Just a Phase [Worm]

[The Unicorn]

Failure to report a crime is itself a crime in most states if it is serious enough

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Cite please.
There are specific laws that make failure to report a specific crime illegal (generally things like child abuse), and even then most jurisdictions do not apply them to random citizens. There is a reason pretty much all jurisdictions define 'mandatory reporters' i.e people who are required to report evidence of a crime they encounter.
https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-charges/failure-to-report-a-crime.html
Additionally, I'm pretty sure Taylor would consider penalties such as the ones in the Ohio law (up to 250$ fine that the PRT would have to pay and 30 days in jail away from the PRT) a reward.

And this is assuming they could find a judge willing to sentence a minor for failure to report

The PRT is literally waiting for Taylor to fuck up in some meaningful way so they can slap the probationary modifier to her Wards membership.

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Granting this for the sake of argument, Failure to report would not be such a fuck up, taking for example the Ohio law it would be equivalent to having a few speeding tickets

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

Cite please.
There are specific laws that make failure to report a specific crime illegal (generally things like child abuse), and even then most jurisdictions do not apply them to random citizens. There is a reason pretty much all jurisdictions define 'mandatory reporters' i.e people who are required to report evidence of a crime they encounter.
https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-charges/failure-to-report-a-crime.html
Additionally, I'm pretty sure Taylor would consider penalties such as the ones in the Ohio law (up to 250$ fine that the PRT would have to pay and 30 days in jail away from the PRT) a reward.

And this is assuming they could find a judge willing to sentence a minor for failure to report


Granting this for the sake of argument, Failure to report would not be such a fuck up, taking for example the Ohio law it would be equivalent to having a few speeding tickets

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One other thing, that probably requires training for a Ward to send such an alert. To know what is really a crime and what just looks bad but is still legal.

Training Taylor hasn't had, besides not having the time? Is also behind the mighty wall called "Power Testing".

Taylor is an untrained civilian, it'd be a hard lift to consider her a mandatory reporter. And as the Youth Guard would advocate? Any failure to report is on Director Armstrong for shoving "Phase" out in any kind of public exposure without even minimal training first.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Also, what Crime was Lisa committing? She paid to join a public tour. You can imply she was there to scope out the Wards as competition. But that is a far cry from proving it in law. And since Lisa wasn't in costume, "For all I knew she was a parahuman thinking of signing up and wanted to see what the Wards were like before doing so. I just though she was lucky for having that choice."

Without an obvious illegal act? Calling in an alert is questionable at best, verging on "Driving while Black". I'm betting Wards only get to arrest or detain someone for an unambiguous criminal act.

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It would be hard to pin something specific to Lisa's actions but considering she used a Thinker power in government facility it would still be a security breach. Since they don't know what said power is they can at worst assume that Lisa obtained all the Wards' secret IDs and Protectorate secrets which would warrant an investigation as a precaution.

Considering Protectorate/PRT deals with Masters, Strangers, and Thinkers regularly so they would be paranoid about this sort of thing and know how dangerous it could be. Plus how many young blond Thinkers are there in Boston that match Lisa's body type the Boston Protectorate does have access to two Thinkers of their own after all.

Cite please.

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https://www.johntumeltylaw.com/blog/failure-to-report-a-crime/#:~:text=In most states, it is,to not report a felony.

The charges really depends on the state but it can go as high is being named an accessory to the crime or a class A misdemeanor. But since it was technically espionage against a government organization around the same level as the FBI I am airing more towards the more severe outcome.

Additionally, we don't know how different the laws could be when partaining to Wards, the Protectorate, or parahumans in general.

mandatory reporters

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Taylor is an untrained civilian, it'd be a hard lift to consider her a mandatory reporter.

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I imagine regardless of training that all Wards have mandatory reporter in their contract since they do act as law enforcement. It might state that Wards are only mandatory reporters while on duty but Taylor was technically on duty at the time. Besides Taylor has made a study of all the Wards handbooks and a look into legal code so she could have a rough idea on laws surrounding mandatory reporters and Ward duties.

