Summary. This online manual outlines the Uniform Code of Community Justice Policy of Ta-Seti Nation.
Proponent and exception authority. The proponent of this manual is the National Council of Ta-Seti Nation (the “National Council”). The National Council can approve exceptions to this manual that are consistent with controlling laws and regulations. The National Council has delegated this authority to the Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ta-Seti Nation (the "CO, HQ-JFTSN").
Intent. The intent of this document is to ensure that Members of Ta-Seti Nation share one common standard of obtaining and giving enthusiastic consent in all encounters with Members and those engaging with Members of Ta-Seti Nation. It also make provision for addressing all violations of this policy and the policies of Ta-Seti Nation.
Suggested improvements. Users are invited to send comments and suggested improvements to the Uniform Code of Community Justice Policy to the CO, HQ-JFTSN via email to [email protected].
Distribution. This documentation is available in electronic media only and is approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Credits: Thanks to the Kink Collective, Master Joshua Rodriguez, and Within_Reason for the template used to create this Uniform Code of Community Justice Policy.
The National Council of Ta-Seti Nation (hereinafter the “National Council”) adopted and modified this Uniform Code of Community Justice Policy (hereinafter the “Policy”) to provide a foundation for promoting the awareness and practice of enthusiastic and informed consent in all Member engagements within Ta-Seti Nation, especially within the consent frameworks of Risk Aware Consensual Kink (hereinafter “RACK”) Personal Responsibility Informed Consensual Kink (hereinafter “PRICK”), and other recognized consent frameworks.
The Policy incorporates the Code of Conduct Policy and the Honor Code Policy which collectively outlines the expectations of appropriate conduct by all Members of Ta-Seti Nation. Additionally, the Policy outlines the protocols for receiving incident reports of violations of those expectations, investigating the reported violations, and issuing final judgements and resolutions of the reported violations.
Should the intent of any part of this Policy be contradicted by its execution, the National Council retains the right to amend or revoke them at any time.
The National Council has delegated administrative authority of this Policy to the Commander of the Joint Forces of Ta-Seti Nation (the “CO, HQ-JFTSN”), who shall adopt the necessary rules and regulations for the administeration of this Policy.
The CO, HQ-JFTSN intends to create an environment where Members of Ta-Seti Nation and the wider community may feel empowered to identify and respond to unsafe or predatory behaviors.
To encourage the reporting of harassment, predatory behavior, abuse, any other dangerous behavior, and any alleged or actual violations of the Code of Conduct, the Honor Code, or any breach of policy or regulations of the Ta-Seti Nation, the CO, HQ-JFTSN, and their representatives may not reveal the identity of the reporter and or injured party (hereinafter the “Plaintiff(s)”) of a reported incident to the accused (hereinafter the “Defendant(s)”) without their consent prior to the conducting of an investigation under the Incident Reporting Process of this Policy.
While the CO, HQ-JFTSN and their representatives, respects the privacy of all persons, they also recognizes the rights of individuals under the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution which guarantees the rights of Defendant(s), including the right to know who your accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you. Should the Plaintiff(s) decline to give consent to disclosure of their identity then the Incident Reporting Process shall be terminated and no further action shall be taken under this Policy.
The CO, HQ-JFTSN and their representatives, shall maintain the privacy of the Plaintiff(s) and the Defendant(s) when possible during all investigations made under the Incident Investigation Procedure of this Policy.
The CO, HQ-JFTSN and their representatives, respects and acknowledges that the Plaintiff(s) may choose to publicize their accusations at their discretion, and that such a decision is entirely within their rights, and such decisions will be respected at all times. The CO, HQ-JFTSN and their representatives, shall also respect the right of the Defendant(s) to respond publicly to all accusations, should the Plaintiff(s) choose to make a public disclosure of the accusations. Nevertheless, the CO, HQ-JFTSN and their representatives, encourages Members of Ta-Seti Nation to seek legal council prior to responding publicly to any accusation(s).
The CO, HQ-JFTSN and their representatives, encourages the Plaintiff(s) and the Defendant(s) to use their judgment about whether to publicize the accusation(s) or pursue legal options instead of the Community Justice Process of this Policy.
The CO, HQ-JFTSN and their representatives, intends to find a path to justice through the thorough investigation and fair treatment of the Plaintiff(s) and the Defendant(s) while avoiding victim shaming or unbiased attacks by third-parties against the Plaintiff(s) and the Defendant(s).
The CO, HQ-JFTSN and their representatives, intends to raise individual and community awareness to mitigate and eliminate unsafe and predatory behaviors while allowing individuals and the community to acknowledge and recover from any such incidents.
The CO, HQ-JFTSN has adopted the following procedures to ensure the thorough investigation of reported incidents and the fair treatment of the Plaintiff(s) and the Defendant(s).
Plaintiff(s) can submit incident reports concerning Code of Conduct, Honor Code, or consent violations made by either a Member or those engaging with Members of Ta-Seti Nation to the CO, HQ-JFTSN via the Community Incident Reporting System (“CIRS”).
