by David Weber
Judicial System
Due to its origins in Idaho in what had been the United States of America on Old Earth, the Grayson judiciary and legal systems are based on the American system as it existed at the time. As such, it is a common law system with legal precedent being the most important consideration.
The judiciary system is at once very simple and very complex. It is simple in that there is a single planetary level court known as the High Court. It is complex in that each Steadholder holds not just executive but also judicial power within his steading.
The High Court can be thought of as the secular extension of the Church of Humanity Unchained. While the Church, in the aftermath of the Grayson Civil War, renounced secular executive authority, it retained sole responsibility for training the planet’s jurists. Thus, while sitting judges are barred from holding a position in the Church, the opinions of the Church still influence judges. In addition, the Reverend has a veto over nominees to the court.
The process of filling a vacancy on the Court involves all three of the major centers of power on Grayson. The Protector compiles a list of at least six nominees. The Reverend, with the assistance of his legal staff, reviews these nominees and is allowed to reject anyone on the basis of their qualifications. This decision is final but he does have to justify it. Once the vetted list has been approved by the Reverend, it is passed to the Conclave of Steadholders, which may also strike names from it upon a two-thirds majority vote. The Protector then chooses one nominee from the vetted list. Under the Constitution, if the Conclave rejects all of the Protector’s nominees then the Protector may make his choice from any name on the original list, as approved by the Reverend.
The High Court is divided into an Upper and Lower Division. Each steadholder holds the power of high, middle and low justice within his own steading, and with virtually feudal powers, each can create laws applicable to his own steading. Because there is no uniformity of law among the steadings, disputes that cross steading lines, or that implicate choice of law questions, are heard by the Lower Division of the High Court. In that sense, the High Court’s Lower Division courts are the trial courts and courts of original jurisdiction for these cases. The Lower Division of the High Court also hears criminal cases where planetary law has been violated. Cases that do not meet these criteria are tried in a steading’s own courts, which are the courts of local jurisdiction.
The Upper Division of the High Court is the court of final appeal for cases that originate in the Lower Division. There is no appeal to the High Court from the courts of individual steadings. The High Court also hears cases regarding the Grayson constitution. The number of judges on the Upper Division of the High Court is fixed by the Constitution at nine members.
The steadholders hold the power of judicial appointments to the courts of their own steadings. Although all the steading-level court systems are based on common law, the variations in law and procedure that have grown over the years would require an individual examination of each steading. What the systems have in common is that they are structured as three level systems: trial courts, appellate division courts, and steading supreme courts. Steadholders have the right to institute any laws within their own steadings (indeed, their decrees have the force of law) as long as these laws do not conflict with planetary law or impinge on any of the Sword’s prerogatives, as well as the power of commutation and pardon.
It is not legally possible for a steadholder’s decrees to be “unconstitutional” within his own steading unless they conflict with planetary law or impinge upon the Sword’s prerogatives. The constitutionality of steadholder decrees of law may be challenged only if the Lower Division of the High Court agrees to hear the challenge. Once accepted by the Lower Division, either party to the appeal challenge may appeal to the Upper Division, but the choice to hear the appeal is solely within the High Court’s discretion. Lawyers admitted to practice in one steading are generally accorded the privilege of appearing in courts of any other steading, although there are some exceptions.
Church of Humanity Unchained
The people of Grayson are not required to be members of the Church of Humanity Unchained, but nearly all of them are. Well over eighty percent of all Graysons are active members of a local church or cathedral. Aspects of religious observance and customs in living out the faith vary between steadings, but the core doctrine and the primacy of the First Elder as chief interpreter of the holy text remain the same.
The church is unified on a planetary level by the Office of the Sacristy which is headed by the First Elder. Sub-denominations within the Church of Humanity Unchained may hold entirely opposing views, yet the Church is clearly hierarchical.
The Church is a creedal religion which is clearly part of the Christian tradition, as is obvious from the Austinian Creed which contains the key points of its doctrine. These are essentially those of mainstream Christianity, but the Sacristy further requires universal acceptance of the two primal doctrines unique to the Church of Humanity Unchained: The Doctrine of the Test, and The Doctrine of Toleration. Serving members of the clergy are further required to abide by the instructions of the First Elder and their ecclesiastic superiors in matters of observance, scriptural interpretation, and instruction.
