Justiciar

Justiciar is a title bestowed unto civil servants and nobles charged with dispensing justice.

The King’s Justiciars are justiciars in service to the current Master of Laws, Lord Perceon Karstark. Numbering in the hundreds, they scour the realm in an effort to carry out the King's justice, focusing mainly on commonfolk and individuals living in remote areas, albeit not exclusively. By following their founder’s guidelines, they have earned a fair but ruthless reputation.

Appearance
The King's justiciars have discretion over their own appearances save for the official emblem they are obligated to wear on their sleeves, on their chests, or around their necks.

Because justiciars range from lords to commoners, they have no discernable attire.

Duties
The King’s justiciars are tasked with investigating significant crimes, apprehending fugitives, determining sentences, and carrying out those sentences in the King’s name. They are granted jurisdiction over investigations across the realm save when they involve the nobility.

Meant to operate exclusively within the Seven Kingdoms, the King’s justiciars have been known to pursue and eliminate Westerosi criminals in Essos.

Code of Conduct
The justiciar’s code of conduct, as determined by Lord Rodrik Connington, is as follows:
 * When asked, justiciars must identify themselves.
 * All reliable witnesses to a crime being investigated must be interrogated before sentencing.
 * Witness testimony must never be the primary source of evidence used in sentencing.
 * If witness testimony is the primary source of evidence, imprisonment is the only justifiable punishment until either more evidence or a confession can be gathered.
 * In the pursuit of fairness, commuting sentences is strictly prohibited.
 * Only first-time offenders may be given the chance to take the Black.
 * Repeat offenders must suffer the full, legally mandated consequences of their actions.
 * Investigations involving members of the nobility must be cleared by the master of laws or the Crown.
 * If two or more justiciars take on the same investigation, they must achieve consensus before carrying out a sentence.
 * If consensus cannot be achieved, an appeal must be made to the King’s Justice, who will review the case.
 * After an investigation is closed, a report must be delivered to the master of laws.
 * A report must detail the crime committed, the sentence given, and the names of the accused, accusers, and victims.
 * In the apprehension or elimination of fugitives, justiciars bear full discretion.
 * Fugitives are not entitled to the opportunity to surrender.

Privileges and Responsibilities
Because the King’s justiciars are agents of the Crown, they are expected to be given room and board without precondition. While lords are not obligated to offer justiciars the guest right, a failure to do so should be reported to the master of laws.

King’s justiciars can take over most investigations in the King’s name, though they are expected to exercise caution when dealing with the agents of other nobles. Justiciars cannot overrule a sentence already passed by a lord.

Justiciars may request arms, equipment, and reinforcements if needed. Reinforcements range from gold cloaks to Connington soldiers.

Being enforcers of the King’s justice, justiciars must hold themselves to the highest of moral standards. Committing crimes or engaging in corruption will be met by the most severe forms of execution.

Organization
Because the King’s justiciars wield the King’s perogative when dispensing crime, the group has no official headquarters. Their unnofficial headquarters is the Traitor’s Walk, which houses the dungeons of the Red Keep and the offices of the King’s justice and master of laws.

All justiciars are peers, holding no authority over one another. Their senior is the King’s Justice, and their direct superior is the master of laws. All justiciars answer to the Crown.

Notable Members

 * Lord Aemon Dayne
 * Katerina Hunter