Petits Meurtres & Faits Divers: Au Tribunal
Petits Meurtres & Faits Divers: Au Tribunal Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- For the President: 1 President's booklet, 1 gavel, 1 lectern, 100 victory points.
- For the Prosecutor: 1 Prosecutor's booklet, 1 "Prosecutor" plaque.
- For the Defence Lawyer: 1 Lawyer's booklet, 1 "Lawyer" plaque.
- For the Jurors: 1 Jurors' booklet, 1 "Jurors" plaque, 1 30-second hourglass.
Each booklet prints the detailed rules for its role as well as the general rules.
Setup
Deal the roles in counter-clockwise order:
- The President sets up the lectern in front of them, takes the gavel, and takes their booklet along with the victory points, which they will hand out later.
- The Prosecutor places their plaque in front of them and takes their booklet.
- The Defence Lawyer places their plaque in front of them and takes their booklet.
- The Jurors place their plaque in front of them, take the hourglass that they will manage, and take the Jurors' booklet.
Round Summary
- The President chooses a case. Everyone opens their booklet to the matching page, and the President reads out the case summary.
- The Prosecutor makes their opening statement. One juror manages the hourglass. The Defence Lawyer may raise objections. The President tallies the argument points.
- The Defence Lawyer makes their closing statement. One juror manages the hourglass. The Prosecutor may raise objections. The President tallies the argument points.
- The Jurors deliberate, then announce their verdict.
- The President distributes the victory points.
Each player then takes the role of the player on their right for a new round.
Note: the source's round summary numbers its steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 6. There is no step 5 in the summary, although the detailed rules below contain a step 5 ("Proclamation of the President"). The detailed steps are transcribed below as printed.
End of Game
When every player has been President once, the game ends. The player with the most victory points enters the hall of judicial chronicles and wins the game.
Detailed Rules
1 - The President Chooses a Case
The President chooses a case that has not yet been judged, by looking through the index at the end of the booklet. Cases that have already been settled have a tick in their box.
The President reads the summary of the case in a perfectly solemn tone. The Defence Lawyer and the Prosecutor prepare their speeches by reading the arguments printed in their booklets.
2 - The Prosecutor Speaks
The President gives the floor to the Prosecutor, for example: "The prosecution has the floor, Counsel Lecroc. We are listening to your indictment."
The President taps the gavel once to start the indictment and the hourglass.
The Prosecutor has 3 hourglasses (1 minute 30 seconds) to make their indictment against François Leboulet. They may begin with:
"Ladies and gentlemen of the honourable jury, here is why you must convict François Leboulet..."
As the speech goes on, the President discreetly ticks off each argument the Prosecutor says aloud. The Prosecutor's goal is to place as many arguments as possible in the speech, but in such a way that the Defence Lawyer does not repeat them, without them escaping the jurors' attention. Fortunately, the jurors have clues to help them.
If the Defence Lawyer raises an objection:
- A juror lays the hourglass on its side on the table.
- The President asks which word the objection is about.
- If it is an argument: The President taps the gavel and announces "Objection sustained." That argument earns the Prosecutor no points: the President cancels the corresponding point or points on their booklet. The President tells the jurors that they must not take that argument into account. (The objection to the main argument is sustained if it concerns one of the words of more than 3 letters.)
- If it is not an argument: The President taps the gavel and announces "Objection overruled." No points are taken away from the Prosecutor.
The hourglass is then set upright again. The juror managing the hourglass regularly announces the time remaining to the Prosecutor, and announces the end of the allotted time.
The jurors are invited to take notes during the indictment. It is important that they note the words which, in their opinion, have a direct or indirect link to the clues they have been given.
During the Prosecutor's indictment, the Defence Lawyer has only 3 objections, so they should use them sparingly.
To raise an objection, the Defence Lawyer must form a short sentence that casts doubt on the Prosecutor's statement while naming the word they believe to be an argument.
Example: one does not say "Objection: thunder", but rather "Objection: the weather report in front of me certifies that no storm broke out, and therefore, a fortiori, no thunder was heard on the fateful day."
3 - The Defence Lawyer Speaks
The President gives the floor to the Defence Lawyer, for example: "The defence has the floor, Counsel Philippe de Mouret. We are listening to your closing argument."
The President taps the gavel once to start the speech and the hourglass.
