Earthcub12 Presents

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ~ Courtroom Champions

WITNESS TESTIMONY

"WE GOT THE CALL AT AROUND 8:30 THAT NIGHT."

"THE POLICE AND I RUSHED TO THE CHURCH AS FAST AS WE COULD."

"WE HAD TO INTERRUPT THE SERMON TO MAKE SURE NOBODY WAS TO LEAVE."

"AFTER A SHORT INVESTIGATION OF THE CRIME SCENE, WE LATER WENT OUTSIDE."

"WE EVENTUALLY FOUND DAVID VAUGHAN IN THE ALLEYWAY, CROUCHED DOWN AND PICKING UP THE PIECES OF GLASS."

"HE WAS A MESS, SO WE TOOK HIM IN, AND NOW HERE WE ARE."

Hera smiled and slowly nodded her head. "Well done, detective. And you promise the court that this information is 110-percent accurate?"

"I do." Raya answered. "I'd stake my life on it."

"I must say I, for one, do not find anything faulty in this testimony." The Judge commented. "However, I am more or less proven wrong on that fact. Let's see if this is any different. Mr. Wright? Your cross-examination, please."

"Yes, Your Honor." Phoenix told him. (This testimony seems pretty solid, alright. I should really press it to see if I can find anything new.)

CROSS-EXAMINATION

"WE GOT THE CALL AT AROUND 8:30 THAT NIGHT."

"Hold it!" Phoenix blurted. "The call by Maria Cupp?"

"Yes, what else?" Raya retorted. "The call was detailing the crime. The fact that somebody murdered the head priest there, the location, what have you. Just a regular emergency dial."

(Hmm… I don't know what I'll get with this testimony. Should I press her further?) Phoenix decided against that and shook his head. "Very well. What next?"

"THE POLICE AND I RUSHED TO THE CHURCH AS FAST AS WE COULD."

"Hold it!" Shouted the attorney. "About what time did you get there?"

Raya gave a moment to think about this and finally said, "I can't remember exactly. It was maybe about ten minutes after we got the call. So between 8:30 and 8:40, if I had to guess.

"That seems like an accurate amount of time." The Judge commented. "So what happened when you arrived at the church?"

"WE HAD TO INTERRUPT THE SERMON TO MAKE SURE NOBODY WAS TO LEAVE."

"Hold it!" Phoenix interrupted. "Sermon?"

"Yes, a sermon. It's these things churches do on most days. Need a brief oral history?" Raya offered sarcastically.

"I-I know what they are! I was just confirming it! Anyway, so there was a sermon going on when the police entered?"

Raya nodded. "That's right. One of the priests was having a sermon in the dark room when we came in. As soon as a parade of loud footsteps entered the hall, eyes were gazed up at the police and I. We would have gotten to the scene earlier; that's when that idiotic news anchor got in our way."

(New anchor…? Oh! She must be talking about Jack Anchor.)

"How would he have gotten in your way?" Phoenix asked.

Raya replied, "You see, if you remember being in the church yesterday, you may see that the room only has a single, long hall. That anchor got in our way, bragging that 'the church was finally caught', or saying he 'knew the church was up to no good!'. Then he started asking for an interview. After a minute or so, the police had to force him out of our way. That didn't stop him from barking at us."

(Yeesh… nothing seems to intimidate the press.)

"Shortly after, that is when the priest on the balcony asked what the situation was." Raya went on.

(She must mean Damien Hope. He said he did do a sermon that night. Must have been a bit frustrating to have them interrupt his service.)

Raya continued, "We had no choice but to alert him of the situation. Word got around that a murder occurred just a room away. We asked them to not leave the building until they were clear to do so."

"Why were they not asked to leave?" The Judge asked. "Wouldn't that have affected their safety?"

"The killer could have been amongst them." Raya answered. "We took a few precautions, and that's something I am not ashamed of. But later, we found David, arrested him, and gave the church the clear to leave. In short, a successful day."

"Okay, but when did you find David and arrested him?" Phoenix asked.

"AFTER A SHORT INVESTIGATION OF THE CRIME SCENE, WE LATER WENT OUTSIDE."

"Hold it! My guess is that you saw the shattered window, and decided to take a look outside, right?"

"Wow, good observation, sport!" Raya sarcastically exclaimed, smiling. "Maybe you should be a detective since you're so smart!"

Phoenix turned white and drooped over the desk. "Okay, okay… I was just trying to make an observation."

Raya tightened up her scarf and said, "But yes, you are accurate. We were caught by the breeze coming from the broken window and we thought we saw someone lurking outside."

