HUGE UPDATE!
### 0.1.9 - Caseload Pressure, Pleas, and In-Court Reality (Merged into 0.2.0)
Objective: align day flow and outcomes with overload math, plea-driven resolution rates, and structured courtroom sessions. This content is now part of the 0.2.0 release candidate.
- Implemented
- Shared time budget unified (practice + game) with sim-time `getSimulationNowMs` used for key gates/countdowns.
- GameFlowManager day counter now derives from sim-date (no internal day increment drift).
- Day-advance agenda toast (`Court today`) summarizes booked appearances and free gaps for the sim-day.
- Morning agenda overlay opens after day advance when court is scheduled, showing booked appearances, free gaps, and links into the case calendar.
- Bench outcomes split into `benchWarningIssued` (minor) vs `benchWarrantRisk` (severe) flags.
- `requiresPresence` is treated as Rule 9 supervisor-presence gating (not whether the hearing itself requires you to appear).
- Practice lifecycle pipeline now syncs custody pressure (`detentionDays`, `pleaPressure`) into practice cases so negotiations reflect detention/urgency.
- Practice->game case sync now preserves `inCustody`, `detentionDays`, and `pleaPressure` (no placeholder overrides) so hallway-plea pressure reflects the real case state.
- Legal Practice Dashboard now routes first appearance/arraignment logging to the Court Appearance Planner (the old ArraignmentOverlay is informational only).
- Calendar can launch an in-court session modal; check-in reserves slot time; session updates hearing attendance + completion.
- Interpreter requests update hearing readiness and in-court prerequisites (blocks `called` until ready when required).
- Check-in accounts for travel time; overrun minutes consume extra time and warn.
- Court outcomes apply calendar effects (continuances/resets schedule follow-ups, plea -> sentencing, dismissals cancel future hearings, sanctions issue contempt citations + ethics hits).
- Court outcomes update case state (pleas/dismissals close cases; continuances increment caps).
- Calendar hearings are mirrored into the practice case calendar (including follow-ups) and resynced into the game case list so next-court-date views stay consistent.
- Calendar hearing status/staff/supervisor changes propagate to the practice calendar; cancel/complete marks the mirrored event completed; court-ordered follow-ups bypass supervisor-approval scheduling blocks (still flagged by supervision availability).
- Missed appearances are detected and marked `MISSED` (bench-warrant risk set); a court-ordered reset hearing may be auto-scheduled when no future same-type hearing exists.
- Systems
- Shared time budget: replace duplicate clocks with a single daily minutes pool; `GameFlowManager` pulls from practice/planner hours and writes back dayNumber/currentDateISO.
- In-court session system: replace arcade-style courtroom interactions with a stateful hearing/trial flow that runs inside the scheduled slot (check-in -> call -> arguments/evidence -> rulings); draws on staff confirmations/notices/interpreter tasks, enforces supervisor presence when required, and uses shared minutes (overruns create delays/bench risk/continuance prompts).
- Exact-time bookings: hearings/appointments block their scheduled windows; player must be present at the set start time (timebox is fully reserved) and actions consume real minutes instead of being free-floating alongside end-day skips.
- Docket pressure model: minutes-per-client bands, hallway consult share, overload ratio feeding stress/energy and plea gravity (from `casebalance.md`).
- Detention/bail pressure: custody status and bail outcomes accelerate plea likelihood, trigger speedy-trial urgency, and alter deadlines; planner shows plea-pressure badges when speedy/bail clocks are near.
- Procedural timelines: enforce speedy-trial clock, bail review windows, plea offer expirations, discovery/motion deadlines; missed first-appearance/arraignment triggers bench-warrant risk or release.
- Continuance cap visibility: planner/deadline meta shows caps; day-advance toasts fire when caps are reached or near.
- Surface procedural clocks in play surfaces: calendar hearings show speedy/bail review badges, case detail surfaces clocks, and daily tick toasts warn when bail review windows are about to close for in-custody clients.
- Arraignment mechanics: mass-docket cattle-call pacing with judge-led rights advisement; plea entry defaults to not-guilty; plea at arraignment fast-paths to sentencing with waiver warnings; schedule discovery and motions automatically after arraignment; distrustful clients may need an extended advisement (beyond the quick script) before agreeing.