Insert relevant quote:

Technically, I was supposed to report this sort of phenomenon to the captain of the Wards, a Protectorate member, or the Wards handler for the local PRT. Even if the parahuman in question was completely benign, those rules existed to protect the Wards from external influences.

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So yeah by all accounts Taylor was very much supposed to report such an action to a superior even if seemingly harmless and she knew that but didn't.

But my main concern for all this is that so far Taylor has been very careful not to guve anything the PRT can use against her. Even her vigilante hobby is technically not actionable, but this is something the PRT/Protectorate can do something about in a definitive way if they found out. And from the looks of the text it is one of the things that doesn't require power testing.

 

[The Unicorn]

https://www.johntumeltylaw.com/blog/failure-to-report-a-crime/#:~:text=In most states, it is,to not report a felony.

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You're proving my point. There isn't a general requirement to report serious felonies.

The charges really depends on the state but it can go as high is being named an accessory to the crime

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No, they can't.
Failure to report can be used as evidence to support a charge of accessory after the fact, but it is not, on it's own, sufficient.

Additionally, we don't know how different the laws could be when partaining to Wards, the Protectorate, or parahumans in general.

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Point, but in this story at least they seem to be fairly sane so will not make people with no training mandatory reporters.

So yeah by all accounts Taylor was very much supposed to report such an action to a superior even if seemingly harmless and she knew that but didn't.

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Sure, but that's on the level of parents telling a kid to be home by a certain hour, and they could ground her, or send her to her room or similar punishments for violating the instructions she was given.
That's not stuff they could go to court with.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Sure, but that's on the level of parents telling a kid to be home by a certain hour, and they could ground her, or send her to her room or similar punishments for violating the instructions she was given.
That's not stuff they could go to court with.

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It doesn't mention what the punishment for doing that is in the text so it could be that but it could also be treated more seriously by those in charge. Remember this is a world with parahumans that could do all sorts of things to someone without detection so an unknown power being used on the Wards should be treated seriously. But until more info is known about the procedure for that kind of thing it wouldn't be right to assume either or.

Plus there is the issue on how the other Wards would feel about such a thing if they found out. Taylor while meaning to or not put them, their identities, and potentially their families at risk by not reporting the Thinker.

You're proving my point. There isn't a general requirement to report serious felonies.

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It says that there are many states that charge an individual for not reporting crime in hopes of concealing it, which Taylor did by telling no one so Lisa wouldn't get caught, as an accessory.

While the only universal failure to report crimes are against children the Wards are all minors so it could be reasoned that it counts considering the big deal bad power interactions can be. All Taylor knew was that the power was used on her but she doesn't know if it was used on the other Wards but it would be easy to assume so.

 

[The Unicorn]

It says that there are many states that charge an individual for not reporting crime in hopes of concealing it, which Taylor did by telling no one so Lisa wouldn't get caught, as an accessory.

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The issue is, they'd need to prove not just that Taylor did not report it, but that she did so as an attempt to conceal the crime. That is a MUCH higher standard of proof than just the fact she was aware of the crime, and did not report it.

While the only universal failure to report crimes are against children the Wards are all minors so it could be reasoned that it counts

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I suppose, but
1)Lisa was not engaging in child abuse, or sex crimes of any sort so it would be a massive reach to do so.
2)By the same logic Taylor would be exempt from any such charges, being as she's a child who can't act in her own defense.

Keep in mind that while the PRT might be looking for an excuse(not how I recall it, but whatever), so are Taylor and her YG rep - attempting this sort of spurious litigation you are suggesting would be perfect for them to demonstrate the PRT is not acting with Taylor's best interest, and the PRT know this.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

The issue is, they'd need to prove not just that Taylor did not report it, but that she did so as an attempt to conceal the crime. That is a MUCH higher standard of proof than just the fact she was aware of the crime, and did not report it.

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I admit that it would be very hard to prove since Taylor was the only one who knew Lisa was there. But at the same time Taylor definitely did not report it to conceal it as stated here.

And there was absolutely no way I would subject some poor random kid to my own personal hell by ratting out their benign power to Weld.

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Taylor was the only one who knew there was a Thinker using their power and she knew that she needed to report it to someone but she didn't specifically so no one would find out. So yeah I feel like that is enough to say that Taylor was in accessory to Lisa's actions. Of course it would be nearly impossible to prove it unless Taylor or Lisa specifically tell them which they aren't likely to do.

