Article M-301 - Assault Upon a Citizen

"You are convicted of using physical violence against a fellow citizen of Wildoria. Public safety is a core obligation of the State; whoever breaks it is removed from public life until the term is served."

The State treats violence between citizens as a breach more grave than the taking of property. A theft can be returned in coin or in kind; a blow cannot. The Court therefore carries assault under a steeper ceiling than the other articles of comparable opening term, so that the cost rises faster the more often it is paid.

Escalation Under the Recidivism Clause

A first assault draws the opening term. The Recidivism Clause then doubles that term for a second offense within thirty days, and doubles it again for a third - and once more, where the other articles would have stopped, the Court of M-301 climbs one stage further before reaching its cap. The State's reasoning is straightforward: each repeat is plainer than the last, and at the highest stage the citizen has shown a pattern the public order cannot absorb.

"Repeat acts of violence are met with terms that lengthen with each offense. The Court notes that further convictions may add an habitual-violence charge to the record."