The Long Awaited Court Trial

[cutslikeasword]

Who: cutslikeasword, wright_idea, Various NPCs, anyone else who wants to participate (Turn order will be posted here, too.)
What: Phoenix's trial.
Where: Los Angeles Court House, Phoenix and Edgeworth's timeline.

Comments

[wright_idea]

Phoenix is brought to the courthouse himself about a half-hour later. The guards treat him a little more roughly than is probably warranted. Guess they're still bitter about that whole "escaping and disappearing for a couple weeks thing, he thinks to himself.

He's a little surprised to see Edgeworth already there when he arrives. "Geez, are you always so prompt during cases?" he asks, rubbing the back of his neck. Phoenix can't count the number of times he's squeaked into a trial on his own end, possibly due to his lack of car.

He looks around, feeling awkward. Usually I'm the one that's standing here waiting to defend someone. "Are you sure you're up to this? I'm telling you, being a defense attorney's a whole different beast than being a prosecutor," he says.

[wright_idea]

Phoenix resists the urge to roll his eyes. [Way to be theatrical, Edgeworth,] he thinks to himself.

He turns to the judge. "Your honor, in spite of the fact that the supposed victim is, as you can see, alive and well, I would still like to continue this trial. Even if he is alive, someone else is not. And if I have to risk my own future for the sake of justice for the poor victim, so be it," he explains, taking a deep breath.

He pauses. "Though really, I'm not going to be the one doing the work here," he adds sheepishly, looking back at Edgeworth as he says this.

[pw_drive]

Edgeworth's dramatic entrance causes quite a bit of attention as patrons of the court begin talking loudly among themselves. Confusion and a bit of curiousity can be felt from the crowd, as the judge is forced to try and restore order with his gavel.

"Order! Mr. Edgeworth, you have a lot of explaining to do! Was this 'murder' another excuse of yours to have a 'vacation'? Need I remind you that you're currently treading on thin ice with this court and that I have every right to revoke your prosecutor position."

The judge seems to be watching both Phoenix and Miles with a serious look. "Is that understood?"

[cutslikeasword]

"I am well aware of that, Your Honor." Miles replies without even batting an eye, posture remaining upright and dignified as he stands in the middle of the court room, addressing the judge directly. His grey eyes shift to Phoenix briefly before he returns them to the judge.

The steeled expression gives way to a smirk, and with a single motion, Miles raises a finger and waves it back and forth. "And, as usual, the court is very quick to jump to conclusions. I did not wish to reveal this to the court, but.. I have proof that this was not my doing."

[wright_idea]

[He's got proof it's not his doing? What?] Phoenix is a little confused, but tries not to show it. Right now, it's Edgeworth's turn to showboat a bit, and Phoenix is just the assistant. He's sort of clueless on a whole about what sort of evidence exists for anything, really.

He's still not even sure how they'll do this without getting the Nexus involved, but he stays quiet. [All right, Edgeworth, let's see what you have up your sleeve,] he thinks. Then, a moment later: [Wow, never thought I'd be thinking that when we're on the same side of the courtroom.]

[pw_drive]

"Proof? I do hope that you will show the court these facts you proclaim to have, Mr. Edgeworth. I don't think I need to remind you of the consequences if you fail to prove your point."

The Judge just keeps his determined gaze on Edgeworth, and might just be curious to see this proof the prosecutor is talking about. It seems like the spectators in the courtroom are also interested to hear these new facts, as all eyes linger on the two attorneys.

[cutslikeasword]

Miles narrows his eyes, allowing a few seconds to linger as he considers his next move. He has a plan (rarely is he to charge into things without one) but he isn't sure if this will work. Somehow, he has to get the attention off of himself, and back onto Phoenix. This is his trial, after all.

"I do intend to show the proof to the court, Your Honor. I would not have brought it along with me if I did not." He reaches into the jacket of his suit and pulls out what looks to be an envelope, small enough for him to hold without being seen.

"However, this is not the time for me to defend myself. I am not on trial." He glances over to Phoenix again before folding his arms. "Mr. Phoenix Wright is being accused of murdering me. As these charges are obviously unwarranted, Mr. Wright has suggested that the trial be carried out anyway."

