RULES OF COURT

(ANZUS GAMING)

Article I: General Provisions

§ 1. Designation of Representation in the Supreme Court. Any party before the Court may be represented by another individual who appears to be in good standing before the Court, is a member of the State Bar Association, and was called to the Bar of the Supreme Court.

(a) Designation by Party. Any party may designate any willing person of their choosing to represent them during any and all proceedings before the Court, provided that said representative is of good legal standing before the Court and was called to the Bar of the Court. A party must designate their legal representative by commenting on the case thread. The designated representative must confirm representation in that same thread. It is the responsibility of the parties to ensure that a designated individual is willing to represent them.

(b). Designation of Representation by the Court. In the event a party chooses not to defend against a lawsuit, the Court may, at its discretion, find legal representation for the undefended position so as to ensure that the Court receives full briefing on the question(s) presented.

§ 2. Designation of Representation in the District Court. Any party before the Court may be represented by another individual who appears to be in good standing before the Court and is a member of the State Bar Association.

§ 3. Participation of Non-Parties. With the exception of briefs amici curiae, no non-party or representative will be allowed to comment on a case except as otherwise permitted by the Court. Violating comments will be struck from the record - and sanctions may be imposed for repeat offenders or those who disrespect the legal process or this Court.

§ 4. Imposition of Sanctions. The Court may, sua sponte, order any individual to show cause as to why sanctions should not be imposed where such individual has knowingly broken the Rules of this Court, to be decided and punished as the Court finds reasonable. The Court may also issue sanctions pursuant to its grant of a motion for sanctions. Furthermore, the Court may, for good cause, bar an individual from filing any papers, including any petition or brief, with the Court.

§ 5. Clarification of Rules. The Court may, upon request from a party or sua sponte, provide clarification of the Rules.

§ 6. Prohibition of Editing. No submissions to the Court, at any stage of the process, may be edited subsequent to submission to the Court without written leave of the Court to do so- and will result in appropriate action if such an event occurs.

§ 7. Names of Parties. In civil proceedings, the individual petitioning the Court shall be known as the "Petitioner(s)"; the opposing party or parties will be known as the “Respondent(s).” In criminal proceedings, the parties will be referred to as the “prosecution” and “defendant(s).”

Article II: Jurisdiction

§ 1. General Jurisdiction. This Court shall be one of general jurisdiction. This Court shall have jurisdiction to hear cases arising under the Laws and Constitution of the State, and the Laws, Treaties, and Constitution of the United States. Actions arising from the laws of another state shall not be brought before this Court.

§ 2. Criminal Jurisdiction. The Superior Court shall have original jurisdiction over any crime committed within the State. The procedure of criminal matters shall be governed by the Rules of Criminal Procedure, with the following exceptions:

(a). This Court has jurisdiction over criminal violations of State law.

(b). The State Attorney General, an acting office-holder, a Special Prosecutor, or the Governor, may file a criminal complaint.

(c). A Federal Special Prosecutor (appointed by SMT) or the Attorney General (strictly SMT) may file charges in this Court if the matter relates to crimes committed in this State under State law.

(d). The defendant has the right to a bench trial, but due to the constraints of a simulated roleplay court, has no right to a trial by jury.

§ 3. Civil Jurisdiction. The Court has jurisdiction over civil matters (non-criminal wrongdoings) involving at least 1 resident of the State or involving events the substantial part of which took place in the State.

Article III: Civil Motions

A party may bring any of the following motions before the Court:

§ 1. Motion to Strike. At any time, a party may file a motion to strike. This is a motion that strikes filings, or parts thereof, or any statement to the court, or any part thereof, where the moving party can demonstrate that the content being objected to contains a misrepresentation of material fact, or is in violation of the Rules of Court or the Rules of Evidence, and that failure to strike the offending content will unduly prejudice the moving party.

§ 2. Motion to Amend the Pleadings.

(a). As of Right. A petitioner may amend his or her Petition as of right at any time prior to the filing of an opposition or of a ruling by the Court on the Petition. Such amendment may be accomplished through the publication of a comment indicating the portions to be added or removed. Amendment may not be accomplished through direct editing of the Petition.