- Other appearances realism: bail review/pretrial release hearings weigh flight risk/public safety and ability to pay; status/readiness dockets run as cattle-call calendars with rapid resets and continuance pressure; suppression/limine hearings run as evidentiary mini-sessions tied to time budget; plea colloquy enforces knowing/voluntary waivers and confirms rights surrendered; sentencing pulls PSI/guidelines, victim allocution, credit for time served, and reporting vs remand handling; trial days include voir dire, openings, evidence, instructions, verdict, and post-verdict orders with time/energy costs.
- Courtroom friction: day-of continuance motions with good-cause vs judge annoyance, vacation/notice-of-unavailability handling, sanctions or shortened reset windows for repeat offenders.
- Transport and lockup delays: custody transports and holding-cell backlogs can make you late; interpreter/supervisor arrivals may lag custody; bench warnings when defense is ready but client is still in the tank.
- Call order variance: judges reorder dockets (custody first, prosecutor requests, witness availability); hallway announcements and clerk favors to swap order.
- Interpreter scarcity: double-booked/late interpreters, wrong language/dialect, mid-hearing fatigue swaps, remote interpreter latency risk.
- Discovery at hearing: last-minute disclosures at status/readiness; judicial responses (exclude vs continue); track if defense objects or waives.
- Victim/witness logistics: subpoena failures, witness no-shows, and credibility hits from late notice; DV/victim advocacy presence impacts bail/sentencing posture.
- Pretrial services compliance: missed check-ins, dirty UAs, GPS alerts can adjust conditions or custody mid-calendar.
- Courtroom etiquette stakes: phone buzz, tardy counsel, attire warnings; client outbursts trigger contempt/bench risk.
- Specialty courts: treatment/mental-health/drug court calendars with compliance reviews, staffing, sanction/reward ladders.
- Local rule quirks: page limits, service cutoffs, motion-day calendars, judge-specific preferences affecting readiness/continuance odds.
- Post-hearing admin: chase signed orders before leaving; e-filing backlog vs hand delivery; ensure next-date notice/service especially for in-custody/homeless clients.
- Media/publicity: camera allowances/denials, closed courtroom handling, judge posture on delays and speech when high-profile.
- Discovery and evidence handling: chain-of-custody risk, suppression checks, and deadlines aligned to local rules (e.g., Spokane evidence rules); detective/witness scheduling impacts discovery completeness.
- Witness interviews/depositions: schedule/cost interviews, record statements, and log impeachment material; deposition transcripts gated by time/budget; missed prep increases trial risk.
- Conditions of release: pretrial services check-ins, no-contact orders, and electronic monitoring compliance; violations trigger custody changes and plea pressure.
- Jurisdiction profiles: toggleable local rule sets (e.g., Spokane criminal process/evidence) affecting timelines, admissibility, and scheduling strictness.
- Collateral consequences: immigration/employment/housing/licensing impacts shown in plea/trial outcomes, affecting client goals and reputation stakes.
- Evidence volume realism: digital/video discovery requires time budget to review; failure to review raises ethics/ineffective-assistance risk flags.
- Client communication/consent: advisement and consent checkpoints for pleas and waivers; poor communication increases complaint risk and stress/reputation penalties.
- Comms surface: in-game cell phone/email for client and attorney communication (approvals, updates, emergencies); online news feed/events that can alter evidence, jury pools, and court availability (closures/weather/high-profile incidents).
- Jail logistics: in-custody client meetings consume travel/security time; limited phone/visitation windows affect prep; missed visits raise stress/complaint risk.
- E-filing/eservice friction: filing cutoffs, outages, and queue delays can blow deadlines unless escalated; backup filing options with cost/risk.
- Public records requests: FOIA/public-records tasks with long lead times; returns can unlock mitigation or impeachment but consume budget/time.
- Prosecutor discretion simulation: charging/bail offers reflect leverage and evidence strength; trial penalty and offer adjustments respond to motions and discovery suppressions.
- Plea flow: auto-plea triggers require overload + custody signals; plea resolutions dominate (95-98%) with tuned probabilities and visible context.
