Judicial Sentencing

The Dark Covenant outlines which penalties shall be used to punish members who violate the Articles of Conduct and Reprimand. The penalties, which are listed in Article VIII, Section 8.07 of the Covenant, include Official Letters of Reprimand, Demotion, Expulsion, revocation of medals and citations, rescinding access to communications, and probation. The Justicar is the only leader given the authority to issue sentences.

Letter of Reprimand

Official Letters of Reprimand are written documents describing the nature of the violation committed and often the terms of sentence. They are given by the Justicar with most punishments, and are permanently added to the members dossier as a reminder of their indiscretion. On the dossiers they show up in the medal list, and when opened show the information given by the Justicar for that specific sentence.

Demotion

A serious punishment, demotions are typically only given for serious or repeated violations of the Covenant. At all levels they take away a rank earned through the hard work of the offending member, and at the higher rank levels a demotion is a very serious punishment. Most often demotions are only of one rank, but there is precedent for more during special situations - an example being automatic demotion to Apprentice for cheating in a Great Jedi War. As with all sentencing, the Justicar solely decides how many ranks an offending member will lose, coinciding with the severity of his offense.

Expulsion

The most serious punishment the Chamber of Justice can give is the permanent expulsion of a member from the Brotherhood. This is only given for the most egregious offenses, in which the member typically constitutes a threat to the Brotherhood or the environment it seeks to create. If the Justicar decides a defendant should be expelled, a special sentencing jury must approve his recommendation by majority vote, to prevent misuse.

Revoking Medals and Citations

Individual medals or citations can be removed for offenses, most often in cheating cases in which medals were given as awards. Also, members who are expelled have all of their medals stripped prior to their removal from the Brotherhood's roll. The Justicar determines which (if any) medals are to be removed from a guilty defendant.

Rescind Access to Communications

Banning members from the communications media used by the club, such as IRC channels, message boards, email groups, etc, is most often given as punishment in communications-related cases, where the defendant has misused the communications system. Typically it is given as part of a probationary period, during which the member must abstain from using these systems.

Probation

A probationary term is given as part of the sentence for every guilty verdict. The most basic terms of probation state that the guilty party may not receive promotion, appointment to position, or any citation or honor of merit without the explicit permission of the Justicar. In addition, the Justicar may add case-specific probation terms. Violations of probation are treated as a violation of the Dark Covenant, and will result in additional sentencing.