While her motives may have been benevolent she was also projecting her own views very heavily onto some she didn't know. For all she knew the Thinker was a villain looking for info they could sell to highest bidder or to hurt one of the Wards.

 

[The Unicorn]

I admit that it would be very hard to prove since Taylor was the only one who knew Lisa was there. But at the same time Taylor definitely did not report it to conceal it as stated here.

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Yes, but the point is, even if they somehow could prove she knew about it and didn't report it, that is not enough to prove it was with intent to conceal the crime.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Yes, but the point is, even if they somehow could prove she knew about it and didn't report it, that is not enough to prove it was with intent to conceal the crime.

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That only works if Taylor was ignorant about Lisa's actions not being allowed but according to her own internal dialogue she knew it was something she was required to report. So by not reporting it Taylor was intentionally concealing the crime so Lisa wouldn't get caught.

Taylor knew what Lisa was doing wasn't allowed, she knew she was supposed to report it, and she didn't therefore she knowingly kept quiet to conceal it.

 

[The Unicorn]

That only works if Taylor was ignorant about Lisa's actions not being allowed

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Wrong.
All that establishes is "failure to report". You are still missing the "with intent to conceal the crime".

Taylor knew what Lisa was doing wasn't allowed, she knew she was supposed to report it, and she didn't therefore she knowingly kept quiet to conceal it.

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Not how it works. You've established failure to report (assuming the PRT could prove this of course), the intent is an additional element that needs to be established.
Given her attitude and lack of training Apathy, laziness and simply doing the opposite of what she's supposed to whenever possible are all much more likely explanations than intent to conceal a crime.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

the intent is an additional element that needs to be established.

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I am starting to think that we have different standards for what counts as intent. But my arguement is that Taylor knew that informing someone would have gotten someone in that tour group taken in for questioning or arrested so she told no one to prevent that therefore there was intent to conceal the action.

Like what do you think the PRT/Protectorate would have done if they had found out someone was using an unknown power directed at the Wards, certainly nothing good.

Given her attitude and lack of training Apathy, laziness and simply doing the opposite of what she's supposed to whenever possible are all much more likely explanations than intent to conceal a crime.

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So far all of Taylor's actions barring this one have been within the PRT's own guidelines which is the point of malicious compliance. Even things like refusing power testing, and her 'hobby' are technically within the rules. Her choice to refuse to report this is different because it actively goes against Wards/PRT guidelines.

 

[The Unicorn]

I am starting to think that we have different standards for what counts as intent.

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I'm using (or trying to use) the legal definition.

But my arguement is that Taylor knew that informing someone would have gotten someone in that tour group taken in for questioning or arrested so she told no one to prevent that therefore there was intent to conceal the action.

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That's not how it works with the legal definition, knowing that informing someone would have resulted in X is not enough to establish intent to prevent X.

The whole point of having a law to stating "with intent to prevent X" is that it's not enough to demonstrate that the action taken would cause something, they need to demonstrate intent, generally by a deliberate action. Failure to do something is not, on it's own sufficient.

 

[Thebackhander]

It doesn't actually matter if they can get her on it since there's not much they can do to her when she can literally just walk out on them

 

[Artares]

It doesn't actually matter if they can get her on it since there's not much they can do to her when she can literally just walk out on them

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This comic comes to mind in that situation. Ultimatums can easily backfire depending on the people involved.
Except the person saying it is fully capable of reaching into someone's chest and pulling out their heart with ease, so it'd be much more alarming.

 

[The Unicorn]

This comic comes to mind in that situation. Ultimatums can easily backfire depending on the people involved.
Except the person saying it is fully capable of reaching into someone's chest and pulling out their heart with ease, so it'd be much more alarming.

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Yah, something the fandom as a whole generally ignores in all these horrible scenerios they invent for control Wards - they have the ability to leave and will not have too much difficulty making a living on their own (and being teenagers are likely to dismiss what difficulties do apply).

