⚖️ Department of Justice (DOJ)
The DOJ is what stops an arrest being the end of the story. Judges, prosecutors and defence attorneys run the court side of every case police bring in, and a good trial is one of the few things on the server that pulls a dozen unrelated players into the same room.
This is not a job you take for the money. The whole ladder tops out below a mid-rank police officer.
Applying
Fill in the Lawyer & Department of Justice Application on the Applications page. You will be told in Discord whether you are accepted or denied.
Ranks and pay
DOJ is on duty by default, so unlike police and medical you are being paid from the moment you log in. Paychecks land in your bank every 15 minutes.
| Grade | Rank | Paycheck |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Intern | $2,500 |
| 1 | Defense Attorney | $3,000 |
| 2 | Prosecutor | $3,500 |
| 3 | Senior Attorney | $4,000 |
| 4 | Senior Prosecutor | $4,500 |
| 5 | Chief Defender | $5,000 |
| 6 | District Attorney | $5,500 |
| 7 | Judge | $6,000 |
Judge holds the boss menu, which is at the courthouse.
There is also a separate Private Attorney job on $4,000, for lawyers working outside the department.
Getting paid for a case
Citizens reach you by calling or messaging Lawyer in the Services app on their phone. If you want work, being reachable is most of it.
What each side does
Judge. Presides. Rules on objections, sets bail, hears warrant applications and appeals, and hands down sentences within the Penal Code. Impartiality is the whole job, so keep personal relationships out of your rulings.
Prosecutor / District Attorney. Takes cases from police, decides what to charge, negotiates pleas and argues for conviction. Working closely with the detectives is most of the job, and dropping a weak case is a legitimate outcome rather than a loss.
Defence Attorney. Represents the accused, whether or not they did it. Challenge the search, challenge the interview, challenge the evidence, and argue for the lightest sentence you can get. Your client deserves a real defence even when everyone in the room knows how it ends.
Courtroom basics
Address the judge as "Your Honor", stand when they enter, ask permission before approaching the bench, and object rather than talking over people. Objections that come up constantly: hearsay, relevance, leading, speculation, asked and answered, badgering.
Keep proceedings moving. A trial that drags for three hours loses the room, and a case split across two shorter sessions almost always plays better than one long one.