(b). By Leave of Court. Upon the Court’s ruling on a thread, a petitioner may amend his or her Petition by leave of court upon a motion showing good cause and that allowing amendment will not unduly prejudice the opposing party.

§ 3. Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. The Court may, in its discretion, upon an unopposed motion by a party made at any time prior to the filing of an opening merits brief, issue a ruling solely based upon the submissions to the court relating to the petition for a writ of certiorari, with no oral argument.

§ 4. Motion for Sanctions. At any time, a party may move that the Court issue sanctions against any other person or party before the Court for knowing and egregiously violating the Rules, for bringing a frivolous action in bad faith, or for a violation of the rules of professional conduct.

§ 5. Motion to Intervene. At any time, a non-party seeking to participate in an action may file a motion to intervene in the relevant case thread showing that their interests are implicated by the case at hand and are not sufficiently represented by either party (e.g., where the state declines to defend a challenged statute). The motion may be granted or denied by the Court at its discretion.

Article IV: Petitions for Certiorari

§ 1. Filing of Petition before the Supreme Court. Subject to article one, section one of these Rules, a filing for a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court must be done by a person who appears to be in good standing before the Court, and is a member of the State Bar Association and was called to the Bar of the Supreme Court.

§ 2. Requirements and Limitations on Petition. The Petition may not exceed two-thousand (2,000) words, unless the party has requested, and received from the Court, an exception for a good cause. To be considered on its legal merits, a petition must:

(a). Provide a claim for which valid relief may be given.

(b). State the name of the opposing party or parties (if a civil or criminal suit)

(c). Be titled—"In re: [Law/Executive Order/Department Order/Other Action being challenged]" (if a suit against a member of the Government of Alaska) or “Petitioner v. Respondent” (if the suit is on appeal from the Superior Court of Alaska or if the suit falls within the purview of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction).

(d). Identify one or more questions presented to the Court.

(e). Identify the reason(s) for which each question presented should be granted certiorari.

(f). A concise statement setting out the jurisdiction of the Court.

(g). A concise statement setting out the facts material to the consideration of the questions presented to the Court.

(h). A direct and concise argument as to why a petition should be granted, or why judgement in favour of either party should be entered, including any material the petitioner believes essential in understanding the petition.

(i). Not be edited at any time after submission.

Failure to satisfy any of these requirements may result in summary rejection of the petition.

§ 3. Opposition to the Petition. The Respondent(s) may file a brief in opposition to the petition for certiorari at any time prior to the Court’s announcement of grant or denial of certiorari. The opposing brief may not exceed 2,000 words and will have one week from the granting of certiorari to do so.

§ 4. Factors Considered in Grant or Denial of Petitions. The grant or denial of a petition for a writ of certiorari is entirely a matter of the Court’s discretion. However, factors the Court will consider in determining whether to grant certiorari include, but are not limited to:

(1). whether this Court lacks jurisdiction to decide the questions presented;

(2). whether the same legal issue has been previously litigated before this Court or the United States Supreme Court; and

(3). whether public policy favors acceptance of the Petition. Even if all factors weigh against the grant of certiorari, the Court may nonetheless choose to grant certiorari.

§ 5. Ruling on the Petition. The Court shall rule on acceptance of a petition approximately 48 hours after notifying the parties that the petition has been received. The Court may choose to reject the petition, accept the entirety of the petition, or to accept only certain of the questions presented in the petition. The Court may also certify questions for certiorari not presented in the petition. A certiorari for a petition, or question, will be granted if at least one Justice votes to hear the case. The Court may, at its discretion, set forth its rationale in granting or denying a given Petition.

Article V: Merits Briefing

§ 1. Opening Brief. Upon notice of approval of the Petition by the Court, the Petitioner will have five (5) days within which to file an opening brief, which shall set forth the reasons this Court should grant the relief requested by Petitioner as to the questions for which certiorari has been granted. The opening brief may not exceed four thousand (4,000) words, including footnotes. The Court may, at its discretion or at the request of a party, grant an extension.

§ 2. Answering Brief. Respondent(s) shall have five (5) days within which to file an answering brief, which shall set forth the reasons this Court should deny the relief requested by Petitioner. The answering brief may not exceed four-thousand (4,000) words unless the Respondent failed to file a brief in opposition to the petitioner for certiorari, in which case the answering brief may not exceed six-thousand words (6,000). Failure to submit an answering brief will result in a default judgement for the Petitioner. The Court may, at its discretion or at the request of a party, grant an extension.