 

[BF110C4]

So far all of Taylor's actions barring this one have been within the PRT's own guidelines which is the point of malicious compliance. Even things like refusing power testing, and her 'hobby' are technically within the rules. Her choice to refuse to report this is different because it actively goes against Wards/PRT guidelines.

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From Taylor view this was (slightly) less about malicious compliance and more about being an accomplice of the Protectorate in the act of forcing another innocent teen into the Wards, after all whoever was in the tour wasn't doing anything bad.

That said, she did it while knowing no one would be able to find (and much less to prove) she knowingly ignored a possible threat to the Wards. Even if later the Protectorate discovers a parahuman infiltrated the tour AND Taylor ability to detect thinker probes, since its a reactive ability she could successfully argue that either the unknown parahuman didn't used her power actively against her (and for example Lisa's power is one of the most passive ones in Worm) or that she assumed that once more one of those parahumans who regularly snoop on her did another try from who knows where.

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

I was skimming TV Tropes for this fic, and something hit me. Part of how Armstrong and Gauss are failing on their recruitment?

They are refusing to be advocates for Taylor, despite holding legal guardianship for her.

Taylor is being very clear on what Emma and Sophia did to her, culminating in arguably a depraved indifference attempt at manslaughter. And do they investigate or even inquire with Brockton on the matter? No they shrug, go "not out responsibility" and say "anyway, about power testing to become a Ward."

Getting justice for Taylor besides a moral imperative? Responsibility for such advocacy came with yoinking guardianship from Danny. But it isn't even considered, a complete blindspot for the people in Boston, save Jim from the Youth Guard who is limited to being able and happy to file complaints for Taylor, and even point out regs to do so I bet.

To borrow from a Vathara's Avatar Fic, Embers? Their actions shout so loudly Taylor can't hear a word anyone in Boston is saying. That lack of advocacy shows her they value the institution over justice for her. And provides evidence she was right about the PRT and how they only care because she has a power, but only so much, not enough to 'rock the boat'.

 

[BF110C4]

I was skimming TV Tropes for this fic, and something hit me. Part of how Armstrong and Gauss are failing on their recruitment?

They are refusing to be advocates for Taylor, despite holding legal guardianship for her.

Taylor is being very clear on what Emma and Sophia did to her, culminating in arguably a depraved indifference attempt at manslaughter. And do they investigate or even inquire with Brockton on the matter? No they shrug, go "not out responsibility" and say "anyway, about power testing to become a Ward."

Getting justice for Taylor besides a moral imperative? Responsibility for such advocacy came with yoinking guardianship from Danny. But it isn't even considered, a complete blindspot for the people in Boston, save Jim from the Youth Guard who is limited to being able and happy to file complaints for Taylor, and even point out regs to do so I bet.

To borrow from a Vathara's Avatar Fic, Embers? Their actions shout so loudly Taylor can't hear a word anyone in Boston is saying. That lack of advocacy shows her they value the institution over justice for her. And provides evidence she was right about the PRT and how they only care because she has a power, but only so much, not enough to 'rock the boat'.

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Frankly I can see their own legal department forcing them to keep at arms lenght regarding the advocacy, there's a far too big conflict of interests that would bit them in the ass as soon as they try to do something against national policity.

Considering that there is an active case of unlawful detention and aggravated assault and battery (no pun intended) 'under investigation' in which the any action they take will be subject to censure one way or another what they should have setted as soon as Taylor arrived to Boston, or at worst after they took full custody from Danny was to talk with a vetted law firm or a CPS specialist with the appropiate security clearance to provide Taylor with an 'ad litem' guardian empowered to keep an eye on her legal case against Emma and Sophia as well as the BB PRT/Protectorate, included the ability to ask for restitution of the harm done to her directly and indirectly by the organization.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Is there even an ongoing criminal investigation? Because all we got was some vague words from Piggot about looking into the situation, and the next time we see Emma or Sophia they just got slapped with some busy work as punishment once that investigation ended. Plus Danny clearly doesn't have the spine to press criminal charges and Taylor is minor and thus they won't listen to her so in all likely hood the PRT just kept everything in house.

Of course if so I imagine a certain blonde Thinker or Taylor herself might go over everyone's heads and contact CPS directly about the situation.

