Reeves

The Reeves serve as the kingdom's law enforcement agency. They have the authority to make arrests, to conduct trials, and to sentence criminals.

History
The Reeves have served since the early days of the kingdom in keeping peace in the cities. Originally, they were in the personal employ of the King, though later they became an independent municipal organization. They've continued to serve the Crown since then, with but a few interruptions. They were briefly dissolved during the Consolidation, though they were later re-formed. Some hundred years later, they were incorporated into the Knights Lithmorran, who took on the Reeves' normal duties of keeping the peace. However, the organization was later once again made separate from the Knights, who came to focus on the fight against magery while the Reeves looked instead to more mundane crime.

Even though they're now separate, however, the Reeves and the Knights in theory cooperate with one another on a daily basis, with the Knights giving a hand when the Guard lacks for manpower and the Reeves sharing information they might have collected. In practice, however, this partnership is not so straightforward, as the organizations often clash over where one's authority begins and the other's ends, particularly when mages are involved.

Structure and duties
The Reeves report to the Justiciar, a Great Lord selected by the Crown to keep the peace in urban areas. Every major city also has a commissioner, who oversees and directs the operations of the courts, the Guards, and other services. Each city is split into districts; each district is overseen by a marshal, who issues warrants and directs the Guards in their patrols. In turn, the Guards, who constitute the majority of the Reeves, keep order in the city as per their marshal's command.

Likewise reporting to the commissioner are judges who were appointed by the Justiciar and who decide the innocence or guilt of those brought before them; they suggest punishments for the guilty, which the commissioner will approve or deny.

The Reeves are also responsible for taking the census every decade.

Criminal justice in the kingdom
All trials in Lithmore are trials by evidence; the barbaric practices of trial by combat and ordeal were done away with long ago. However, evidence law is rather flexible. Most criminals are convicted based on their confessions alone - not a coincidence, since torture is standard procedure in interrogations. When the criminal refuses to confess, testimony alone is generally enough to secure a conviction. Capital punishment is a common punishment in violent crime; jail time is less common, but far from unheard-of, particularly when the criminal is noble. Corporal punishment is more common in crimes such as thievery, gossip, and indecency. Crimes such as adultery and fornication are dealt with differently in different places; in Lithmore, for example, corporal punishment is the least punishment an adulterer can face.

All cases involving magic are automatically turned over to the Knights and the Order. Nevertheless, in recent times, certain factions within the Reeves have begun to chafe against the Kights and their authority in a great number of cases; as such, it's not unheard of for a Reeve to simply ignore the involvement of magic so that they can see a case from beginning to end.

Ranks

 * Justiciar - The monarch's representative heading the Reeves. Rarely involved in daily operations.
 * Commissioner - Serves to direct the Reeves in their duties. All criminal punishments must be approved by a commissioner. Every city has a Commissioner.
 * Marshal - Reports to the Commissioner. Issues warrants and directs guardsmen in their duties. Every district has a marshal overseeing it.
 * Judge - Oversees trials, passes judgments, mediates civil disputes. Judges are nominated by the Commissioner and approved by the Justiciar.
 * Clerk - Keeps legal, criminal, and municipal records.
 * Guard - Patrols the streets; makes arrests; responds to disturbances.