Gyakuten Saiban Blog Entry 3: Court Observation (1) (2001)

Title: Court Observation (1) / 「裁判傍聴 (1)」
Source: Gyakuten Saiban official site (down)

Summary: Most people only know the courtroom from TV, so Takumi decided to have a little field trip to the courthouse with the Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney 1 GBA) team, so they could learn more about each other, and see a bit of the courtroom. Luckily, the courthouse was very near the Capcom headquarters, but the experience at the courtroom was perhaps not exactly what Takumi first had in mind.

Court Observation (1)

It was a big courthouse, with more than fifty courtrooms. A big memo was spread out at the reception near the entrance, and the schedule of the trials held that day had been written on it. There was a sense of "grandeur" we could feel from all the crimes that were written there, from theft to murder.

“Starting with a murder might be a bit heavy for us, so let’s try something light first.”
So we entered “Indecent Exposure – Verdict.” It seemed like the least sinful crime.

It was a small courtroom, with only enough seats for about twenty people. The defendant was brought in by the bailiff. He was a tall, lanky boy with glasses, about seventeen I guess, wearing a wrinkled-up T-shirt. A rope around his waist, and rusty handcuffs. Things suddenly became very real. By the way, the handcuffs and rope were removed during the trial itself.

Eventually, the judge entered the room.

“Let’s begin.”

“All rise.”

“Bow.”

The judge opened a notebook and started to read out what the boy with the glasses had done.
He read it in a businesslike, but detailed and clear manner. Unaffected, but clear and unscrupulous.

“On the date of ○○, the defendant pulled a xx-year old woman in the elevator. He held her from behind, forced his left hand beneath her blouse and ××××× her right ×××××. On ○○ of the same month, in the city of ○○, he ×××× his own ×××× on the road, with the intention of showing this act to the general public. And on ○○ of the same month, he…”

That boy with glasses had done all of that! I opened my eyes in surprise. I looked next to me, and the designer who had been making a sketch of the judge had also stopped drawing. But this was not fiction, but an incident that had really happened. Nobody could smile here.

“This is your first offense, so there will be a suspended sentence, Do you know what that is?”

“No.”

“Well, ask your defense attorney to explain it to you.”

“Yes.”

…the homely atmosphere was also strangely memorable.