Phoenix leaned in, his hands on his desk. "You saw someone? Who? Was it…?"

Raya smiled and said, "That's right."

"WE EVENTUALLY FOUND DAVID VAUGHAN IN THE ALLEYWAY, CROUCHED DOWN AND PICKING UP THE PIECES OF GLASS."

"Hold it!" Phoenix pressed. "Picking up glass? Why would David do that?"

"Glass is pretty sharp, Wright." Raya reminded him "It's possible that he cut himself with the glass on the way out. Or alternatively, he was already bleeding to begin with, so it's highly possible that when he broke the glass, his blood splattered on the window. Ultimately the glass had his DNA on it, so he tried to desperately clean it up."

"That sound very unlikely!" Phoenix argued.

"Objection!" Hera shouted back. "But that doesn't make it impossible! For example, let's say I wash my hands and quickly swipe my hands in front of your face. The water would naturally fly off and hit your ugly, wrinkly face. This is a similar scenario, Wright. No need to twist the facts around."

Phoenix went silent as he leaned over the desk, sweating. (…Man… this lady sure is a knack with details.)

"Anyway," Raya continued, "we caught him in the alley and questioned him."

"So," The Judge told Raya. "What did you all do next when you confronted him?"

"HE WAS A MESS, SO WE TOOK HIM IN, AND NOW HERE WE ARE."

"Hold it! Could you be a bit more specific?" Phoenix asked.

"The police and I went around back to the alley and caught him in there." Raya explained. "He was still picking up glass and tossing them in the dumpster next to him when we approached him."

(Interesting. So Filch wasn't in his 'home' when the police caught him. That would make sense, actually, since Filch knows next to nothing about the case at hand.)

"He was just rambling and shaking." Raya continued. "He was going on about how this is a misunderstanding, and that the killer is somewhere. He was in a state of shock, I guess. But we caught him picking up the bloody shards of glass and tossing them out. We took him in for questioning and dismissed the church. And Lord behold, here we are; bickering over an asinine trial."

"You mind if I asked more about David's condition? What else was he doing? Any physical conditions worth noting?" Phoenix asked her.

Raya stared at Phoenix for a while, then smiled, fixing her hair. "Very well, Wright. Since you asked for it, I think I might as well say this now." There was a brief pause, then the detective said, "David Vaughan was covered in the victim's blood and his right hand was bleeding profusely."

Phoenix went silent. He and Apollo sat at their side of the courtroom in complete shock and dismay as they beamed at the detective.

"…Are…" Phoenix said.

"…You…" Apollo whimpered.

Suddenly, the two lawyers lunged back and screamed in unison, "KIDDING ME!?"

The gallery began to whisper and gossip about this trial, some doubting the accuracy of the testimony… the majority doubting the accuracy of the lawyers. Hera, meanwhile, was smiling, playing with her hair with her left hand and said, "I don't know about you two… but I'm having a hell of a time over here."

The Judge slammed his gavel continuously until the gallery silenced themselves. "Order! O-order! Detective Novak! Is… is this true!?"

"As true as the stars, Your Honor." Raya told him.

"Objection!" Phoenix shouted. "B-but that's impossible! Apollo and I went to see David yesterday and he didn't have a single drop of blood on him, nor did we see any stab wound whatsoever!"

"The church donated a fresh priest's coat to him in the Detention Center, so that explains the blood situation." Raya said to Phoenix. "As for his hand, maybe you didn't look hard enough, Wright. We had doctors patch his right hand up on the way to the Detention Center. Look again next time, and you might see something that will make you second-guess your client."

"But... but how could blood be all over his coat!?" Phoenix questioned.

"Isn't is obvious, Wright?" Hera asked him. "If David smashed this heavy, solid statue onto the victim's head, blood will surely come out and splash all over him!"

"In short, Mr. Wright," Raya Novak told him, "it's over."

Phoenix froze. After a short while, Phoenix jumped up, his eyes wide and his mouth dropped. "NOOOOO!"

"Your Honor, if I may?" Raya said to the Judge.

"Yes, detective?" The Judge asked.

"I wish to submit a couple pieces of evidence to the court record: David Vaughan's bloody coat, and my statement about David's right hand."

The Judge examined the evidence before him, then consented. "Very well, detective." He said. "The court accepts this evidence."

'BLOODY PRIEST COAT' ADDED TO COURT RECORD

ITEM DESCRIPTION: David Vaughan's official priest coat. It is completely coated in Owen Mile's blood. There is also a small tear in fabric over the blood.

