The Legal System
Don't screw up or you'll get dead.
If it's a law now in San Francisco, it's a law in epicentric, just with some additions for our preternatural citizens. All citizens are subject to standard human law, the human laws that pertain to them specifically, and the laws of their own groups. Child molestation, car theft, and blackmail will still all be punished, so bear in mind that IC Actions = IC Consequences.
An unfortunate fact (for some supes) is that human law only protects humans from attacks by preternatural beings. Human law doesn't protect preternaturals from each other. If it's a violent crime between a werewolf and a vampire with no human collateral damage, human law doesn't give a damn.
When it comes to supe on human crimes, just about any murder committed by a non-human against a human will be fast-tracked for the death penalty by the human legal system. If they come to human justice, of course.
A vampire does not have to kill a human to receive a death sentence. All it requires is for them to receive three legitimate complaints of misusing their power to influence a human to permit feeding and a judge can issue a death warrant.
Less than ten years ago Addison v. Clark gave the U.S. a revised version of the definition of life, paving the way for vampires to be legally recognized as alive and citizens. The United States is one of the few countries to recognize vampires as citizens.
Among other things this means that a vampire victim who dies must be allowed to rise and asked whether their demise was voluntary. There are exceptions when a person leaves a will that requests that they be staked rather than allowed to rise as the undead.
The dead, however, have no rights, which means that a raised zombie has no rights, regardless of what is done with it.
It is, however, illegal to "tamper" with a dead body for the purpose of raising it or performing magic without the family's permission.
Health codes prohibit having the dead around food, therefore zombies are not allowed to work in restaurant kitchens, although many restaurants violate that code for the cheapest of cheap labor.
Vampires may not vote.
Animating zombies is a regulated, licensed business. Because an animated zombie is incapable of lying, testimony from a zombie is admissible in court, though court proceedings are usually moved to the cemetery for the night of the animation.
A practitioner who uses magic to kill will receive an automatic death sentence if convicted, execution carried out within 48 hours of sentencing. Their trials are also fast-tracked with a slow trial and execution taking three months. With the assistance of wizards or other practitioners, they may be contained, but no one trusts that a determined witch or wizard won't find a way to escape and wreak still more havoc.
Methods of execution are the same for practitioners as for normal humans, but anyone condemned for a crime involving magic is immediately cremated and the ashes sprinkled over running water. There are some parts of Europe where witches are still burned at the stake.
Preternatural investigations are handled by the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team (RPIT, pronounced "rip it") also known as "the spook squad." RPIT is a dumping ground for misfit cops and officers who have pissed off their superiors.
It is illegal to pose as a genuine psychic and make money off of shystering. In a world with real psychics, it's not that difficult to determine who's real and who's a fake if the real deal takes interest.
The law actually states that it's illegal to use vampire tricks, telepathy, or witchcraft to elicit information without permission. This means that a loophole allows fae or other preternatural beings to use other powers to the same effect.
If it's a law now in San Francisco, it's a law in epicentric, just with some additions for our preternatural citizens. All citizens are subject to standard human law, the human laws that pertain to them specifically, and the laws of their own groups. Child molestation, car theft, and blackmail will still all be punished, so bear in mind that IC Actions = IC Consequences.
An unfortunate fact (for some supes) is that human law only protects humans from attacks by preternatural beings. Human law doesn't protect preternaturals from each other. If it's a violent crime between a werewolf and a vampire with no human collateral damage, human law doesn't give a damn.
When it comes to supe on human crimes, just about any murder committed by a non-human against a human will be fast-tracked for the death penalty by the human legal system. If they come to human justice, of course.
A vampire does not have to kill a human to receive a death sentence. All it requires is for them to receive three legitimate complaints of misusing their power to influence a human to permit feeding and a judge can issue a death warrant.
Less than ten years ago Addison v. Clark gave the U.S. a revised version of the definition of life, paving the way for vampires to be legally recognized as alive and citizens. The United States is one of the few countries to recognize vampires as citizens.
Among other things this means that a vampire victim who dies must be allowed to rise and asked whether their demise was voluntary. There are exceptions when a person leaves a will that requests that they be staked rather than allowed to rise as the undead.
The dead, however, have no rights, which means that a raised zombie has no rights, regardless of what is done with it.
It is, however, illegal to "tamper" with a dead body for the purpose of raising it or performing magic without the family's permission.
Health codes prohibit having the dead around food, therefore zombies are not allowed to work in restaurant kitchens, although many restaurants violate that code for the cheapest of cheap labor.
Vampires may not vote.
Animating zombies is a regulated, licensed business. Because an animated zombie is incapable of lying, testimony from a zombie is admissible in court, though court proceedings are usually moved to the cemetery for the night of the animation.
A practitioner who uses magic to kill will receive an automatic death sentence if convicted, execution carried out within 48 hours of sentencing. Their trials are also fast-tracked with a slow trial and execution taking three months. With the assistance of wizards or other practitioners, they may be contained, but no one trusts that a determined witch or wizard won't find a way to escape and wreak still more havoc.
Methods of execution are the same for practitioners as for normal humans, but anyone condemned for a crime involving magic is immediately cremated and the ashes sprinkled over running water. There are some parts of Europe where witches are still burned at the stake.
Preternatural investigations are handled by the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team (RPIT, pronounced "rip it") also known as "the spook squad." RPIT is a dumping ground for misfit cops and officers who have pissed off their superiors.
It is illegal to pose as a genuine psychic and make money off of shystering. In a world with real psychics, it's not that difficult to determine who's real and who's a fake if the real deal takes interest.
The law actually states that it's illegal to use vampire tricks, telepathy, or witchcraft to elicit information without permission. This means that a loophole allows fae or other preternatural beings to use other powers to the same effect.