- Continuance triage: integrate `ContinuanceManagementService` with calendar; auto-select continuances when over capacity; reprimand risk; stress/reputation hits.
- Random events -> deterministic hooks: replace ad-hoc random rolls with state-based events (detention deadlines, missed notice, staff mishaps).
- Evidence-based workload caps: apply RAND/ABA time-per-case standards (e.g., 13.8h misdemeanors, 35h low felonies, 99-286h high felonies) to capacity; intake/gating, burnout, and ethics risk tied to exceeding caps vs legacy NAC numbers.
- UX
- Morning agenda prompt/toast shows reserved time blocks (e.g., all-day court, free morning with 1pm hearing) and free slices to schedule, reinforcing that exact-time bookings are locked and in-day actions advance the clock.
- In-court view surfaces scheduled start vs arrival time, bench/staff readiness (notice/interpreter/confirmation), supervisor presence, and how many minutes remain in the reserved slot; framing is simulation-first (not arcade/gamey); arraignment flow shows the cattle-call rights read and switches to extended advisement when client distrust is high; other appearances surface the correct colloquy/argument frames (bail factors, status/reset prompts, suppression evidence gates, plea waiver checklist, sentencing inputs).
- Performance/pressure overlay showing minutes-per-client, overload ratio, custody mix, plea gravity slider.
- Planner suggestions aligned to pressure (e.g., "prioritize in-custody clients", "file speedy-trial motion").
- Audio
- Expand soundtrack controls with a Now Playing chip, menu theme lead-in, shuffle playlist, and pause/resume.
- Review track transitions for menu -> gameplay handoff to keep the theme intact before rotating.
- Acceptance
- Single source of truth for day/time across GameFlowManager, gameSlice, practice slices, and in-court sessions; scheduled slots are honored.
- Plea distribution matches research bands under overload/detention conditions; courtroom outcomes respect time/arrival and staff/supervisor prerequisites.
- Courtroom terminology and UI use in-court session language; legacy arcade-style labels are removed; tests cover arrival/late/overrun handling, time-budget sync, overload math, plea probability caps, continuance auto-selection.
## 0.2.0 - Trial/Narrative Polish & Launch Hardening (Released)
Objective: finish courtroom/narrative consequences, stability, and compliance.
- Systems
- Courtroom depth: judge/prosecutor personality effects on objections, patience, and rulings; formal trial flow (voir dire -> openings -> prosecution case -> defense case -> instructions -> verdict -> sentencing) with timing/energy costs; verdict consequences propagate to relationships, ethics, and staff/supervisor reactions.
- Evidence-in-court realism: apply local evidence rules (foundations, objections, chain of custody) and detective/expert witness reliability; sanctions for late disclosures or bad-faith motions (tie to `Attorney Disbarment and Sanctions_.txt`).
- Witness handling: detective credibility scores, expert witness budgets, impeachment/cross options, and use of prior statements/depositions; scheduling conflicts for key witnesses affect continuance success and trial outcomes; missed deposition deadlines trigger sanctions risk.
- Jury and sentencing realism: voir dire bias detection and strike limits; sentencing guidelines/mitigation (PSI, character letters) influencing outcomes and collateral consequences.
- Pretrial publicity: news events shift juror bias, venue risk, and continuance likelihood; option to seek change of venue or sequestration with costs/risks.
- Save/telemetry: save GameFlow session state; capture metrics on approvals, staff tasks, pleas vs trials, reprimands; crash recovery paths.
- Performance: trim bundle load, timer efficiency, and memory for long sessions; seedable randomness for repro.
- Compliance: enforce `GAME_NAME_POLICY.md`; audit branding; finalize localization hooks for new UI strings.
- UX
- Narrative consequences dashboard post-verdict; career summary cards for launch.
- Onboarding polish for the realistic loop (planner + calendar + approvals + staff + hearing).
- Acceptance
- End-to-end playthrough from LLI start to full attorney with no dead ends; saves reload cleanly.
- Regression suite covers approvals, staff tasks, plea flow, and calendar conflicts.
- Launch checklist: QA signoff, crash/ANR budget, performance targets, storefront assets with canonical title.