 

[BF110C4]

Is there even an ongoing criminal investigation? Because all we got was some vague words from Piggot about looking into the situation, and the next time we see Emma or Sophia they just got slapped with some busy work as punishment once that investigation ended. Plus Danny clearly doesn't have the spine to press criminal charges and Taylor is minor and thus they won't listen to her so in all likely hood the PRT just kept everything in house.

Of course if so I imagine a certain blonde Thinker or Taylor herself might go over everyone's heads and contact CPS directly about the situation.

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Technically a law enforcement agency of any kind, even the Postal Office police needs to make an official investigation of any allegation of brutality by one of their agents, in particular a case with the kind of material evidence of the locker as well as whatever report written by the paramedics and the hospital (and the text do mention hospital bills). Then there is the fact that James Reed had a file with Taylor's situation, if there was an actual illegal cover-up then there would be nothing written, much less send to the agency that has won cases against the Protectorate in Congress, not to mention that if there wasn't an actual case then Jim would have been salivating at the huge breach of law (the guy is a little too ambitious and willing to use Taylor as a stepping stone, even if it benefits her at the short term).

My bet is that they are buring the case under the mountains of crimes BB suffers, taking years of investigation for what should be an open and shut case which can happen to cases that aren't a potential embarrasment to the LEOs, much less this massive failure of keeping taps on two teen girls who barely made an effort to conceal their misdeeds despite one of them being in probation.

 

[The Unicorn]

Getting justice for Taylor besides a moral imperative? Responsibility for such advocacy came with yoinking guardianship from Danny.

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I wish, but that's not how it works. Neither foster parents, nor adoptive families, nor any child protective service/organization I'm aware of claims that responsibility.

That lack of advocacy shows her they value the institution over justice for her. And provides evidence she was right about the PRT and how they only care because she has a power, but only so much, not enough to 'rock the boat'.

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True.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Technically a law enforcement agency of any kind, even the Postal Office police needs to make an official investigation of any allegation of brutality by one of their agents, in particular a case with the kind of material evidence of the locker as well as whatever report written by the paramedics and the hospital (and the text do mention hospital bills). Then there is the fact that James Reed had a file with Taylor's situation, if there was an actual illegal cover-up then there would be nothing written, much less send to the agency that has won cases against the Protectorate in Congress, not to mention that if there wasn't an actual case then Jim would have been salivating at the huge breach of law (the guy is a little too ambitious and willing to use Taylor as a stepping stone, even if it benefits her at the short term).

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My main concern about that is that according to the latest interlude the investigation had already wrapped up.

The investigation into their harrasment campaign had wrapped up, and to nobody's surprise, not all that much had happened.

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Additionally from Missy's thoughts here it was framed as a harassment campaign rather than an assault or attempted murder so Piggot and her legal team might have hidden it under that. Teenagers harassing another girl looks a lot less serious and gets a lot more leeway than teenagers attempting to murder another girl.

Of there are Taylor's statements on matter and the hospital records that run counter to this but Piggot has far more authority than her to do what she wants with the investigation. Which when put together makes the whole thing one big mess for everyone involved.

My bet is that they are buring the case under the mountains of crimes BB suffers, taking years of investigation for what should be an open and shut case which can happen to cases that aren't a potential embarrasment to the LEOs, much less this massive failure of keeping taps on two teen girls who barely made an effort to conceal their misdeeds deespite one of them being in probation.

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In that case the best thing the Youth Guard and Jim can do is ask for constant updates on the case which they seem to be doing so it can't simply be burried. Of course if Missy's view is correct the case is already closed then that could cause a few problems but I'm not a lawyer and can't be certain.

 

[BF110C4]

Best guess is that they are treating the bullying before signing with the Wards as a different investigation from The Locker in order to appease Young Guard. The evidence, and the written documentation on the Locker is actually kind of overwhelming, including the fact that Emma actually confessed. Is simply not the same to dismiss a series of misdemeanors from two idiotic teens than to do the same from (junior) Law Enforcement Officers, one of which was on probation (which means that even minor 'jokes' can put her back in jail) commiting a felony where someone got hospitalized.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Best guess is that they are treating the bullying before signing with the Wards as a different investigation from The Locker in order to appease Young Guard. The evidence, and the written documentation on the Locker is actually kind of overwhelming, including the fact that Emma actually confessed. Is simply not the same to dismiss a series of misdemeanors from two idiotic teens than to do the same from (junior) Law Enforcement Officers, one of which was on probation (which means that even minor 'jokes' can put her back in jail) commiting a felony where someone got hospitalized.

