A/N: My legal knowledge mostly consists of courtroom TV dramas such as Boston Legal (hence the title), The Practice etc ... So don't try to test my knowledge! Oh, oh, oh... and please review!!
FULL Summary: Naruto is the Konoha District Attorney responsible for prosecuting Itachi. Unwittingly, he is thrown into the middle of a dangerous conspiracy, where blackmail and deceit become the rule of the day. Can he even trust Sasuke, his long lost best friend that he was just recently reunited with? SasuNaruSasu AU
Rating: Relatively harmless now, M for later chapters...
Disclaimer: I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this. Don't own. And you DO NOT want to know what I would make Naruto and Sasuke do if I owned them. Trust me, you do not.
"Case number 45384, the Commonwealth vs. Uchiha Itachi on the matter of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree..."
"Hoshigaki Kisame for the defense, we waive reading, your honor, and enter a plea of 'Not Guilty' "
Naruto sighed. He knew this was going to be tough. After all, he was merely a District Attorney, going up against was the Akatsuki, THE Akatsuki; the biggest, most established law firm in the country, if not the world. Dispelling all negative thoughts, he stood up.
"I submit to your honor, a motion to freeze Mr. Uchiha the inheritance he acquired after committing the crime… allegedly," cheekily correcting the intended mistake.
"And I would submit to this court that that action is not only illegal, but it is unconstitutional"
"Your honor…"
Quickly cutting Naruto off, Kisame continued: "This court is supposed to assume the innocence of a defendant, until a verdict of guilty is pronounced. There has been no evidence given. There has been no witness testimony. There has been no expert testimony. Hell, we've just barely made it through the first five minutes…"
"Your honor…"
Ignoring Naruto for the second time, the dark skinned lawyer continued: "Am I to assume that this court is treating my client as a convicted, guilty man? If that is the case, I request your honor to declare a mistrial and a…"
Holding up her arm, the presiding judge, Tsunade effectively halts Kisame's rampage.
"Mr. Uzumaki, do you have anything else to present to support your motion?"
"We have evidence placing Mr. Uchiha at the scene, we have…"
Interrupting Naruto again, Kisame continued where he left off: "These facts are neither verified or have been presented before the court. At present time, no evidence has been presented to this court, and hence, my client's innocence must be assumed. Therefore, this motion has no valid grounds to proceed. "
"Your honor…"
"The fact is that there is no precedence for freezing the inheritance of someone for an alleged crime."
"Your honor…"
"Furthermore, the Public Prosecutor's Office has no right to demand such an action be taken, as the inheritance was legally transferred and a legal will was verified."
"Your honor…"
"If Mr. Uzumaki would like to contest the contents of the will, he should file another case, rather than try to detract the attention of this court."
"Your honor…"
"In fact, the only people that can decide whether my client is guilty or not, is a jury, and no one else."
"WOULD YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" bellowed Naruto, face red.
"Enough, enough." Tsunade, holding up her two palms and breaking up the argument, although personally, she would have liked to see it continue as she found it highly amusing.
"Mr. Uzumaki, this court is assuming the innocence of Mr. Uchiha, and hence cannot grant a motion to suppress the inheritance of Mr. Uchiha, even if it is connected to the crime. When… sorry, if Mr. Uchiha is convicted, I will have no problem in granting you the motion. Motion denied. Anything else?"
Narrowing his eyebrows, the blonde stole a glance at the defendant, and received a wide smirk in return. Scowling, he quickly looked away, but not before noticing that the Uchiha had employed practically the whole law firm. Flanked by Deidara, Sasori, Pein, Konan to the left, and Hidan, Kakazu, Tobi, and Zetsu to the right, his District Attorney badge looked feeble in comparison. Itachi literally employed everyone from the Forbes top 10 lawyers list. No doubt with the resources that he just tried to freeze. Oh well. 1-0 to Itachi.
"That is all, Tsunade baa… your honor," Naruto quickly corrected himself, while a hand instinctively reached for the back of his hair as he grinned guiltily.