'RAYA'S STATEMENT' ADDED TO COURT RECORD

ITEM DESCRIPTION: "David Vaughan was covered in the victim's blood and his right hand was bleeding profusely. We had doctors patch his right hand up on the way to the Detention Center."

The gallery broke out again before Hera slammed her desk with her left hand. Oddly enough, her right hand has remained underneath the green cloak the whole time. The prosecutor said, "Your Honor… I vote we have more than enough evidence. I move to an easy, clear verdict."

His Honor nodded, but then said, "That may be the case, Prosecutor Novak, but I will allow the defense just a little more time to make their case clear. If they can't provide an argument shortly, I will accept the case as it is and make a swift end."

Hera eyed Phoenix again. "You hear that, Wright? Your cross-examination is over. Now it's time for you to end this. No pressure, Wright. If there's no doubt in your mind that David is innocent, well then, the court would be very eager to hear it."

Phoenix surveyed the evidence closely. (C'mon… there must be some contradiction in this evidence… but what?)

Raya tightened her scarf and said, "Your Honor, if there's not much else to do here, am I free to go?"

The Judge nodded. "Yes, detective. Thank you for your assistance today. You were phenomenally helpful. We will call you back if we need anything else."

Apollo snapped at Phoenix, "BOSS! What do we do!? We're losing! There has to be something we can do!"

Phoenix was busy looking at the evidence and said, "I don't know, Apollo. There are two things that are butchering us at the moment: David's coat, and David's stab wound. Those two are enough to pinpoint him as the killer. But one of these pieces of 'conclusive' evidence we have here is… or really HAS, to be contradictory. If I can disprove one of these pieces of evidence, I think we can reach a safe point. Or… something like that."

Apollo gazed at the coat and Raya's statement. "But which one? Which evidence is wrong...?" He asked.

The Judge's gavel disrupted Phoenix and Apollo's train of thought. "I think that's more than enough time, you two. Have you figured out the contradiction, if any?"

"Um… well…" Phoenix said, trying to buy more time. (This is it, Phoenix… no time to be half-baked! Gotta take a good, hard look at the evidence and piece it all together!)

Phoenix stood straight up and nodded. "Yes, Your Honor. We have a contradiction. The contradiction is in one of theses pieces of evidence that Detective Novak presented to us: the coat and her statement about his hand."

Raya cynically looked over at Phoenix. "Really? Is that so?"

"Okay, Mr. Wright." The Judge told him. "I'll bite. Which evidence is most contradictory?"

BLOODY PRIEST COAT

RAYA'S STATEMENT

Phoenix presented the coat. "The defense claims David's coat is the most-contradictory evidence shown to us by the detective."

"Huh? Really?" The Judge said. "I don't see it…"

"Objection!" Hera shouted. "You expect us to just go off by your own words, Wright!? Show us evidence that proves this evidence is faulty!"

"Take that!" Phoenix shouted, presenting a piece of black cloth to the court. "I'd like the court to set their eyes on these piece of black fabric. Any guess as to what it is?"

The Judge squinted his eyes and said, "Er… I can't say I do. Wait… is that for me? It is, isn't it!? That certainly explains the hole in my robe!"

Phoenix went quiet. "…No. Sorry, Your Honor. It's not for you. It's actually for this David Vaughan's bloody coat." Phoenix then projected the David's bloody coat to the court."

"Objection!" Hera intruded. "What is the meaning of this, Wright? Care to explain what this puny, little cloth entails?"

Phoenix smiled. "Prosecutor Novak… I'm surprised. As keen with details as you are, I expected you to have noticed this."

"What!?" Hera grunted, her left hand jerking back, and her torso twisted around. "Whatever do you mean!?"

Phoenix slammed his desk and said, "Take a good look at this coat. Now… take a peek at this little detail." Phoenix proceeded to point out the tear in the coat. "Do you see what I mean yet?"

Raya stared at the coat and began to sweat. "Wait, no… are you saying…!?"

"Now then," Phoenix continued, "let's see what it looks like now when I…" Phoenix took the black cloth and carefully set it over the coat's tear. To the entire courtroom's surprise, the torn cloth and the tear was a perfect fit. The black fabric stuck out of the red coating all over the attire. The blood on the coat had a major hole; literally.

"You see?" Phoenix shouted. "A perfect fit!"

Hera began to sweat. "No…" She whimpered. All of a sudden, her entire body jerked back, her black coat flailing about. "NNNOOOO!"

As for Raya, her glasses were on the tip of her nose; the detective's hair was messy and drooping as sweat rolled down her face. "That… that fabric sticks out like a sore thumb… but why…?"

