|
"What is the practical difference between a vigilante and a Constable?"
Fine line between the two, mostly established by the Constable doin' what he or she does in full public view and in the moment. Also, most are reluctant to be the Constable cuz such a thing stinks of 'not minding one's own business'. The public nature of the intervention, the general distaste most have for the duty, and the natural Golgothan desire to avoid debt makes the Constable (of the moment) step lightly and, as possible, fairly.
#
"Is a Constable under any enforceable guidelines when picking a punishment?"
Only cultural.
#
"Or when assigning a value for compensation?"
Equal value is equal value: Joe steals Stan's vac suit. Vac suits are valued at, say 500 erg-creds. joe needs to pony up the original vac suit or the 500 creds. If he can do neither, other options (touched on above) are available.
#
"Is the Constable expected to do actual police or detective work if they don't catch someone red-handed, or can they make rulings based on their gut feelings? Or is it considered not to be a crime at all if you aren't caught red-handed?"
If Stan invokes the Constable, the unlucky guy or gal must make a good faith effort, sumthin' that's largely a matter of trust. A Spacer's life, bein' what it is, Golgothans tend to make good investigators (methodical, fact-driven, problem-solvers).
Let's take murder: Louis is found dead, a six-inch hole bored clear through his head, obviously the work of a miner's charge suppresser (a mining tool...nullifies the electron's charge causing matter to disassociate...works slows, so such a tool used as a murder weapon means the killer literally had to work the tool through Louis's face, skull, brain, and skull over the course of several minutes, all the while Louis is in agony...not a passion killing, but a cold-blooded torture session). Such an event puts Golgothans on high alert. Any number of folks will investigate out of self-preservation if nuthin' else.
That particular crine remains unsolved, by the way.
#
"What is the practical difference between arrest and detention?"
Arrest is haulin' someone away to a holdin' cell; detention is a body being kept in place while all involved parties do what they need to do (includin' drafting an Arbiter).
Bear in mind: there is no 'trial set for three months down the road'. The whole of Golgothan Justice happens 'here and now'.
#
"If two parties can't agree on an Arbiter, does it devolve to who has the stronger posse?"
Kinda, but no posses. Any one stupid enough to try to drag another Golgothan into such a final solution is pretty much dead where he or she stands.
Understand: Golgothans are unforgving. They're also practical. Just makes sense to get Law violations out of the way quickly. Culturally, heel-draggers are monkeyin' around with people's lives in a way that's damned close to 'not keepin' their hands to themselves' coupled with 'forcin' others to mind your business'.
|