Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or it's characters.
Chapter 54,
"Your honor, I would like to point out that the police have evidence of the events that have transpired. We get a clear view of Libby assaulting Cindy, and Detective Martin even caught Libby red handed when she stabbed Cindy's hospital bed." The prosecutor said walking towards the jury.
"Now surely anyone can understand why miss Vortex would want justice. She has been scarred for life, both emotionally and physically. And because of a young woman who forced Cindy to be someone she is not." Prosecutor said and Libby's hands clutched under the table.
"We are shown the evidence. We can see what Libby is capable of. If we don't help Cindy now, then imagine what Libby will be capable of in the next ten years or so." The prosecutor said and then they went back to their table. Mrs. Folfax stood up, and took a deep breath.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is a little girl." Samantha started and she walked over to the jury box.
"A little girl who loves music, and graystar and dancing. And who is to say that such a young person is capable of horrible homicide? Well, I suppose that the 'who' would have to be you all. The jury of her peers. But how much to you really know about my client? I doubt any of you would believe that Libby is capable of hurting anyone. After all, Libby isn't the one who fights all the time. Cindy in fact has been trained to fight professionally. She knows the ancient art of self defense, and she has been known to fight at school." Samantha said.
"Objection, your honor. Relevance?" The prosecutor asked and the judge turned to Samantha.
"Please cut to the chase, Mrs. Folfax." The judge requested.
"Alright, then." Samantha said and she cleared her throat.
"Isn't it completely possible that Libby is the victim here?" She proposed and in the back, Cindy blinked at these words.
"Yes, yes, you all heard me. Cindy is the rough one, with a record of violence and a short temper. Who are we to believe, the bully; or the music lover?" Samantha said and Cindy leaned towards Jimmy.
"Is she allowed to say things like that?" Cindy asked and Jimmy shrugged.
"It doesn't sound right. But maybe they can get away with more with opening statements." Jimmy said and Cindy quietly groaned.
"Your honor, this is a bunch of slanderous statements with little to no backing." The prosecutor said and the judge nodded.
"I agree, Mrs. Folfax, I hope that you have more then negative comments to support your case." The judge said and Samantha smiled.
"Of course, sir. Let me present the student records for the school." Samantha picked up the papers and handed them to the judge.
"As you can see, you have a written record of the two girls. Libby's record is full of volunteer work, extracurricular activities, clubs, and other technical details. The worst thing she has done is forgotten to pay a few overdue library dues." Samantha said as the judge looked over the file.
"Well, that is true." The judge confirmed.
"And, now when you look at Cindy's record, it's like night and day. Cindy's schedule does have several activities. We all know Cindy is a busy kid. But take a look at how many times she got sent to the principal's office, or got detention? Hm, quite a significant number, isn't it judge?" Samantha said and Jimmy bit his lip. There were a few times where Jimmy framed Cindy for something. And other times when they got in trouble together. He never really thought about how much trouble he got Cindy in.
"You're honor, this record isn't relevant to the case." The prosecutor said and the judge sighed.
"Mrs. Folfax, I am struggling to see the connection to detention and attempted murder." The judge said, but this didn't worry Samantha.
"I'm showing the jury who they are really dealing with. Sure we live in a small town, full of gossip and theories, but let us not forget who these children are." Samantha said and the prosecutor stood up.
"Sir, there is a clear evidence that shows one Libby Folfax and one Nick Dean abusing Cindy Vortex." They said and to the courtroom's surprise, Samantha chuckled quietly.
"Ma'am is there something funny to you?" The judge asked her, disgusted at her behavior.
"My apologies, judge. It's just that I have not seen any evidence that shows any real proof." Samantha said and Jimmy blinked.
"There is video of your client being abusive towards-"
"Ha!" Samantha shouted and the Judge cleared his throat.
"Yes, the video." Samantha said, being more professional. Then she turned to the jury box, and she pulled out her phone.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my cellphone. I have two, this one is strictly for work, and I keep another one in my bag for personal matters. I'm sure most of you have cameras on your phone. You can take pictures and film things just as well as anything else. But if you want to have a career as a photographer, surely you would want to have a more professional camera. Sure some are digital, and some are film, and people have arguments about which is better, but here's the thing. Both are trustworthy of evidence." Samantha put her phone back in her pocket and walks over to the N-Cam sitting on the evidence table in a plastic bag.
"Now, I won't pick it up, but take a good look at this camera. It looks fancier then we know, and that's to be expected. But did you take a really good look at the footage you saw? This camera defies logic as we know it. It can supposedly film through solid materials and get perfect picture and sound." Samantha said and Cindy rose an eyebrow when she heard that.