The Doctrine of the Test teaches that God, the Tester, places certain challenges before all human beings, as a means of instructing and strengthening them, but has also granted them the strength and ability through grace to meet those challenges. The Doctrine of Toleration teaches that it is for the Tester alone to judge how any human has risen to his or her individual Test. Any child of God has not simply the right but the absolute obligation to meet his or her Test in accordance with his or her individual interpretation of God’s will, yet the Church, as the corporate body of all believers, is responsible for teaching right doctrine and providing coherent instruction in the understood will of God. Any serving priest of the Church is therefore required to live and teach in accordance with the Sacristy’s rulings and scriptural interpretations on major points of doctrine and Church discipline. If he cannot in good conscience do so, he cannot be condemned for his refusal, which is enshrined in the Doctrine of the Test, but neither may he retain an active office of the Church until the conflict between its teachings and his own beliefs has been resolved. Note that on several occasions in Grayson history, the conflict has been resolved when the Church accepted that the dissident’s beliefs had been correct, rather than the reverse.
The Reverend Austin Grayson founded the Church, led the colonization of the planet, reformed the faith around the Doctrine of the Test, and was canonized as the Church’s first saint. Believers do not worship Grayson himself, but he is honored as an exemplar who met the Test placed before him. The Church of Humanity Unchained draws divine inspiration from not only the Old and New Testaments of the Judaeo-Christian tradition but also from The Book of the New Way, a collection of writings by Reverend Grayson. The writings include texts written on Old Earth, in orbit, and after landing. All are considered sacred as they show how even a man as obedient to God as First Elder of the Church wrestled with the challenges of planetary survival, feared failure and abandonment, and yet rose to meet the Test by recognizing his own failures and seeking redemption for himself and all of Father Church’s children through grace and good works.
People
The people of Grayson are the product of their environment and have developed distinctive religious and cultural imperatives in response to their hostile homeworld’s survival requirements. Theologically, this shows most clearly in the Church of Humanity Unchained’s doctrine of the Test which undergirds a religion which is simultaneously intensely conservative and yet highly adaptive. Culturally, the colonists’ need to live together in close holdings, shielded from the environment, led to the institution of the steadholders as the autocratic leaders who, in times of crisis, were obligated to select who among a holding’s citizens would be euthanized to ensure that it had sufficient purified air, food,
and water to survive. In addition, the high mortality rate and skewed gender distribution reinforced and preserved the practice of polygynous marriage.
While the desperate days of the founding are long past, these traditions remain in modern forms. Steadholders continue to rule their steadings as autonomous states, and while they no longer have the need to decide who lives and who dies on a daily basis, they retain much of their original power.
Grayson’s views of women and their roles in society are in the process of changing, as well. Polygyny remains the standard form of marriage, but the societal view of gender roles has changed with increasing dominance over the Grayson environment and interaction with outside cultures. Over the last two decades, women have been permitted to own property, enter the workforce, and exercise the franchise, and inheritance laws have been modified to permit female succession to steadholderships. Despite this, traditionalists still maintain that women suffer most from the harsh nature of Grayson’s environment, and that men therefore should serve as their protectors from all other stresses of life outside the creation and nurturing of families.
Bagwell, Frederick
Rear Admiral, Grayson Space Navy
Frederick Bagwell served as Admiral Harrington’s staff operations officer as a commander in the First Battle Squadron. As a captain, he commanded GNS Honor Harrington as Vice Admiral Brentworth’s flag captain. Promoted to rear admiral in 1919 PD, Bagwell is currently CO, Battle Division 4.1, GSN.
Benson-Dessouix, Harriet
Rear Admiral, Protector’s Own
Harriet Benson, a captain in the Pegasus System Navy, became a Havenite POW when her system was conquered and she spent sixty-five T-years imprisoned on the planet Hades. Transferred to Camp Inferno after leading a passive resistance movement against StateSec atrocities, she was a key participant in Honor Harrington’s escape from Hades and commanded the captured battlecruiser Kutuzov in the Battle of Cerberus. Married to Henri Benson-Dessouix, who was imprisoned with her on Hades, she is now a Grayson citizen and commands the Protector’s Own’s Carrier Squadron 1.
