prescribed by Rules 6(1)(c) and 44(1)(b) are posted.