"This camera was made, and from what I see the only thing the camera person did was make a pretty disgusting movie." Samantha said.
"If you believe everything you see, then why did this sicko merely sit back and watch as a girl got cut and raped, and another got bullied, and let a house burn down." Samantha said and the Prosecutor spoke up.
"Your honor, we have clear records from the fire department, stating that the house in the video did burn down the night in question." He stated, then he went ahead and sat down.
"Yes, but that means that there is a chance that the person filming set the house on fire." Samantha said and some people murmured at that response.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, listen to me. This camera, and therefore the footage on it, cannot be trusted. Given the information supposedly given on here, and all of the inaccuracies, what are we left with? For all we know this is a kid who tricked out a camera, then made a movie with their friends. Using convincing costumes and technology to make a court believe that my client is guilty of crimes ghastly for any adult. Now, I know how real the video seems, and that's to be expected. After all, with today's standards, cartoons look more real then ever before." Samantha said and Jimmy's heart began to race.
"With all of this stewing in the back of your mind, Your Honor, I would like permission for the court to dismiss this camera, and all it's footage, from evidence." Samantha said loudly, and Jimmy gasped, which made Cindy look at him.
"Your Honor, this camera was the key piece of evidence in three other cases." The prosecutor said.
"True, but no one asked for it to be dismissed. And she does make a point. I will give the court a ten minute break while I think this request over." The judge said banging the mallet.
"Oh, no, how can that happen?" Jimmy whispered to himself and Cindy looked at him again.
"You took that video, didn't you?" Cindy asked and Jimmy's head shot up and he blushed looking at her.
"Please, What makes you think that I did. That camera has footage from our class, and I was in class with you." Jimmy pointed out and Cindy nodded.
"I know, but you did have a gaggle of Jimmy clones running around at one point. For all I know, the one in class actually wasn't you." Cindy said and Jimmy sighed.
"You always were too smart for your own good." Jimmy said softly, and Cindy scoffed quietly.
"Look whose talking Nerdtron." She said and Jimmy gave a small smile.
"Yeah, I made the camera and took the video." Jimmy admitted and Cindy took a deep breath.
"Is that what you were too embarrassed to tell me?" Cindy asked and Jimmy blinked.
"Excuse me?" Jimmy asked and Cindy rolled her eyes.
"The other night, when I came over to your house that first night, I asked you how you knew that I needed help. You said that you were too embarrassed to tell me how. Was it the camera footage?" Cindy said and Jimmy wanted to say 'yes', but knew that wasn't good enough. He knew that if Cindy accepted that answer now, she would still want to know why he took the video, and how he knew exactly where to be, and like the lawyer said, she would want to know why he didn't do anything.
"Well... partly." Jimmy said and Cindy looked him up and down.
"I guess that you still don't want to tell me, and that's ok. You'll tell me when you are comfortable and ready." Cindy said and Jimmy couldn't help but feel grateful. He felt the urge to attack her with a hug, but suppressed it. Instead he hesitantly reaches over and held her hand. Cindy's breath hitched at the heat of his hand, but then Jimmy lifted her hand, and she kissed the top of it. Cindy and Jimmy were both blushing. Jimmy felt odd with being so gentle, though he knew it was necessary. And Cindy thought this simple gesture was incredibly romantic and couldn't believe that Jimmy, of all people, was so sweet.
The judge thought about the camera. He knew that the camera had clear evidence of the crimes taking place. But if the camera is questionable, then that would mean that the video is questionable too. Though if he did throw out the camera, then the other cases would be effected. The could get an appeal and get put back on the street. It's true that the footage wasn't obtained from professional sources, but the video was still clean and well handled. The main question is whether or not the camera is trustworthy or not. The Judge took a glance at the clock and sighed. He needed to make a decision.
"All rise." The courtroom stood and waited in pure silence as they awaited his word. The judge looked out on all of the faces and stood in his box for a moment. Cindy was starting to worry. That camera got her parents and Nick in jail. If he dismisses it, Libby will probably go free, and the others would most likely get out too. Her life would go back to the awful way it was. She seemed comfort in Jimmy. Reaching over and grabbing his hand to help calm herself down. Jimmy blushed at the interaction, but said nothing about it.
"After careful thought about the information at hand. It is my professional opinion that the camera, that the police received, is not fit for courthouse evidence. Therefore, the footage of events found is questionable and cannot be used. So I will grant Mrs. Folfax's request to dismiss it." The Judge said, and Samantha smiled at her daughter, who smiled back.