Important Notice:
Should the incident report be against any personnel involved in the Incident Investigation Procedure, they shall be replaced by the next lower personnel in the JFTSN chain of command as is necessary to fulfill their duties.
The J2, HQ-JFTSN and the CoS, HQ-JFTSN will assess all incident reports received via the CIRS for credibility and severity. If the incident report is deem to be credible, the CoS, HQ-JFTSN shall advise the CO, HQ-JFTSN to convene a Community Justice Investigation.
The CO, HQ-JFTSN shall issue an Order of Suspension to the Defendant(s) advising them of the Community Justice Investigation and the specifics of the incident report. The suspension will temporarily remove the Defendant(s) from their position and participation in the Ta-Seti Nation. The next lower person in the chain of command and or manageiral hiearchy shall fulfill their duties pending the case's outcome
The CO, HQ-JFTSN shall forward the incident report and the Order of Suspension to the Inspector General (the “IG, HQ-JFTSN”) to conduct the Community Justice Investigation.
During the Community Justice Investigation, the IG, HQ-JFTSN shall contact the Plaintiff to collect additional information regarding the initial incident report, including
The IG, HQ-JFTSN shall handle all discussions with the Plaintiff(s) or the the injured party with respect and compassion.
The IG, HQ-JFTSN, shall contact the Defendant(s) and inform them of the following before obtaining a written statement
The written sstatement shall including names of any other involved parties, the Defendant(s)' willingness to speak with the Plaintiff(s), and any available evidence (photos, chat logs, witnesses, etc.).
The IG, HQ-JFTSN shall handle all discussions with the Defendant(s) with respect and compassion.
After the completion of the Community Justice Investigation, the IG, HQ-JFTSN shall submit a Determination of Incident Credibility to the CO, HQ-JFTSN, who will review the IG, HQ-JFTSN's report and act accordingly.
The Defendant(s) and the Plaintiff(s) shall retain their rights to publicize the case and or pursue legal options in either event.
Whenever the CO, HQ-JFTSN issues an Indictment of Defendant(s), such notice to the Defendant(s) and the Plaintiff(s) shall include the IG, HQ-JFTSN's Determination of Incident Credibility. The statement shall also provide the Defendant(s) and the Plaintiff(s) the option to elect a Process of Mediation to resolve the incident instead of the CO, HQ-JFTSN seating a Community Justice Council to review the incident report, and issuing a Final Judgement.
If mutually elected, the Plaintiff(s) and the Defendant(s) may resolve incident reports through the Process of Mediation. The CO, HQ-JFTSN will seek a neutral mediator to help amicably resolve the incident report in such cases. If mediation is unsuccessful, all parties will retain the option to proceed with the Community Justice Council.
The CO, HQ-JFTSN has adopted the use of a non-judicial tribunal, the Community Justice Council, for trying Members of Ta-Seti Nation who are accused of offenses in violation of this Policy. The Community Justice Council shall adhere to the following procedures to ensure the fair treatment of the Plaintiff(s) and the Defendant(s), should either reject the Process of Mediation or the mediation was unsuccessful.
The CO, HQ-JFTSN shall appoint the Executive Officer (the "XO, HQ-JFTSN"), to act as the President of the Community Justice Council (the "Council President"). The Council President shall appoint the following personnel to sit on the Community Justice Council.
The Community Justice Council shall include one representative elected by the Plaintiff(s) and one representative elected by the Defendant(s).
The Community Justice Council shall conduct all of its meetings, which shall be recorded, via Zoom Workplace. Such meetings shall be closed to the public unless jointly requested and agreed by the Plaintiff(s) and the Defendant(s). Recordings shall be kept for archival and review purposes, and shall not be made available to the public. Notice shall be displayed advising meeting attendees of the recording of the meeting and that their continued attendance is explicit consent to be recorded.
The purpose of Community Justice Council meetings shall be to.
The Defendant(s), the Plaintiff(s), and their elected representatives, may sit in on all Community Justice Council meetings, including interviews with the Defendant(s), the Plaintiff(s) and any witnesses, without being disruptive to the proceedings. All attendees will be muted and prohibited from using the Chat feature. These features are exclusively for use by the Community Justice Council, Plaintiff(s), Defendant(s), and their representatives.
After reviewing all matters about the case, the Council President shall call for a written vote of Yea or Nay by Members of the Community Justice Council on each of the following Incident Culpability Levels
The J2, HQ-JFTSN or their representative, shall count and certify the votes, and forward the results to the Council President. The Incident Culpability Level with the highest Yea vote shall be considered as the Incident Culpability Level of the case.
A person acts intentionally, or with intent, concerning the nature of their conduct or as a result of their behavior when it is their conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the outcome.
A person acts knowingly or with knowledge concerning the nature of their conduct or the circumstances surrounding their behavior when they are aware of their conduct or that the circumstances exist.
A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, concerning the result of their behavior when they are aware that their behavior is reasonably sure to cause the outcome.
A person acts recklessly, or is reckless, with respect to circumstances surrounding their conduct or the result of their behavior when they are aware of but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the actor's standpoint.
