[TRIAL] Ezra, Pt. 1

[shibrogane]

There is a plain printer-paper, typewritten letter in the mailboxes of the visitors. It says this:

The trial for Lord Ezra will begin on August 6 at 5pm. It is an iterative, investigatory trial; your presence is only required if you have a part to play. However, all may come.

Should they choose to come, they're directed to the courtroom. In the defendant's chair--caged in--is the Burning Man. At the head of the courtroom is Ascencion Shore, spinning her chair three times in one direction, then once in the other, then three times in the first direction again. Evidently she's waiting for the prosecution and defense: those tables are empty, for the moment.

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Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh was quick to show up. Why? Because he really wanted nothing more than to get this over with. Beel had intercepted him on the way over, mostly because you can't go to a courtroom in a hoodie you ******** idiot, and now Shiloh entered the room in appropriate dress clothes. He also didn't have his beanie, and had his face not been forced neutrality, he'd look a little upset about it.

He felt a little upset about it, anyway.

Anyway, his fetch wasn't really helping with the way he watched him from the stands (seriously, it was more intimidating than supportive, but whatever). His eyes widened a little bit at Sonny's... display in the chair, but said nothing as he took his seat at the defense table. Hopefully no one would hate him for this. Then again, when was he ever bothered by people hating him? His elbows rested up on the table, his fingers laced, and his chin was set on top of them.

Let it begin, he supposed.

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Temperance was not a lawyer; she was a nurse. Somewhere, McCoy of Star Trek fame played on a little loop of irony in her head. She'd had to conjure up what very little she knew of judiciary law (thanks, middle school), and prepare herself. Temperance had no had enough time to present a full case against the Burning Man, but she thought that this part was merely a laying of charges. She hoped.

Straightening her skirt, she walked into the courtyard. Rather than scrubs, she wore a skirt suit, her hair tucked back into a bun. However, she just couldn't bring herself to wear heels - black sneakers was about as fancy as she got. Shiloh was already there and she nodded briefly at him, then at Sonny in their spinny chair. She hoped she could do this right. Whether she won or lost the case, she just wanted the truth to come out.  

[shibrogane]

"What up," said Sonny, stopping the chair in its tracks. Their hair was loose and their outfit was... actually astonishingly normal for them. Sure, there was a blazer (navy blue) and a button-down shirt (pale shimmery champagne gold), but beneath the blazer was a bright yellow zip-up hoodie. "I've decided to set a precedent of not being all Courtly about this. So, don't worry about calling me Your Honor or something prissy like that. It's Sonny. Or I guess Ascencion, if you pronounce it right, which you won't, so don't."

They folded their hands before them for a moment, then unfolded them and picked up what looked like a sizable stack of paper. "So, advocate for the prosecution, Noble Temperance Clark. Bringing the grievance on behalf of... a whole big list of people. I could read them off but I'm pretty sure everyone in here right now doesn't want that." Sonny gave Temperance a look that was pretty ticked off but still tasteful, somehow. "Advocate for the defense, Noble Shiloh Beaumont. Defendant, the Burning Man, previously known as Ezra Fitzpatrick." Shiloh got a slightly warmer look, but still professional, so not warmer by much.

"Defendant Burning Man," they said, turning to the Burning Man in his cage, "do you object to either of these advocates?"

"No," said the Burning Man.

"And you understand that this Court has jurisdiction over you and can order you executed if it so pleases?"

"Yes," said the Burning Man.

"Kay," said Sonny, "Cool." They fell silent for a minute, considering the papers in front of them.

"Before I read out the charges, anybody got something to say?"

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Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun was a bit apprehensive about showing up to this thing for a few different reasons. Apart from... recent events, he was somewhat uncertain about how this trial system may go. This was the first for the new court, if he recalled.

He made his way in, then moved to wherever it was he was to spectate.  

[azuredreams]

Given that they had received the notice, Jeremiah made a point to appear and settle into the back. It was not necessarily that he wished to be there but that it would be beneficial to certain parties to actually see this and the duties that could need to be performed.

