Part 3: Case 1 - The First Turnabout - Part 2

Case 1 - the First Turnabout
Part 2

We left off with a witness being called...







: Mr. Sahwit, you sell newspaper subscriptions, is this correct?
: Oh, oh yes! Newspapers, yes!
: Mr. Sahwit, you may proceed with your testimony.
: Please tell the court what you saw on the day of the murder.























These are all split up this way because each statement is handled individually in cross-examination.

: Hmm...



: (I can't defend you against a testimony like that!)
: Incidentally, why wasn't the phone in the victim's apartment working?
: Your Honor, at the time of the murder, there was a blackout in the building.
: Aren't phones supposed to work during a blackout?
: Yes, Your Honor... However, some cordless phones do not function normally.



: Your Honor...





: Now, Mr. Wright...
: Yes! Er... yes, Your Honor?
: You may begin your cross-examination.
: C-Cross-examination, Your Honor?



: Alright, Wright, this is it. The real deal.
: Uh... what exactly am I supposed to do?
: Why, you expose the lies in the testimony the witness just gave!
: Lies! What?! He was lying!?
: Your client is innocent, right? Then that witness must have lied in his testimony! Or is your client really... guilty?
: !!! How do I prove he's not?
: You hold the key! It's in the evidence! Compare the witness's testimony to the evidence at hand. There's bound to be a contradiction in there! First, find contradictions between the Court Record and the witness's testimony. Then, once you'v found the contradicting evidence... present it and rub it in the witness's face!
: Um... okay.
: Touch the Court Record button and point out contradictions in the testimony!





This is the format for cross-examination. Each statement can be Pressed, allowing us to get more information, and we can present evidence if we believe it contradicts a statement. Those exclamation marks up there are, essentially, our health bar - mistakes will remove them, and when we run out, we lose and our client is found guilty. Pressing is not actually required for this case, but we'll do it anyway.





: Isn't a man leaving an apartment a common sight? I find it odd you would take notice of him...
: Er... heh. I don't know. He just seemed strange to me, that's all. Like he was mad, and yet frightened at the same time. Just like... a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime!



: Of course. What the witness means is that the man he saw looked suspicious. So, what happened next?





: Half-open... you say?
: Yes, yes, the door was open halfway. Yes. I watched for a moment, but no one came to close the door. "That's odd, in a big city like this," I thought...
: I see. And what happened next?





: What gave you the idea to do that?
: Well, the door was half-open, you see. Isn't it only human to want to... peek? We climb mountains because they are there! It's the same thing.
: Truer words have never been spoken! Anyone would look inside!
: (Hmm... why did Payne cut him off so quickly?)
: So you looked into the apartment. What happened then?





: Are you sure she was dead?
: W-Well, no, I guess I wasn't. But, she wasn't moving at all, and there was blood everywhere.
: (I guess that would look fatal to anyone...)
: Very well, what happened next?





: So, you didn't touch ANYTHING in the apartment?
: Um, yes. I mean no! Nothing.
: Okay. What happened next?





: You "thought" to call the police? Does that mean you didn't actually call them!?
: Please, please... Listen to the rest of the testimony. You thought to call the police... What happened next?





: The phone in her apartment wasn't working?
: Yes. I mean, no, no it wasn't. Right.
: But you said you didn't go into the apartment... or did you?
: Oh, oh, that? I can explain that! There was a cordless phone on a shelf in the entranceway. I reached inside and tried using that to call...
: And that phone wasn't working, correct? What happened next?





: Why use a public phone?
: Well, you see, I don't have a cell phone. And, being the middle of the afternoon, there was no answer at the nearby apartments.
: Ah, right... what time did you call again?





: 1:00 PM! Are you certain?
: Yes. Absolutely.
: (Hmm... He seems really confident.)
: 1:00 PM? Wright. Doesn't that seem strange to you? Present some evidence to contradict him!





: Are you absolutely, 100% positive?
: Yes, it was him. No mistake about it.
: The witness says he's certain!

That ends the testimony, and Mia gives us a brief comment before we loop back to the start.

: That's all of it. There must be a contradiction in there somewhere. Examine the Court Record button if something strikes you as being suspicious. Then, find the evidence that contradictsh is testimony, and present it to him!

I'll space this out a bit if you really feel like trying to solve it first.





















: You found the body at 1:00 PM. You're sure?
: Yes. It was 1:00 PM, for certain.





: The autopsy notes the tiem of death at sometime after 4PM. There was nobody to... er... no "body" to find at 1:00 PM!





: Oh, that! Oh, er...







: Mr. Sahwit... Why were you so certain that you found the body at 1:00 PM?
: I... er... well, I... Gee, that's a really good question!
: Great job, Wright! Way to put him on the spot! That's all you have to do: point out contradictions! Lies always beget more lies! See through one and their whole story falls apart!



: Would you care to give your testimony again?

















: Hmm... I see. You heard a voice saying the time on a taped program. Mr. Wright, you may cross-examine the witness.
: Wright! You know what to do!
: I've got this one.









: You said "heard"... Not "saw"?
: Yes, heard. All I saw was the body lying there... I didn't think to look at anything else, least of all my watch.
: Hmm... Isn't that a little strange?
: So you're saying you "heard" something. But if you were so shocked by the body, you wouldn't hear anything at all!



: The witness did say he actually heard the time. It's ludicrous to suggest he "wouldn't hear anything"!
: Hmm... I have to agree with the prosecution. Witness, continue your testimony.





: Are you sure it was a television and not... a radio?
: Well, no, I guess it might have been a radio.
: Incidentally, there was no radio on the premises. There was only one large televison.
: Wright! I can't put my finger on it, but something about this seems fishy. Something about "hearing" the television...
: The witness has testified. He heard the time.







: Well, witness? Can you explain this?





: A... video?
: Yes, that would explain why the time was wrong!
: True, true...
: Wright! I think the problem lies someplace else...
: We're agreed that you heard the time at the scene, then.





: Are you sure the voice you heard said it was 1:00 PM?
: Yes, I can practically hear it now. It was quite clear.
: Mr. Payne, has the prosecution verified this testimony?
: My apologies, Your Honor. I, too, have only just learned that the witness "heard" the time.
: Oh, I'm really sorry. I only remembered it just now.







: (Hmm... Not much point pressing him on that one, was there?)

And there's the loop, with Mia's comment.

: Notice anything suspicious?

We'll leave off there.

Next time: Contradiction!