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If that is the case then the Youth Guard is probably sitting on everything they need to close the case and punish Emma and Sophia accordingly. But it seems they have struck gold in Brockton Bay when it comes to violations and the more they uncover and document the stronger their position becomes on the national level so they are delaying it. Of course the Youth Guard is still more likely to close the case sooner than the PRT but they'll be seeing how far the rabbit hole goes first which knowing Brockton is pretty deep. And it probably won't endear them to Taylor that much even with their good starting position they just become another group who is trying to use her for their own benefit.

 

[BF110C4]

If that is the case then the Youth Guard is probably sitting on everything they need to close the case and punish Emma and Sophia accordingly. But it seems they have struck gold in Brockton Bay when it comes to violations and the more they uncover and document the stronger their position becomes on the national level so they are delaying it. Of course the Youth Guard is still more likely to close the case sooner than the PRT but they'll be seeing how far the rabbit hole goes first which knowing Brockton is pretty deep. And it probably won't endear them to Taylor that much even with their good starting position they just become another group who is trying to use her for their own benefit.

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Remember, they are not punishing Emma and Sophia, in fact they don't have the ability to do that, they are imposing fines and limiting the amount of time Wards can be used by the Protectorate for policework and if the teen parahumans hate the restrictions it is completely incidental. In fact from the point of view of the Young Guard both Emma and particularly Sophia are victims of the incompetence of the BB office because if they had performed due diligence then they would gave been caught and punished long before it escalated from misdemeanors to felonies.

Also worth mentioning that the YG got so far in this fic little to no ability to perform independent investigations without a complaint from a Ward even in situations where they could found violations of the Wards Charter with ease (which is why Taylor and her willingness to report every violation she can find on the internet is so useful to them). Fact is that they probably can't interfere on a criminal investigation other than to seek violations of the Wards rights, in this case lack of supervision of the school a Ward is attending, but not to do determine if a crime was committed by anyone.

And finally the YG is tasked to protect Wards, which Emma and Sophia are but Taylor wasn't at the time so it would be part of their duties to try to block any attempt from the PRT/Protectorate to send either girl to jail so if anything Piggot playing games to bury the Locker in paperwork until they are legally adults would be better for them.

 

[PostwarGryphon]

If that is the case then the Youth Guard is probably sitting on everything they need to close the case and punish Emma and Sophia accordingly. But it seems they have struck gold in Brockton Bay when it comes to violations and the more they uncover and document the stronger their position becomes on the national level so they are delaying it.

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Which sounds great until you get to the part where all these investigations take months if not years to complete even with all the evidence required having been handed to them, and are then followed by years of legal dithering and court appointments and rescheduling.

All the 'We are investigating' in the world doesn't do anything until there are actual results and consequences in the immediate future. Until there are results to show for it, it's just hot air.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: A Roundabout Way


Taylor was spending time participating in her newest hobby since being drafted into the Wards. No not running around being vigilante out of spite, but instead the far more dangerous one in the PRT's opinion deciphering the byzantine ordinance of the Wards charter. And tonight well tonight Taylor may have just found the answer to all her troubles as she reread the passage she had just stumbled across.

Taking out her pen Taylor circled the brief paragraph and took a picture on her phone which she then promptly sent to Jim along with a request for a meeting tomorrow. Hopefully if she was right then Jim would help her with the next step of what to do.

Bookmarking the page and closing the book Taylor smiled as she went to sleep feeling hopeful for the first time since getting out of the hospital.

***Two Days Later***

Kamil Armstrong walked into the PRT office steaming cup off coffee in hand feeling relatively good about his week so far. Reports of incidents have been down, Accord was still quiet, Blasto still recovering from his latest endeavor, and the Butcher was still out of town. Overall barring the continued pressure from above about Phase he was looking forward to closing out his week on a high note.