That was, of course, if they were on their utmost and good behavior (which meant no death glares). If Alexis was wanting to prove themselves to Jeremiah they were going to have to sit and watch these proceedings without interfering or making faces.

Which meant he was sitting, appropriately dressed, with Alexis Tucker sitting nearby and quietly watching.

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Daekie

be good, behave

 

[Smerdle]

Rabbit was present as well, though it wasn't immediately obvious given how quiet he was being. He sat off to one side, dressed plainly in a blue blazer, white t-shirt, and tan striped pants. Oroh was next to him, decked out for a ball rather than a court proceeding. At least her oranges and reds complemented his clothing, even if they were a bit ostentatious.

He was nervous, and though she had assured him that this wasn't the real deal, Rabbit still fidgeted when Lord Ezra stated that he understood the trial might end in his death. The fetch reached out her hand, golden nail polish sparkling as she gave his knee a brief, comforting squeeze.  

[Melancholies]

Shiloh was trying increasingly hard not to fidget, but at least he was succeeding. Anyone who knew Shiloh—like really knew Shiloh—would know he was uncomfortable, but he was still sitting tall, still looking poised, still looking refined and almost... doll-like, in a way. Beel was still up in the stands, his chin resting on a closed fist, his empty eyes willing Shiloh to speak, Like we've practiced, don't crack.

Not that Shiloh could hear him.

"The defense is ready to hear the charges." He replied simply, his own hands falling away from the desk as he moved to sit in a more professional manner. Now they twisted around in his lap—away from the prying eyes of the Courtroom—but he still felt like here, in the defense chair, everyone could see him, pick him away, deduce his thoughts, and—

He took a deep breath through his nose. He'd been through worse. His nerves could be steel. Even if Sonny was going to be casual, he found it hard to relax that much.

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Temperance shook her head at Sonny. She supposed she should be grateful Sonny didn't attempt to just bash her head in with the gavel or something. "Please continue, Judge Shore. The prosecution is ready." She gathered it was something to do with something Hart had done, but Temperance really could not care less. In every interaction, they'd had, Sonny took even basic statements as commands and orders, barely restraining themselves from spitting venom while doing whatever-it-was. It was baffling and exhausting, and Temperance rather thought it was in her best interests to just never talk to them unless absolutely necessary.

But she wasn't here to think about Sonny Shore and their intense hatred of her. She was here to make sure everyone's concerns were represented, that the Burning Man answered for his lies and coercion. She noticed Detective Kuroda was here and wondered, for a moment, if he'd try to lodge a knife in the Burning Man's skull should the trial not go as he wished. It seemed very like him.


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Horace had slid in unobtrusively, ducking out from work to come here. He didn't have anything to add to this aside from a burning dislike of the cavalier way the Burning Man had treated this Melany. He glanced at Shiloh - not an enviable position and he wondered why he'd taken it up. Maybe it was assigned? Still, kinda shitty.


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Preacher had arrived early and was busy doodling up Sonny and the Burning Man. Maybe, in another life, she coulda been one of those weird people who got paid to sketch court s**t. A fanciful thought, she mused, and flipped the page. She kind of hoped the Burning Man would buy her a new pair of shoes, but she knew she was s**t outta luck there. Preacher didn't even wanna testify or s**t because she didn't wanna talk about this s**t.  

[shibrogane]

"Sonny," corrected Sonny sourly, narrowing their eyes at Temperance.

They shuffled their papers, but didn't look at them. "The defendant, Ezra Fitzpatrick-also-called-the-Burning-Man, is here before us on charges of theft of magic. This means that, through use of coercion or force, he obtained license to act using the magic of others for a purpose which the defendant knew they would not promote on their own." They folded their hands over top of the sizable stack. "There are seventeen counts of this charge. Justice for this charge, should he be found guilty, will be decided upon and exacted by the judge, me, taking into consideration the requests of the prosecution."

Sonny looked at Temperance again. "Noble Clark, do you object to these charges?" Then over to Shiloh: "Noble Beaumont, same question, and..." Finally, to the burning man, "And you?"

"I plead not guilty," said the burning man.

