Emerald Champion
The Emerald Champion is the personal bodyguard and champion of the Emperor, responsible for dealing with direct threats and challenges to his person, as well as overseeing the activities of his personal guard. Additionally, the Emerald Champion is considered the supreme arbiter of the Emperor’s laws throughout the Empire. Since no one man can enforce the laws of an entire realm, the Emerald Champion relies on a massive organization of Imperially endorsed magistrates known as Emerald Magistrates.
Emerald Magistrates
The Emerald Magistrates are the highest legal authority in the Empire, the personal representatives of the Emerald Champion, who is in turn the Emperor’s direct champion and lieutenant. Emerald Magistrates serve Imperial law everywhere, regardless of clan borders. They can move across and through clan territory freely if their mission requires it. Emerald Magistrates have jurisdiction over a wide variety of crimes that are considered threats to the Empire or the Emperor.
Magistrate
The magistrate is the basic law enforcement official in Rokugan. Depending on jurisdiction, a magistrate’s authority may extend over a single city, a province, an entire clan’s holdings, or even the entire Empire. Anyone who bears the title daimyo or governor is authorized to appoint magistrates to assist in maintaining law and order in their domain.
Yoriki
A samurai who serves as an assistant to a magistrate. Yoriki are used primarily in large provinces or cities where the local magistrate cannot investigate all crimes and problems on his own.
Doshin
A budoka (armed peasant) who has been assigned to uphold law and social order within a town or city, either alone or as an assistant to a samurai magistrate. As heinin they are not allowed to carry swords, most often utilizing a jitte or occasionally a sasumata. This is widespread enough that a jitte is commonly regarded as a badge of office for a magistrate and their subordinates and may in some cases be explicitly decorated as such.
It is worth noting that a position as a magistrate (whether clan, Emerald, or Jade) is usually not something which a samurai earns through training or expertise in the law. Rather, most magistrates are appointed to their positions—perhaps because their superiors consider them trustworthy or capable, or because they have earned a reward for their loyal service. Some magistrates are also appointed because they have pulled strings and accumulated political influence in order to win a higher position among the buke, and it is these sorts who are most likely to succumb to corruption or abuse of power.