Speaking of Phase there she was waiting outside his office next to the local Youth Guard representative. If the smile on Jim's face was anything to go by Armstrong certainly wasn't going to enjoy whatever legalese the two of them have dug up this time. He is still getting complaints from Piggot about their last report about her department.

Sighing to himself Kamil decided to get whatever this latest issue was done with. If he was lucky then whatever it was they wanted to discuss wouldn't turn what was a good week into a bad one.

"Ah Phase and Jim what do I owe the pleasure today. But before that please come in." Armstrong said ushering the two of them into his office where the three of them took a seat.

"Thank you Director but as for why we are here well we would like to discuss the department's failure to fulfill their full duties as Phase's legal guardians." Jim said a smug smile spreading across his face.

"Failing to fulfill our duties in what way?" Armstrong asked. "As you can clearly see she has both been cared and provided for to the best of our abilities."

"Yes but we are not arguing about your department's ability to feed or house Ms. Phase but rather the complete and utter neglect of your duties to represent her legally. As per article 15-C in the full and unabridged Ward's rules and regulations all Wards are entitled to full legal support and counsel, and according to amendment 3-B that includes the filing of civil suits against those considered responsible for the Ward's trigger event."

Kamil winced, he was vaguely familiar with the rule but in all his experience it was only ever used when some gang member attempted to sue a Ward for being too rough in their arrest. Never before had he heard of it being used regarding the events of a Ward's trigger event. But it was understandable that most triggers were probably resolved through criminal charges when they could rather than civil suits.

Armstrong wracked his brain for answers about what to do in this situation. Saying no clearly wasn't an option, not only would the Youth Guard jump down his throat for denying a Ward one of their privileges but it would also be the final nail in the coffin for any hope of Phase actually becoming a full Ward. Unfortunately he also couldn't say yes no matter how much Kamil wanted to do so to just be done with the issue.

Fuck it when in doubt talk like a politician.

"There is an issue with what you are suggesting." Armstrong said doing his best to come off as helpful and supportive.

"And what is that?" Jim asked still smiling his smug smile.

"There would be a considerable conflict of interest for the PRT or the Youth Guard to take up this case against another department. And considering the issue with the identities of several Wards being involved transferring it to a third party law firm would also be impossible according to the Youth Guard's own charter. As unfortunate as it may be it seems that my hands are tied here."

"Oh but whoever said anything about suing the ENE? No these charges are against Winslow Highschool who facilitated the environment that caused Phase's trigger event. We have written records of Ms. Phase's complaints, documentation of the school's inaction from their own records regarding the bullying, as well as hospital records from the incident. Therefore my colleagues and I as well as Phase herself consider the school itself to be partially responsible. The fact that they haven't been charged until now is rather baffling in my opinion." Jim finished with a grin.

Forget smug this man is downright gleeful like a dog given a turkey leg all to themself. To make matters worse Armstrong couldn't even fault the man on his logic after having gone over Phase's file himself. The only reason why Winslow hadn't been taken to task on what happened already was most likely due to whatever stooge in Brockton's legal department wanted to keep the whole thing as quiet as possible. But unfortunately it seems them distancing themselves from Winslow has left a vulnerability a vulnerability that Phase and the Youth Guard are now exploiting. They couldn't even block the attempt because if they did then they would have to inform the Youth Guard and the judge as to why they are blocking the lawsuit which will bring the whole house of cards Brockton has built crashing down.

Armstrong grimaced. "I understand I will let legal know and I trust you to transfer over any relevant evidence you may have. Now will that be all?"

"Only that none of what is going to happen would have if you had just done your job from the start." Phase said speaking up for the first time in the meeting before getting up and leaving.

"Well she said it better than I could and yes that would be all, and don't worry we will be sending over copies of the evidence very shortly." Jim said before getting up to follow Phase. "Oh and one more thing Director make sure you stress to the legal the department the importance of this case. The Youth Guard has already taken a great interest in it and will be watching it very closely. Now then have a good day."

With that Armstrong was left alone in his office with a lukewarm cup of coffee.

