Magic and Justice

The use of any magic in criminal proceedings, including detect lie and ESP, is not part of standard proceedings in the Courts of Justice. This is partly due to the libertarianism of Greyhawk, and also to the edicts of Zagig Yragerne. That chaotic arch-mage believed strongly that uncertainty should be part of the legal process and outlawed all such spells from judgment. The Directors who have followed have upheld this view, and-since thieves have always been powerful in Greyhawk-they have obvious reasons for doing so.

The one exception to this is in the case of an accusation of perjury, when the charged person has no right to silence and when a priest of Pholtus will cast detect lie as the defendant speaks. It is not permitted for a defendant to appeal for the spell to be cast on his behalf, since it is considered that this would be unfair to defendants who might wish this and can not afford it. The criminal justice system in Greyhawk depends on human judgment and reason, and it is believed that even priests of Rao support this to the exclusion of magical means determining the outcome of trials.