The Semblance of Unity

Melancholies

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Temperance," she suggested lightly.Two could play at this petty, pissed off game. "The charges seem accurate." Temperance wondered how the Burning Man would try to prove his innocence when everything seemed fairly cut and dried.

shibrogane

 

[Daekie]

Alexis wasn't there to testify, even if they'd ever been asked to, because they'd given it willingly - they'd let him have their thumbprint without an argument - they just had felt like knowing how the Court worked now would be important, in case they were ever to earn their place back in it. They didn't fidget, didn't make faces; just rolled their lip behind their teeth, no real pressure to it, and put their hands in their lap and watched.

It wasn't too hard, anyways. They just had to care about it and stay in the moment.

azuredreams

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh gave Temperance a look, but said nothing. For a moment after that, his eyes wandered to the stands to see who all had gathered, hoping maybe he'd see Jamie or his brother but—no such luck. Instead he found the prying eyes of Jeremiah (of course), Shun was there (not surprising), Rabbit, Horace and Preacher.

Alexis was a little surprising, but he had nothing to comment, not where he was currently sitting.

His gaze came back upon Sonny and finally to the Burning Man. "My client pleads not guilty." He echoed softly. "Let's continue."

Shiloh wasn't one to elaborate, not for the moment.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Sonny cleared their throat. "You have no further charges you wish to levy, Advocate?" They looked at Temperance and waited for their answer before continuing regardless:

"This is the part where I tell y'all what I need to make this decision. Are you listening? I know you are so I am going to start with the advocate for the prosecution." They shuffled their papers and this time did tip their gaze down to them. "It seems clear to me that the consent to the magical working which the defendant was preparing was taken and it was was intended to be used. What I would like to see from the prosecution is proof that the purpose to which he intended to put such magic was not something that the signatories approved of and that the permission was obtained by force or coercion. If you can prove one, but not the other, I cannot render a guilty verdict.

"For the purpose of this trial, the most important factor is that the permission for use of magic was obtained by threats or by force. Simply convincing someone to offer their magic through use of rhetoric isn't enough to secure a conviction. There must be real, present negative consequences or evidence of physical attack for me find the defendant guilty of any single charge.

"For the other factor, the requirement that the signatories find the action abhorrent requires proof of the intended purpose of the working. As the evidence of the working was destroyed before it could be completed, I may choose at my discretion to allow scrying; the seer will be questioned by me to ensure they went into their scry impartial before being permitted to testify.

"I do retain the right to invalidate individual charges; I have the power to find the defendant not-guilty of a single charge and guilty of the other sixteen.

"For the defendant's advocate, the same questions, but reversed. You must prove that either the magical working would have served to benefit the casters or people the casters had reason to care for, and that there was no force, threats, blackmail, etc involved in the gathering of permission."

They took a deep breath. A glass of something sparkly appeared at hand.

"We'll reconvene on the 20th of August."

The Semblance of Unity

Melancholies

Quote:

Please consider doing a drabble thread for evidence collection on both of your parts. Mels, I'm starting an Ezra RP with you momentarily; Semb, if you need one, pop it up and I'll get on it ASAP.

While the IC date for the second part of the trial is the 20th of August obviously it may start slightly later on an OOC basis to make it more convenient to you two.

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"I do, actually." She took a deep breath. "The prosecution would like to levy charges against this Ezra Fitzgerald for inhabiting and using the new universe's Ezra as a means to further his plans. Instead of amicably searching for a way to be parted - as it is obvious this is possible - he continued to kidnap and use a body that did not belong to him." Temperance had hesitated, almost said impersonated, but with the names being the same - who would he have even made that sort of distinction to? Perhaps Leila and Eve. She made a note to ask them.

This was a weird case, but that was kidnapping if ever she saw it. Even if it may have been an unintentional consequence of the shift in the beginning. Melany had experienced it as well and the Spinel Lady had been just as guilty of kidnapping. But now, she was kind of dead. Maybe. She'd need to talk to Ezra.

She didn't like that convincing via rhetoric was inadmissible. Where was the boundary for lies, for half-truths? Temperance had a lot of work to do. At least school hadn't started back up yet.

shibrogane