He sighed to himself he better call up Piggot and let her know the shit storm that was about to hit her.

Or he could not do that he thought. After all the lawsuit wasn't against the ENE and technically didn't involve any of its members so their wasn't a reason to inform her of it. Besides she started this mess by tossing the frag grenade that was Phase into his department before slaming the door behind her. Call it vengeance or karma Kamil honestly didn't care at this point. Either way he just hoped that this would finally put an end to the mess with Phase that should not have happened to begin with.

Reaching under his desk Kamil pulled out the bottle he had been saving for whenever the Butcher came back to Boston and poured a healthy amount into his coffee mug before taking swig.

Yep definitly a bad week.

---

A.N: Anyways another omake that is slightly based on the discussion from a few weeks ago about whether or not the PRT is required to represent Taylor legally. Also please note that I have zero knowledge on lawsuits or anything law related so please attribute any inconsistencies to timeline divergences between Earth and Bet. Also don't forget to let me know what you think about the omake in general.

FirstSelector got another omake.

 

[The Unicorn]

Omake: A Roundabout Way

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Nice. And amusing way to force the PRT to shooting themselves in the gut (it's a bit too serious to be just shooting themselves in the foot).
Not sure if the school could find some excuse to claim standing for a counter-suit against the PRT but their defense is definitely going to blame everything on the PRT and if they find out Taylor isn't happy with the PRT...well, while it's very difficult for a minor to hire a lawyer themselves, if someone else (say the school district) elects to pay the fees for a lawyer to represent the minor they can take any legal action the minor wants - including suing for emancipation because of the neglectful and abusive way the state has been handling their guardianship.

Because suing the school just gave someone who can easily afford it a strong incentive to free Taylor from the PRT...

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Nice. And amusing way to force the PRT to shoot themselves in the gut (it's a bit too serious to be just shooting themselves in the foot).

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Yeah that was pretty much the point of Taylor and Jim's plan here since any closer look at the circumstances of Taylor's trigger will bring the coverup down. Either the evidence points to Emma and Sophia or the school throws them under the bus to save themselves. Not even mentioning how an investigation will run into the ENE's own 'ongoing' investigation or lack there of which will further complicate things.

Not sure if the school could find some excuse to claim standing for a counter-suit against the PRT but their defense is definitely going to blame everything on the PRT and if they find out Taylor isn't happy with the PRT...well, while it's very difficult for a minor to hire a lawyer themselves, if someone else (say the school district) elects to pay the fees for a lawyer to represent the minor they can take any legal action the minor wants - including suing for emancipation because of the neglectful and abusive way the state has been handling their guardianship.

Because suing the school just gave someone who can easily afford it a strong incentive to free Taylor from the PRT...

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Not sure if that would count as witness tampering, bribery, or something else but that sounds like something handled out of court and the lawsuit will definitely be ongoing by the time they get their bearings.

But yeah what a cluster fuck that would be if Taylor managed to get the school to sue the PRT for her while getting the PRT to sue the school effectively getting all her enemies to eat each other.

Also on a vaguely related note how bad will Piggot's reaction be when she finds out about the lawsuit a month or so late.

 

[The Unicorn]

Not sure if that would count as witness tampering, bribery, or something else but that sounds like something handled out of court and the lawsuit will definitely be ongoing by the time they get their bearings.

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Nope, neither witness tampering, or bribery. It's perfectly legal. And while you're right it could be handled with an out-of-court settlement, since what Taylor actually wants is to be free of the PRT I doubt it would be - the cost of a lawyer to handle her emancipation request is a lot less than the sort of damages it would be reasonable for her to demand so as long as she's under the PRT they're required to press the suit for her, and so the school will pay for her emancipation while dragging their feet on the civil suit. Once Taylor is free of the PRT either she drops the suit, or tries to keep going and the school reveals they've been supporting her and even if they lose the case the damages awarded will be less than the legal costs.

Also on a vaguely related note how bad will Piggot's reaction be when she finds out about the lawsuit a month or so late.

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Oh, I figure she'll find out about it within days, even if the school doesn't have standing to sue the PRT (which they might) they'll be calling Sophia, Emma, their handlers and everyone else they can think of in as witnesses