What are Court Cases?
A court case (hearing) is how charges get decided when your server doesn't apply them automatically. Judges review cases on the Law panel and decide the outcome.
There are two types:
| Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Bond hearing | Decide whether a held civilian can pay bond to leave jail before their trial |
| Trial | Decide whether the civilian is guilty of the charges |
When Cases Are Created
- A police or law record with charges is filed. Charges that hold for bond create a bond hearing. Criminal or determinable charges, or a Summons record, create a trial.
- A civilian contests a ticket or requests prosecution from their Court Hub.
- A licence reaches its maximum points and its template is set to File Court Hearing.
If Auto Prosecution is on in Law settings, no cases are created. Charges apply as soon as the record is filed.
Record templates can change this too. Don't Prosecute Charges creates warnings with no penalties, Don't Hold or Bond skips bond and Summons sends non-criminal charges to court.
Review a Case
Trials are listed in the Pending Hearings card. Bond hearings are in the Bonds card. Click Open Case to review one.
The record is shown on the left. On the right you'll see:
- Bond hearings: a Bond Amount field. A bond of 0 releases the civilian without paying.
- Trials: the charges, which you can add to, disable or reset before deciding.
- A Charges Summary with the total fine, jail time, surcharges, licence points and suspension.
Fines and jail go to the civilian on the record whose name and date of birth match. Points and suspensions go to the licence with the matching number.
Deciding a Case
Every decision asks you to confirm and shows the penalties involved.
| Decision | What happens |
|---|---|
| Convict | Applies all enabled charges. The fine goes to the civilian's unpaid fines, jail time is added to any time they're already serving and points or suspensions go to their licence. |
| Acquit | Clears the case. Any bond paid is refunded and holds are lifted. |
| Set bond | Turns the case into a trial. The civilian stays locked until they post bond. |
| Deny bond | Turns the case into a trial. The civilian is held until it's decided. |
Convict and Acquit close the record. If you need to fix a closed record later, use Edit conviction. This only changes the record, so adjust fines, jail and licences separately on the Law panel.
Max-Points Licence Cases
Cases opened because a licence hit its maximum points show licence controls instead of charges. Add points, end a suspension or suspend the licence, then click Save licence changes. Convict or Acquit then closes the case without changing the licence further.
Need help?
Still have questions? Join our Discord server for support from the Melonly Team.