Benson-Dessouix, Henri
Colonel, Harrington Steadholder’s Guard
Henri Dessouix, imprisoned on Hades with Captain Harriet Benson, played a major role in Honor Harrington’s escape from Hades. Now a Grayson citizen married to Harriet Benson-Dessouix, he resides in Harrington Steading and serves in the Harrington Steadholder’s Guard.
Brentworth, Mark
Vice Admiral, Grayson Space Navy
Commander Mark Brentworth served as Honor Harrington’s liaison officer during the battles of Blackbird and Second Yeltsin. His subsequent commands included GNS Jason Alvarez, GNS Raul Courvoisier, Battlecruiser Squadron 1, and Battle Squadron 2. He is currently CO, Blackbird Yard.
Brentworth, Walter
Vice Admiral, Grayson Space Navy (retired)
Walter Brentworth was a commodore during the final war with Masada. Promoted to rear admiral, he served as CO, BatDiv 1.1 under Admiral Harrington in the Third Battle of Yeltsin. Promoted to vice admiral in 1911 PD, he served as CO, Office of Shipbuilding, retiring from that post in 1915.
Candless, James (deceased)
Corporal, Harrington Steadholder’s Guard
James “Jamie” Candless, the second ranking of Honor Harrington’s three original personal armsmen, died during Harrington’s extraction from solitary confinement onboard PNS Tepes.
Caslet, Warner
Rear Admiral, Protector’s Own
Warner Caslet served as an officer in the People’s Navy. Defeated by Honor Harrington in the Battle of Schiller, he was reassigned as Admiral Thomas Theisman’s staff operations officer and personally assigned by Cordelia Ransom to escort Harrington to Cerberus for execution. Captured by Alistair McKeon during the escape from PNS Tepes, Caslet accompanied Harrington to the surface of Hades and, eventually, served as Harrington’s XO aboard the battlecruiser Farnese during the Battle of Cerberus. He accompanied her to Grayson, where he became a Grayson citizen and currently commands Battle Division 2.1, Protector’s Own.
Clinkscales, Carson
Commander, Grayson Space Navy
Carson Clinkscales, nephew of Howard Clinkscales, became Honor Harrington’s flag lieutenant and was captured by the People’s Navy with her while he was an ensign. He was instrumental in Harrington’s escape from PNS Tepes and in the later escape from Hades. He is currently CO, GNS Erastus.
Clinkscales, Howard Samson Jonathan (deceased)
Regent, Harrington Steading
Howard Clinkscales began his career as a Sword Armsman, attaining the rank of brigadier in Palace Security by age thirty-six. As a general, he commanded Planetary Security at the time of the Courvoisier Mission to Grayson. He later served as Steadholder Harrington’s regent and as CEO of Grayson Skydomes, Ltd., until his death in 1920 PD at the age of ninety-two. He is survived by his wives, Bethany, Rebecca, and Constance, and by his children, Howard, Jessica, Marjorie, John, Angela, Barbara, and Marian.
Fitzclarence, William (deceased)
Steadholder Burdette
William Fitzclarence used his steadholdership to plot against Protector Benjamin Mayhew’s reforms and against Steadholder Harrington in association with Steadholder Mueller and Brother Edmond Marchant. Fitzclarence ordered Harrington’s assassination in 1907 PD. Accused of treason, he demanded trial by combat and was killed by Steadholder Harrington in her role as Protector’s Champion.
Gerrick, Adam (deceased)
Chief Engineer, Grayson Skydomes, Ltd.
Adam Gerrick, a Grayson engineer, proposed the construction of crystoplast, hermetically sealed domes to protect cities and farmland from the toxic planetary environment. That key technology was funded by Steadholder Harrington through the creation of Grayson Skydomes, Ltd., with Gerrick serving as chief engineer. He analyzed the catastrophic collapse of the Winston Mueller Middle School Dome, successfully demonstrating that it was due to sabotage, then was killed when Steadholder Harrington’s pinnace was shot down on the orders of William Fitzclarence, Steadholder Burdette.