§ 3. Reply Brief. The Petitioner may, but is not required to, file a brief replying to the arguments set forth in the Respondent’s answering brief. The reply brief may not exceed two thousand (2,000) words and shall be submitted within five (5) days of the filing of the answering brief. Failure to submit a brief will not result in penalties from the Court. The Court may, at its discretion or at the request of a party, grant an extension.

§ 4. Surreply Brief. The Respondent(s) may request leave from the Court to file a surreply brief. Such a request shall present good cause to the Court as to why such a brief is necessary. If the Court accepts leave, it shall specify in the order the maximum length of the supplemental briefs and the timing for filing.

§ 5. Supplemental Briefing. At any time, the Court may, at its discretion, ask additional questions or request an additional briefing. If the Court orders additional briefing, it shall specify in the order the maximum length of the supplemental briefs and the timing for filing.

§ 6. Extensions of Time. Reasonable extensions of any of the deadlines above may be approved at the sole discretion of the Court for good cause.

Article VI: Injunctions

§ 1. Application for Injunction. An application for injunction shall be considered only when there is a matter pending or having been submitted before the Court.

§ 2. Title of Application. Applications must be titled “Emergency Application for Prelim. Inj. In [Name of Case]”.

§ 3. Content of Application. The full argument for why an injunction should be granted or stayed must be within the body of the post. Such arguments should demonstrate:

(a). the party’s substantial likelihood of success on the merits;

(b). the party’s immediate and substantial threat of irreparable damage or injury absent injunction;

(c). that fairness and justice support granting the injunction; and

(d). that no other adequate remedy is available.

§ 4. Timing of Ruling. A properly submitted application shall be processed and decided within three days of submission. Any grant of injunction or stay thereof shall remain in effect until the final disposition of the related case.

Article VII: Briefs Amici Curiae

§ 1. Who May File an Amicus Brief. Any party with an interest not already represented in the proceeding may file a brief amicus curiae to the Court at any stage of briefing.

§ 2. No Standing is Required. No residency requirement or other bar shall exist to participate in the filing of briefs amici curiae. Any person in good legal standing is allowed to write an amicus brief, as long as the law does not prevent them from doing so.

§ 3. Content of an Amicus Brief. An amicus brief should identify:

(a). the party on whose behalf the brief is filed;

(b). the attorney authoring and filing the brief;

(c). the party the amicus is filing in support of, if any;

(d). the interests of the represented party in the pending action;

(e). the number of words in the brief; and

(f). the relevant legal arguments.

§ 4. Length of Amicus Briefs. An amicus brief may not exceed five-thousand (5,000) words without leave of court or consent of both parties.

Article VIII: Form of Papers

§ 1. Citation of Rules. These rules may be cited as State Rules of Court, followed by the article and section. It may also be abbreviated as AS-ROC, followed by the article and section. For instance, this entry will be cited as State Rules of Court Pt. VIII § 1, or AS-ROC Pt. VIII § 1.

§ 2. Citation of Authorities. All arguments of law must cite the relevant authorities using the proper number, title, and year of the law or decision. The bluebook citation format is encouraged but not required by the Court. Citations may include the relevant links and are appreciated.

§ 3. Manner of Filing. Parties may file their submissions to the Court either by:

(a) As a link to a Google Document indicating the title and nature of the filing and the party on whose behalf it is submitted; or

(b) As a comment or principal post (creation of thread), posting the entirety of the submission therein.

§ 4. Identification of Papers. All submissions to the Court shall identify the following:

(a). the title of the filing;

(b). the author of the filing;

(c). the case in which the filing is submitted; and

(d). the party on whose behalf the filing is submitted.

Article IX: Decisions of the Court

§ 1. Timing of Decisions. Final decisions on pending cases will be released no later than 14 days following either the brief submission deadline or the close of arguments, where applicable.

§ 2. Extensions. The Court may, for good cause, extend the deadline for the issuance of a final decision for up to 14 days.

§ 3. Limitations of the Court. The Court is limited to the constraints of a simulated roleplay court and may defer authorities which complicate or detriment the roleplay process.