The Federal Justice Department, abbreviated FJD, is an executive department of the Federal government that is responsible for overseeing law enforcement. It has authority over the Federal Attorney's Office, and can choose to waive trials for individuals and summarily pass sentence on them. It also coordinates with local security forces in Federal systems.
The Federal Justice Department is led by the Grand Attorney. The current Grand Attorney is Edwin Espinosa.
Timeline[]
22 FEB 3308
- President Zachary Hudson's proposal to remove the eight-year limit on his term of office has led to public unrest on many Federal worlds. Supporters of Shadow President Felicia Winters have taken the lead in protesting against the Hudson Contravention, which is currently being debated in Congress. The situation has been extensively covered by newsfeeds across the Federation:
Federal Free Press: "As always, Felicia Winters is the only grown-up in the room. She has rightfully objected to the sitting president's attempt at throwing away the rulebook. Repealing the 77th amendment would be a fundamental blow to our millennia-old democracy."
Sol Today: "What's the choice here? Retain Hudson for a few more years until things calm down, or hand power to Winters and watch the Federal government weaken and collapse under a weight the shadow president cannot possibly bear?"
The Federal Times: "Moderate Republican voters are taking a dim view of the Hudson Contravention, primarily because it denies them the option to choose a new administration. Vice President Jerome Archer, Secretary of State Lana Berkovich and Grand Attorney Edwin Espinosa are the most likely presidential candidates, but none of them will be able to run for office in 3309 if Hudson gets his way."[1]
21 APR 3307
- The Proactive Detection Bureau, which monitors all civilian communications in the Federation, has detected several home-grown terrorist groups. Deputy Director Bethany Blake of the Federal Investigations Agency[sic] told the media: "Our combination of sophisticated algorithms and skilled operatives has unearthed over a dozen extremist organisations, all previously unknown. The FIA launched pre-emptive raids on these groups before they were able to strike against civilian targets. In addition, we have arrested several thousand individuals who were conducting research into terror tactics, radical ideologies and other suspicious subjects. The PDB will continue monitoring all comms networks, and liaising with local security agencies via the Federal Justice Department." Vice President Jerome Archer hailed these results as validation of the Domestic Counter-Terrorism Act, and stated that the PDB will help prevent the mass murder of Federal citizens. Civil rights groups have claimed that these extremists could have been detected via conventional policing methods, rather than intercepting personal messages. Independent criminologists added that the statistical likelihood of such amateur groups committing actual attacks is low.[2]
05 MAR 3307
- Former Core Dynamics CEO Jupiter Rochester has received a summary judgement for multiple crimes against the Federation. The Federal Justice Department gave this statement: "The facts in the case of Jupiter Rochester are self-evident. His principal role regarding Starship One and Jupiter Division make him guilty of treason, mass murder and many other crimes. He will serve a solitary life sentence in a maximum security prison." Milandu Okoro of the Federal Attorney's Office expressed surprise: "It is highly unusual for the FJD not to litigate such a major case, considering we don't know the full extent of Rochester and Fleet Admiral Vincent's conspiracies. Unfortunately, our request to open a full investigation has been denied." Shadow Vice President Isolde Rochester has reiterated that her family were not involved with her eldest son's clandestine activities. Core Dynamics is continuing to rebuild after several departments separated to form Jupiter Division. Owen McKenna, the new CEO, has vowed to purge the company of all his predecessor's loyalists. Despite Rochester's failure to build a powerbase in the HIP 54530 system, his manifesto of placing the Federation under direct corporate rule has received praise in some regions. A corporatist movement, founded by commercial networks and civil groups, is gradually gaining popularity.[3]