Scowling and giving a look that promised nothing but pain, Tsunade's head swung to Kisame.
"Counsel?"
"We would like to request your honor to recuse herself from hearing this case. Meaning no disrespect, your honor obviously knows the District Attorney handling this case, Mr. Uzumaki. We have evidence that indicates that your honor and Mr. Uzumaki have lived together before, and once acted as a mentor to him. Furthermore, I have affidavits that describe your relationship with Mr. Uzumaki as 'like mother and son'."
"There is no conflict" Tsunade's eyebrows drew closer and closer. "The judge should only recuse herself if he or she has a vested interest in the outcome of the case..."
"May it please the court, but didn't your honor imply that my client was guilty? Furthermore, you and Mr. Uzumaki seem on first name and nickname calling basis."
Glaring at a guilty stricken Naruto, Tsunade's eyebrows started to twitch, never a good sign.
"I would appreciate it if you stop interrupting me, counsel. As I said before, there is no conflict." Sighing, Tsunade continued: "Most lawyers and judges are on a, as you so eloquently put in, first name and nickname calling basis. This means nothing. This does not blur or mar my judgment. I am sure you already know that the only reason for recusing would be if I had a vested interest in this case, which I assure you, I do not. I know neither Mr. Uchiha nor anyone connected to this case."
"Your honor…"
"Motion denied, my decision is final. Anything else?" Tsunade looked around, as if daring anyone to challenge her.
Silence reigned.
"In that case, I set August 16 to be the trial date, and order the defendant to be held without bail…"
"If I may so rudely interrupt your honor again, Mr. Uchiha is the director of the largest firm in the country, if not the world, Uchiha Inc. I request that your honor take this into consideration before ordering no bail. The company will suffer incredible losses. In addition to this, thousands will lose their jobs. "
"Counsel, you know as well as I do that one of the charges against Mr. Uchiha is murder one."
"Yes, but Mr. Uchiha has no prior conviction, and I can provide a lot of evidence that testifies that Mr. Uchiha is an exemplary citizen, among them sworn affidavits… "
"So we are supposed to alter the due process just because he is a director of a company?" Naruto snorted, breaking his silence.
"Your honor, please let us not punish the thousands of employees in Uchiha Inc. for something that Mr. Uchiha, technically did not commit."
'Not wanting to punish the thousands of employees my ass. He just knows he will never survive the prison' Naruto mused silently.
After a long silence, Tsunade finally relented. "Fine. Bail is set at 10 million and I want five personal bonds. I also want Mr. Uchiha to report to the District Attorney Office and the Local Police Station every 24 hours."
"Oh, and surrender your passport to the court." Tsunade added as an afterthought, nodding to the defendant.
"Anything else?" Tsunade asked for the third time.
Silence reigned again.
"Good. Mr. Uchiha, please meet with the local law enforcement agents to arrange your bail and bonds. " Tsunade nodded to Uchiha Itachi.
"Case adjourned"
Naruto silently walked back to the desk, packing all the court documents into his briefcase. Nodding to his second chair and assistant, Inuzuka Kiba, he let himself drop into the wooden chair beside his assistant.
"Tough huh?" Kiba enquired, eyebrows raised.
"You have no idea. Our motion to freeze was one of our only hopes of cornering Itachi."
"I know, I know… Its gonna be tough going up against the Akatsuki. The entire Akatsuki for that matter." Kiba groaned looking at the ten lawyers filing out of the courtroom.
"C'mon… Let's feed the paparazzi something before they start camping outside our house." Kiba stood up, waiting for Naruto.
"Okay, okay. Just give me a minute."
Naruto closed his eyes and took and deep breath. Opening his eyes to reveal cerulean depths, he quickly stood up and clapped Kiba on the shoulder.
"Lets go." Turning around, Naruto scanned the almost empty courtroom before his eyes rested on one particular person staring straight back at him.
"Sas…Sas…uke?"
"Hn… Dobe… "
So, what say you?