Legal System.

[Silverstein]

I'm curious to how law would have to be reformed in the event of mutants or supers ever rising up and becoming some kind of common thing.

We all know the kind of crimes supers could commit but what about the excuses? I mean even normal humans could use some of these:

-I was under mind control (You could blame a notorious telekinetic villain, a villain with mind control technology, etc...And because they're a highly powerful villain, everyone would already know of their abilities.)
- I lost control of my powers.
-I was possessed.
-I didn't steal it, I just found it back at my house/apartment and kept it.
-I was framed by a mutant who can copy finger prints(Can't Mystique do that?).
- It wasn't me but a mutant who can mimic apperances (another crime you could blame on mystique or someone like her)
- I killed him/her in self defense, I thought they were going to attack me with mutant/super powers.


Also, technically aren't there more villains than heroes (at least in Marvel anyway)? Cause for every one hero, they have a rogue's gallery of at LEAST 12 villains. So there would constantly need to be larger prisons.

And who would pay for villain damages? Tax payers couldn't afford it. Tax would be like 2 dollars for every dollar spent. The government would have to make all heroes show their faces. So that if they cause property damage, then they would be billed.

Police would also begin to fire first and ask questions later.


What do you think?

 

[XwolverineX]

Well, I doubt sayin' " I lost control of my powers" or somethin' like that could just get any hero out free of charge. Th' rest applies just as it would in a human case. Th' judge here's what ya got to say and then he makes a decsion based upon yer evidence.

 

[Zoken]

actually in most criminal cases, its a jury that decides, the judge's only real role is to act as a moderator.

 

[fifthfiend]

Re. "mind control": Presumably in such a world the court would employ licensed professionals, such as telepaths, super-scientists, or sorcerers Supreme, capable of conducting mental examinations for evidence of such control.

The shape-shifter defense would probably be dismissed out of hand in most courts of law barring some sort of evidence.

"I lost control of my powers" would realistically speaking have to be dealt with using some measure of fluidity, as control could probably not be expected in the case of recently-activated mutations, but for mature mutants some variant of the general standards applied to gun owners or drunk drivers, namely that it is generally considered your responsibility to maintain control or to avoid situations in which your lack of control will become an issue.

 

[Silverstein]

I wonder if the government would try to treat super powers as a way to make money. Like what if you have to pay a fine for using your powers. They could have some kind of satelite placed in orbit to monitor radiation and energy readings, and have various stations across the country. And if you used something like an optic blast, they could trace it to you and would charge you.

Just like how they'd charge you for drunk driving like fifthfiend said.


Or maybe the courts would rule that mutants and supers have God given gifts, therefore they'd be free to use. But then there'd be a lot of racism against supers. We'd see a repat of what happened when those black kids tried to go to school in little rock (or wherever it was), and JFK had to have the army come down and guide them into class.

What if the jury rules that mutants and supers should be in different schools, maybe Xavier styled schools to help them learn to control and evaluate their powers?


And technically wouldn't supers face the possibility of being taken by the government? Because a super doesn't neccessarily have God given gifts. A super could have powers that were either caused by accident or by some kind of scientific manipulation. So the government could deem them to be studied with some kind of excuse like "we need to make sure you're not a hazard to others or to yourself". So they'd be force to work for the government like with Ultimate SHIELD.

And wouldn't someone like Reed Richards' inventions be confiscated by the government as well?

 

[XwolverineX]

actually in most criminal cases, its a jury that decides, the judge's only real role is to act as a moderator.

Yer talkin' to a guy th' spends his life on forums, playin' Video games and watchin' T.V. Don't expect much from me..

 

[Nasty-B]

I imagine that superpowered battery would bring about the same criminal liability as it would if committed with a deadly weapon. A superhero using his or her power in aid of a third-person or in self-defense would more than likely be exculpated, unless they are being reckless or negligent.

 

[Furthermore]

This thread is why Powers is so good.

 

[ang_hulk]

they made laws for super human related crimes.read she-hulk,its a great comic.

 

[fifthfiend]

This thread is why Powers is so good.

Also, She-Hulk.

Powers has those Power-Neutralizer things, which always kinda struck me as a cop-out. I mean if you wanna talk about law in the land of the Super, your biggest concern's gonna have to be enforcement.

 

[Elijya]

Another vote that you should read Powers and She-Hulk

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Powers didn't thrill me.

 

[Caliber]

I'm curious to how law would have to be reformed in the event of mutants or supers ever rising up and becoming some kind of common thing.

We all know the kind of crimes supers could commit but what about the excuses? I mean even normal humans could use some of these:

-I was under mind control (You could blame a notorious telekinetic villain, a villain with mind control technology, etc...And because they're a highly powerful villain, everyone would already know of their abilities.)
- I lost control of my powers.
-I was possessed.
-I didn't steal it, I just found it back at my house/apartment and kept it.
-I was framed by a mutant who can copy finger prints(Can't Mystique do that?).
- It wasn't me but a mutant who can mimic apperances (another crime you could blame on mystique or someone like her)
- I killed him/her in self defense, I thought they were going to attack me with mutant/super powers.


Also, technically aren't there more villains than heroes (at least in Marvel anyway)? Cause for every one hero, they have a rogue's gallery of at LEAST 12 villains. So there would constantly need to be larger prisons.

And who would pay for villain damages? Tax payers couldn't afford it. Tax would be like 2 dollars for every dollar spent. The government would have to make all heroes show their faces. So that if they cause property damage, then they would be billed.

Police would also begin to fire first and ask questions later.


What do you think?

Read Watchmen if you want something that shows how laws would treat heroes.

 

[javon]

never knew

 

[ang_hulk]

Read Watchmen if you want something that shows how laws would treat heroes.

but dont waste your cash on it,borrow it.

 

[Silverstein]

I already bought it months ago. I got half way, and wanted to read more but never got around to it. I guess I didn't care that much about those characters.

 

[Elijya]

watchman is very dense. It's not meant to be strictly entertaining

 

[Silverstein]

Another thread that is pretty old, and sorry for bringing it up but...Isn't it weird. What we were talking about in this thread is essentially "Civil War"..? Property damage, a mistrust of supers...etc

 

[KevanG]

I sem to remember a thread similar to this a few months ago where we had people arguing out different court cases like "people vs Hulk" and I had made a point about superhero wills... I think it was some crazy clause wher th hero had to be dead for a minimum of 12 months before the will could be enacted and due to shapeshifters and clones running around they would have to have massive testing or something along those lines. Superheros 'die' all the time these days so how would wills be enacted?