"There's only one way." Phoenix told her. He slammed his desk, looked up at Raya and said, "You see, detective, we found this cloth outside of the shattered window lying among the glass. We have reason to believe the coat was cut with the shard of glass and made its way out the window."

"If that's the case," Apollo chimed in, "then there's only one way the bloody could be on David's coat."

Phoenix nodded. "If we consider the sequence of events," he went on, "it's safe to assume that David Vaughan…" Phoenix, again, slammed his desk and said, "...had Owen's blood over him way after the murder had even occurred!"

Raya jerked back, her hair flailing, her glasses slipping off, and her scarf flying. She groaned, "Im…POSSIBLE…!"

"As for you, detective…" Phoenix told her, pointing his finger at her. "Just about everything you showed us has been one big inconsistency!"

Raya Novak, for a moment, froze in place. All of a sudden, she lunged back, her accessories falling off as she started screaming; a scream that pierced the ears of all those in the courtroom.

Soon after, it was just the gallery, the Judge, the defense, and the prosecution in the courtroom. "Prosecutor Novak, where is the detective?" His Honor asked.

"She is currently being released from the courtroom, Your Honor. The other investigators told her to take the rest of the day off." Hera Novak answered. "She'll be getting a scolding about her next salary by Yours Truly."

(Sorry, detective. But you left me no choice!)

"I see. As unmistakable that contradiction and the inaccuracy of the evidence is, the fact is that the victim's blood is still on the defendant's coat and that he was, still in fact, wounded in his hand. I trust the defense will take this to account when continuing the case."

Phoenix told His Honor, "Of course, Your Honor. We plan to clear that up very soon."

The Judge nodded. "Very good. Is it true we have one more witness before us today?"

Hera nodded. "Yes, Your Honor. That is true. The man that was there in the church that night AND witnessed the murderer himself. May I bring him up here now?"

"Yes, of course. I will now call a twenty-minute recess for the court. Court is adjourned!" The Judge, then, banged his gavel as the court was dismissed from the room.

COURT RECORD

-Attorney Badge: My personal badge proving my profession. I never leave home without it.

-Owen's Autopsy Report: Cause of death was an instant kill by a David statue to the victim's head. Time of Death: About 8:00-8:30 PM. Victim is covered in bruises.

-Body Outline: The aftermath of the crime. Blood is splattered around the head and facial area. The statue sits to its left.

-David Statue: Depiction of Michelangelo's David statue. The murder weapon.

-Shattered Coffee Mug: A cup that was likely to have been shattered during the fight between Owen and the killer. Owen probably used this cup against said killer in defense. Was made by Maria Cupp for an ill Owen.

-Jar of Blood: A jar of blood found in Owen's office. Why he would have a jar of blood is the question.

-Child's Drawing: A drawing showing Owen, David, and an unknown woman. A bloody smear is on the side because of me.

-Bloody Print: Some kind of bloody print from a shoe on top of the dumpster. Could it be involved with the murder?

-Glass: Shards of glass littering the floor. Must have come from the broken window next to it. A shard has blood on it.

-Black Cloth: A black strip of cloth. Origin unknown.

-Crime Scene Photo: A photo taken of the crime scene. Drops of David's blood left a trail between Owen's desk in the background to the shattered window.

-Church Diagram: A detailed diagram of St. Owen's Baptist Church. The crime scene on the left side is highlighted.

-Bloody Priest Coat: David Vaughan's official priest coat. It is completely coated in Owen Mile's blood. There is also a small tear in fabric over the blood.

-Raya's Statement: "David Vaughan was covered in the victim's blood and his right hand was bleeding profusely. We had doctors patch his right hand up on the way to the Detention Center."

PROFILES

-Apollo Justice: A strong, but loud and persistent, attorney who works with me at the agency. Is friends with the defendant.

-Athena Cykes: A gifted attorney that can read people's emotions though their hearts.

-David Vaughan: The suspect of the crime. A priest at the church where the murder took place.

-Jack Anchor: A prestigious news anchor who prides himself a bit too much. Witnessed the murderer.

-Raya Novak: A no-nonsense detective in charge of the investigation. Only been working for a few short months.

-Phineas Filch: A tricky thief that was a witness to a crime a long time ago and is now a janitor at the church.

-Damien Hope: A happy-go-lucky priest that was Owen's apprentice. An overall loving, trusting guy.

-Maria Cupp: The kind, eccentric coffee-lady that works at the church. Called the police.

-Hera Novak: The prosecutor of the case and sister to the detective. This is her very first trial, but showcases great skill.