Gutierrez, Mateo
Lieutenant, Owens Steadholder’s Guard
Mateo Gutierrez immigrated to Manticore as a child following the PRH’s conquest of San Martin. He enlisted in the Royal Manticoran Marine Corps and rose to the rank of platoon sergeant aboard HMS Gauntlet during the Tiberian Incident in 1918 PD, where he served as Midshipwoman Abigail Hearns’ senior Marine. In 1919, he transferred from the RMMC to Owens Steadholder’s Guard with the rank of lieutenant, and serves as Abigail Hearns’ personal armsman.
Hanks, Reverend Julius (deceased)
First Elder of the Church of Humanity Unchained
Reverend Hanks, as the spiritual head of the Church of Humanity Unchained, was a firm supporter of the “Mayhew Restoration’s” reforms and of Steadholder Harrington. In 1907 PD, he was aboard Harrington’s pinnace when it was shot down on William Fitzclarence’s orders. Although Hanks survived the subsequent crash landing, he gave his own life to save Steadholder Harrington when he threw himself between her and an armed assassin.
Hearns, Abigail
Lieutenant, Grayson Space Navy
Abigail Hearns is the third daughter of Steadholder Owens and is the first Grayson woman to graduate from the Royal Manticoran Naval Academy on Saganami Island. She has since served exclusively in the RMN, beginning with her midshipwoman’s cruise aboard HMS Gauntlet, where she demonstrated both leadership and courage in the Tiberian Incident. As assistant tactical officer, HMS Hexapuma, she was the acting squadron tactical officer at the Battle of Monica in 1921 PD.
LaFollet, Andrew
Colonel, Harrington Steadholder’s Guard
Andrew LaFollet, after completing training and service in Palace Security, served as Steadholder Harrington’s senior personal armsman from 1906 until 1921 PD, when Harrington made him her son and heir’s personal armsman.
LaFollet, Miranda Gloria
Chief of Staff, Harringto
n household staff
Miranda LaFollet first entered Steadholder Harrington’s service as her personal maid on the recommendation of her brother, Andrew LaFollet. She currently manages the Harrington House staff and, with her treecat companion Farragut, works with Dr. Adelina Arif in the development of treecat sign language and the integration of treecats into human society.
Matthews, Wesley
High Admiral, Grayson Space Navy
Wesley Matthews was, as Commodore, the senior surviving Grayson officer in space at the First and Second Battle of Yeltsin’s Star. His open-mindedness and ability to coordinate with the Star Kingdom of Manticore served him well when he was subsequently promoted to High Admiral, the uniformed Commander-in-Chief of the GSN, in 1903 PD following the death of High Admiral Bernard Yanakov. He has held that post continuously since that time.
Marchant, Solomon
Commodore, Grayson Space Navy
Solomon Marchant served as XO, GNS Jason Alvarez, in 1911 PD. He accompanied Steadholder Harrington aboard HMS Prince Adrian and was captured with her by the People’s Navy. After playing an important role in the escape from Hades and commanding the battlecruiser MacArthur in the Battle of Cerberus, he returned with Harrington to Grayson. Promoted to captain in 1912 and to commodore in 1915, Marchant currently commands Cruiser Squadron 6, GSN.
Mayhew, Benjamin Bernard Jason
Protector of Grayson
Benjamin Mayhew IX graduated from Harvard University’s Bogotá Campus on Old Earth before becoming Protector of Grayson in 1898 PD. In 1903, Captain Honor Harrington and her treecat Nimitz saved Benjamin’s family from assassination and he, in turn, saved Harrington’s life in the same fight. He is a political moderate, a close friend and advocate of Honor Harrington, a proponent of Grayson’s societal modernization, and a firm ally of Queen Elizabeth III of Manticore. He is married to Katherine Elizabeth Mayhew and Elaine Margaret Mayhew, with whom he has seven living children: Rachel, Theresa, Jeanette, Alexandra, Honor, Arabella, and Bernard.