He paused, carefully choosing his next words. "I request to the court that, as the murder victim of this trial, I wish to stand on the side of the defendent to prove his innocence."

[wright_idea]

Phoenix crosses his fingers. If the judge denies Edgeworth's request, Phoenix... well, in many respects he's ALREADY screwed, but he'd be more screwed than he was before, since Edgeworth's the one with all the preparations. And, well, he needs all the help he can get on this one.

He wonders, idly, if this is officially the most fucked-up case he's ever been involved in. Perhaps, but there's been a few here and there that have come close. He listens for the judge's reply with bated breath.

[cutslikeasword]

Miles remains as passive as he could while trying to not outwardly show his impatience. He already was in deep trouble with the Prosecutor's Office, and that this is only adding more fuel. That isn't important to him.

What is important.. is getting the judge to listen to him.

The judge blinks, a bit surprised - and notably confused - from Miles' request. "Mr. Edgeworth.. you are a prosecutor..."

"I am aware of that." Miles shrugs, tilting his head and adding a faint smirk. "However, if my assumptions are correct, I am not on the record for prosecuting this case."

"Well, no.." The judge trails off.

"So then there is no harm in me standing opposite where I normally would." Miles presses on, being forceful with his decision. The only way to get the judge to do anything is to be authoritative.

"This is.. an odd request, Mr. Edgeworth." The judge speaks once the crowd silences with a few gavel pounds. "The court will have to recess to reach a decision on how to proceed. Court will reconvene in ten minutes."

[wright_idea]

Back in the defense lounge, Phoenix paces again. "Boy, you'd think we were doing this shit deliberately the way the judge was looking at us," he mutters, talking as a method of alleviating the crushing anxiety he's currently suffering from. He looks at Edgeworth. "Exactly what sort of evidence have you managed to get, anyway? I didn't really get any details."

[cutslikeasword]

Miles watches Phoenix pace, arms folded across the envelope he 'presented' to the court. It really isn't helping to watch his 'rival' so aggitated, but it is all he could really do at the moment.

Upon mentioning of the evidence, Miles hands the envelope to Phoenix. "Oh.. right. You should become familiar with what is in here while you have a few minutes." He leaves off the doubts that he won't be able to stand with Phoenix out of that.

The envelopes contain everything Miles was able to obtain as evidence: with and without help. There's an autopsy report (oddly enough, still labeled as 'Miles Edgeworth'), some photos of the scene, a bullet in a bag, an evidence list and some other stuff that seems irrelevent like a video tape.

Nothing about Miles' absence is in the envelope, however.

[wright_idea]

Phoenix flits through the evidence briefly, looking through the items. Photos, bullet, yadda yadda... er...

"Wait a sec. None of this stuff proves in the slightest you couldn't have set this stuff up. What the hell were you talking about back there when you said you could prove you weren't involved in this setup?" he asks, looking at Edgeworth in confusion. Not that he's sure how Edgeworth COULD without getting into some... rather uncomfortable topics of discussion. But Edgeworth needs to be innocent too, damnit.

[cutslikeasword]

An eyebrow raises and he blinks at Phoenix a moment, almost as if Miles has no idea what he's talking about. It seems to settle in with another blink, and Miles looks away with a wry smirk.

"That.. is the least of your worries right now, Wright. I had to shift the focus of the court room back onto your trial. My past will be dealt with later."

[wright_idea]

Eyetwitch. [Way to dodge the question, Edgeworth.] "You DO realize that you're really just as much a part of my trial as I am, don't you? I mean, being the CORPSE and all," he says, a tone of annoyance in his voice. Damn Edgeworth and his stupid tendency to downplay his own issues.

[cutslikeasword]

The smirk becomes a bit more humored as he shifts his grey eyes back to Phoenix. "I suppose that grants me temporary amnesty then, as corpses cannot kill anyone."

The baliff peeks his head in to announce that the recess is over, and before Phoenix can interject, Miles heads for the door.

"See you inside."

[wright_idea]

He opens his mouth to respond, but the bailiff summons them back in. [Oh, don't think you're getting off THAT easily, Edgeworth,] he thinks darkly as he follows the Bailiff back in.

Better to think darkly about THAT than his own prospects.