Ridgeway Legislature
Public API

Overview

Base URL:

https://legislature.rummytech.org/api/v1

Every endpoint returns JSON in a stable envelope. Lists return { "data": [...], "meta": { total, count, limit, offset } }; single resources return { "data": {...} }; failures return { "error": { code, message } } with a matching HTTP status. Append ?pretty to any URL for indented JSON.

A machine-readable OpenAPI 3.1 specification is served alongside the API — point your client generator or Postman/Insomnia import at it. Start exploring at GET /api/v1, which links every endpoint.

Quick start

Pull the complete penal charge list

# All ~110 chargeable R.C.C. offenses, in book order
curl "https://legislature.rummytech.org/api/v1/penal/charges"

Pull every VCC (vehicle code) charge

curl "https://legislature.rummytech.org/api/v1/vcc/charges"

Look up one charge from JavaScript

// Works from any origin — the API is CORS-open
const res = await fetch("https://legislature.rummytech.org/api/v1/charges/RCC%201.01");
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data.name);         // "Treason"
console.log(data.class);        // "felony"
console.log(data.jail_minutes); // 120

Search charges for an arrest report

curl "https://legislature.rummytech.org/api/v1/charges?q=murder"

Authentication & API keys

The API is readable without any credentials — anonymous requests get the shared per-IP rate limit (240/min). For apps that are formally connected, an administrator can issue an API key in the Senate Portal under Administrator → Developer API. A key:

• identifies your app — usage is tracked per key, and keys can be revoked individually without affecting anyone else;
• raises your rate limit — each key has its own requests-per-minute tier (default 1000/min) instead of sharing the anonymous IP bucket;
• can be scoped — a full-access key reaches every endpoint, while a scoped key is restricted to the granted groups: penal (/penal/…), vcc (/vcc/…), and/or statutes (/statutes/…). The combined /charges endpoints span both books, so they require both penal and vcc. Meta endpoints (/, /health, /meta, /openapi.json) are always reachable with any valid key.

Send the key either way:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer rk_0123abcd…" "https://legislature.rummytech.org/api/v1/penal/charges"
curl -H "X-API-Key: rk_0123abcd…"          "https://legislature.rummytech.org/api/v1/penal/charges"

A malformed, unknown, or revoked key gets 401 invalid_api_key (omit the header entirely to fall back to anonymous access). A valid key calling outside its scopes gets 403 insufficient_scope with error.required and error.granted. Keys are shown once at creation and stored only as hashes; revocation takes effect within 30 seconds.

CAD / MDT integration guide

If you are syncing charges into another application, follow these rules:

• Key charges by type + code (e.g. penal 1.01) or by citation (R.C.C. § 1.01). The numeric id is an internal database key that resets whenever the registry is re-imported — never store it.
• Sync with ETags. Every data response carries a registry-wide ETag. Re-fetch with If-None-Match; while nothing has changed you get an empty 304 in a few milliseconds. Poll /api/v1/meta (last_updated) if you prefer timestamps.
• Fetch whole books, not pages. The books are small (110 penal, 56 active VCC). Omitting limit returns the complete book in one response — the intended sync pattern.
• Batch-resolve charge lists with ?codes=1.01,2.05,3.01 (up to 50) when validating charges attached to a report.
• Handle duplicate bare codes. Penal 1.01 (Treason) and VCC 1.01 (Speeding) both exist. /api/v1/charges/1.01 returns 409 ambiguous_code with both candidates; include the book (RCC 1.01) or use the per-book endpoints to stay unambiguous.
• Repealed charges disappear by default. Only active entries are returned unless you pass include_inactive=true — on lists and on single-charge lookups, where a repealed charge answers 404 with a message noting it exists but is inactive. If a synced charge stops appearing, it was repealed or deactivated — retire it in your app too.

Recommended sync loop

// Runs on your app's schedule (e.g. every 10 minutes)
let etag = store.get("charges_etag");
const res = await fetch(base + "/charges", {
  headers: etag ? { "If-None-Match": etag } : {}
});
if (res.status === 304) return;              // nothing changed
const { data } = await res.json();
store.replaceAllCharges(data);               // keyed by type + code
store.set("charges_etag", res.headers.get("ETag"));

Conventions

Errors & rate limits

Errors always use this shape:

{ "error": { "code": "not_found", "message": "No penal charge found with code \"99.99\"." } }

Every response except CORS preflights (OPTIONS, which are exempt from rate limiting) includes X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, and X-RateLimit-Reset (seconds until the window resets). Well-behaved integrations that cache with ETags will never approach the limit.

Penal charges (R.C.C.)

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 1480,                // internal — do not persist
      "type": "penal",
      "code": "1.01",
      "citation": "R.C.C. § 1.01",
      "name": "Treason",
      "description": "Whoever levies war against the State of Ridgeway, …",
      "class": "felony",
      "fine": null,              // see penalty: forfeiture, not a fine
      "jail_minutes": 120,
      "penalty": "Felony · Imprisonment: 120 minutes · Fine: Forfeiture of All Assets · Punishable by conviction",
      "category": { "number": "X.1", "name": "Crimes Against the State Government" },
      "book": { "abbr": "R.C.C.", "name": "Ridgeway Criminal Code (R.C.C.)", "title_number": "X" },
      "status": "active",
      "updated_at": "2026-07-21T02:25:49.521Z"
    }
  ],
  "meta": { "total": 110, "count": 1, "limit": 1, "offset": 0 }
}

VCC charges (R.V.C.)

Identical interface to the penal endpoints, over the vehicle code. All list parameters above apply.

Combined charges

Statutes registry

The complete Code of Statutes — including the non-chargeable structural titles — as a titles → chapters → sections hierarchy. Charges are sections too, so R.C.C./R.V.C. entries also appear here with their full statutory context.

Service endpoints

Reference: the Charge object

Reference: the Section object

Returned by the statutes endpoints. Same penalty fields as charges (offense_class, fine, jail_minutes — null on non-chargeable sections), plus body, history (source bills), notes, and full { chapter, title } context objects. The stable key is number (the citation).

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