A person acts with negligence, or is negligent, with respect to circumstances surrounding their conduct or the result of their behavior when they ought to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the actor's standpoint.
After receiving the votes, with a majority Yea vote on one or more of the Incident Culpability Levels, the Council President shall call for a written vote of Yea or Nay by Members of the Community Justice Council on each of the following Incident Severity Levels.
The J2, HQ-JFTSN shall count and certify the votes, and forward the results to the Council President. The Incident Severity Level with the highest Yea vote shall be considered as the Incident Culpability Level of the case.
Incidents that do not involve issues of public concern, are not physically threatening in any way, and could reasonably be resolved with direct communication are considered minor incidents.
Unacceptable behavior that is not a direct malicious attack would constitute a medium incident.
Breaking consent and any direct ethical violation that causes no lasting/serious harm would constitute a severe incident.
Incident that indicate a potential for serious/lasting harm to an individual or individuals would constitute extreme incidents.
The Council President shall combine the Incident Severity Level and the Incident Culpability Level to determine the final judgement of the case.
Aquittal
The Community Justice Council voted Nay on all Incident Culpability Levels.
Disposition:
Minor / Culpability must be at least negligent.
The issue could include differences of opinion, aggressive but civil discussion, or relationship issues.
Disposition:
Medium / Culpability must be at least reckless.
The issue may include name-calling, racist or sexist remarks, and uncivil discussion.
Disposition:
Severe / Culpability must be at least reckless.
Examples include coercion, unwelcome physical contact, direct harassment, a single instance of stalking or cornering, and making a public space physically unsafe for others.
Disposition:
Extreme / Culpability must be intentional or knowing.
These actions include any harmful non-consensual physical contact, stalking, harassment, and/or threatening behavior.
Disposition:
After receiving the final judgement of the Community Justice Council, the Council President shall forward the entire case packet with final judgement to the CO, HQ-JFTSN, for sentencing with the approval of the National Councle. Disciplinary actions may include one or a combination of the following alternatives:
A notice served upon the member advising them that they are violating or have violated Ta-Seti Nation regulations.
After finding a violation of the Code of Conduct, restriction of Member’s privileges for a designated period of time includes the probability of more severe disciplinary sanctions if the Member is found to be violating any Ta-Seti Nation regulations during the probationary period.
Fines, restitution, denial of privileges, assignment to perform services for the benefit of the Ta-Seti Nation or community; or other sanction that doesn’t result in the member being denied the privilege to participate in Ta-Seti Nation activities.
A Member suspended from engagement with the Ta-Seti Nation must issue and publicly publish a written Statement of Responsibility/Apology before they may be considered for reinstatement. The Statement of Responsibility/Apology must include the nature of the addressed incident report and a path forward that repairs this breach with the Plaintiff(s), the Ta-Seti Nation, and the community. The statement will be reviewed by the J2, HQ-JFTSN and submitted to the CO, HQ-JFTSN before the Reinstatement Process. The suspension shall remain in force until the fulfillment of this requirement. Should the Member refuse to issue a public apology, they shall face permanent expulsion.
Plaintiff(s) shall receive a copy of the Final Judgment and is encouraged to take an active role in monitoring the progress of the corrective actions prescribed for the Defendant(s), including Transformative Justice Procedures for Extreme incident reports. A Written Statement of Satisfaction shall be requested after the Defendant(s) has completed all prescribed corrective actions.
Reinstatements of Members of Ta-Seti Nation or those engaging with Members of Ta-Seti Nation are at the discretion of the CO, HQ-JFTSN in accordance with the following requirements.
After receiving the above, the CO, HQ-JFTSN shall meet with the Defendant(s) for a final assessment and issue either a reinstatement order, a continuance order, or an expulsion order.
The Council President will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all incident reports are credible and to allow room for Defendant(s) to dispute the facts of the matter and the severity of the incident report. The higher the severity of the incident report, the more effort will be made to ensure that both sides are heard and treated fairly. It will ultimately be up to the Council President to resolve any disputes and to judge the credibility of the parties. The burden of proof shall be the preponderance of the evidence.
No action stronger than a private warning will be taken against any Defendant(s) unless the following steps have been taken:
Incident reports coming from anonymous sources, a questionable person, or in a questionable manner will receive additional scrutiny. This includes:
The Uniform Code of Community Justice Policy of the Ta-Seti Nation is a work in progress. This current vision is an ongoing effort for Members of Ta-Seti Nation or those engaging with Members of Ta-Seti Nation to move forward with a transparent and structured incident reporting process concerning violations of policies, regulations, and consent. This Policy will surely evolve over time, as we strive to make it more accessible and inclusive of our intentions and the expectations we place on ourselves and those with whom we elect to engage with consent.
1, 2, 3, 4 Texas Constitution and Statutes. (n.d.). Texas Penal Code Chapter 6. Culpability Generally Sec. 6.03. DEFINITIONS OF CULPABLE MENTAL STATES. Texas Penal Code Chapter 6. Culpability Generally. Retrieved August 9, 2024, from https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.6.htm.