The Defence Lawyer has 3 hourglasses (1 minute 30 seconds) to make their defence closing argument in favour of François Leboulet. They may begin with:
"Ladies and gentlemen of the honourable jury, here is why you must acquit François Leboulet..."
As the speech goes on, the President discreetly ticks off each argument the Defence Lawyer says aloud. The Defence Lawyer's goal is to place as many arguments as possible in the speech, but in such a way that the Prosecutor does not repeat them, without them escaping the jurors' attention. Fortunately, the jurors have clues to help them.
If the Prosecutor raises an objection:
- A juror lays the hourglass on its side on the table.
- The President asks which word the objection is about.
- If it is an argument: The President taps the gavel and announces "Objection sustained." That argument earns the Defence Lawyer no points: the President cancels the corresponding point or points on their booklet. The President tells the jurors that they must not take that argument into account. (The objection to the main argument is sustained if it concerns one of the words of more than 3 letters.)
- If it is not an argument: The President taps the gavel and announces "Objection overruled." No points are taken away from the Defence Lawyer.
The hourglass is then set upright again. The juror managing the hourglass regularly announces the time remaining to the Defence Lawyer, and announces the end of the allotted time.
The jurors are invited to take notes during the speech. It is important that they note the words which, in their opinion, have a direct or indirect link to the clues they have been given.
During the Defence Lawyer's speech, the Prosecutor has only 3 objections, so they should use them sparingly.
To raise an objection, the Prosecutor must form a short sentence that casts doubt on the Defence Lawyer's statement while naming the word they believe to be an argument.
Example: one does not say "Objection: love", but rather "Objection: but who are you, Master de Mouret, to talk so of love of hairdressing ('amour de la coiffure'), when you have no more hair on your head than you have clients in your address book?"
Translator's note: the puns in the French examples depend on French wording and are kept as close to the original as possible.
4 - The Jurors Deliberate
The jurors deliberate out loud to decide whether the Prosecutor or the Defence Lawyer is likely to have gathered the greater number of points. That is, which of them has potentially placed the most arguments that were not rejected. The jurors must not forget that rejected arguments earn no points.
Meanwhile, the President works out their own verdict by comparing the argument point totals of the Prosecutor and the Defence Lawyer as they have noted them in their booklet.
The President reaches the following result:
| President's verdict | |
|---|---|
| Prosecutor's total higher | guilty |
| Defence Lawyer's total higher | innocence |
| Totals equal | dismissal (non-lieu) |
After no more than 3 hourglasses, the jurors give their verdict according to their conviction, using the following table:
| Jury's verdict | |
|---|---|
| Prosecutor's total higher | guilty |
| Defence Lawyer's total higher | innocence |
| Totals equal | dismissal (non-lieu) |
5 - The President Proclaims
The President compares their verdict with the jury's verdict. Depending on the result, they announce the following decision:
| President's proclamation | |
|---|---|
| Verdicts identical | judgment upheld (jugement confirmé) |
| Verdicts different | judgment remanded (jugement renvoyé) |
6 - The President Distributes Points
Use the following tables to award points:
| Per juror | |
|---|---|
| Judgment upheld | 3 points |
| Judgment remanded | 0 |
| Jury's verdict | Prosecutor | Defence Lawyer |
|---|---|---|
| Innocence | 0 | their argument points |
| Guilty | their argument points | 0 |
In the event of a dismissal (non-lieu), the Defence Lawyer and the Prosecutor each score 3 points.
In all cases, the President scores no points (but they do keep the gavel and the lectern).
End of Turn
Each player takes the role of the player on their right. Begin a new round at phase 1.
Important Rules
Arguments must be pronounced phonetically.
That is, if the argument "cache" (hiding place) is listed, the word "cash" (sounds the same in French) is valid, but the word "caché" (hidden) is not.
Translator's note: the homophone examples above are French-specific and are kept in the original French.
It is forbidden to use "lists". That is, the Defence Lawyer may not, for example, say "We know that François Leboulet hates pistols, revolvers, rifles, firecrackers, calibres and other firearms..."
Speakers, tell beautiful and touching stories. Impress your audience. As in real trials, the talent of each speaker often makes the difference, far more than the accuracy of the arguments!
Do not waste your objections. Once you have used them all, your opponent would have a free run at placing whichever arguments they like without risk!