#the juri has been adjourned

[pippenpaddlopsicopolisthethird]

Juri is finally finished! I got some really pretty pictures at the con and I feel like this is a cosplay where I'll end up with a lot more.

Photos were taken by @spontaneousmusicalnumber and edited by me!

[beardedmrbean]

WILMINGTON, Del. − A federal jury convicted Hunter Biden of federal gun charges, a historic first for the offspring of a sitting president, after a trial featuring wrenching emotional testimony about his drug use from his ex-wife and sister-in-law.

President Joe Biden's son faces up to 25 years in prison for three charges − lying on a federal screening form about his drug use, lying to a gun dealer and possessing the gun − although first-time, nonviolent offenders typically get shorter sentences.

The 54-year old businessman and attorney's case came after a plea deal fell apart in July 2023 that could have resolved gun and taxes charges without prison time. Hunter Biden still faces another federal trial starting Sept. 5 in California for allegedly avoiding taxes.

Biden's legal troubles coincide with his father campaigning for reelection. But the elder Biden as the trial kicked off issued a statement supporting his son and later told ABC News he wouldn't pardon him.

Follow along for live updates from the USA TODAY Network.

What is Hunter Biden guilty of?

The president's son was convicted on three firearms felonies. In October 2018, Hunter Biden walked into a gun shop north of Wilmington, Delaware, and purchased a revolver. People who purchase firearms are required to fill out a standardized form that asks whether they are an unlawful user or are addicted to controlled substances, narcotics and other listed substances. Biden is accused of answering "no" to that question on the form.

But Biden has been open about his longtime struggles with crack cocaine addiction. He's written about it in his 2021 memoir, "Beautiful Things," and discussed it during a court hearing last year, stating he's been sober since 2019.

Biden faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, although first-time and non-violent offenders are often given shorter terms.

– Xerxes Wilson

Hunter Biden looks to lawyer, wife after verdict announced

Hunter Biden pat Abbe Lowell, his lawyer, on the back after his felony conviction was announced. He then turned to look at his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden and hugged other members of his defense team.

He was holding his wife's hand as he was ushered into elevators after the court adjourned.

– Xerxes Wilson and Esteban Parra

Hallie Biden received texts about drugs from Hunter Biden

Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden, testified during the trial about how her brother-in-law introduced her to drugs. She also walked the jury through a series of text messages in the days after Hunter Biden bought the gun on Oct. 12, 2018.

A text the next day said he was behind a baseball stadium in Wilmington “waiting on a dealer named Mookie.”

Hallie Biden later texted Hunter Biden, stating that she tried calling him “500 times in the past 24 hours.” He eventually responded: “I was sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th Street and Rodney.”

Hunter Biden called Hallie Biden ‘stupid’ for trashing gun

Hallie Biden told the jury she found the gun in Hunter Biden's car 11 days after he bought it. Rather than risk their kids finding it, she put the gun in a leather case and drove to a grocery store, where she threw it into a trash can.

“I realized it was a stupid idea now, but I was just panicking,” Hallie Biden said.

Hunter Biden confronted her when he discovered what she had done.

“It’s hard for me to believe anyone is that stupid,” Hunter Biden said in a text. “Do you want me dead?” he asked in a later text.

Retiree found gun in grocery store trash can

An 80-year-old retiree, Edward Banner, who scavenged trash containers for aluminum cans, found the gun outside Janssen’s Market in Greenville. A state police lieutenant tracked him down and asked whether he’d found anything unusual.

“I definitely remember finding that,” Banner said.

FBI chemist found cocaine residue on Hunter Biden gun pouch

Forensic chemist Jason Brewer testified that he found cocaine in the residue on the leather pouch that held Hunter Biden’s gun. Two spots on the pouch had a “minimal amount” of “off-white powder,” which Brewer pointed out in a picture prosecutors projected onto a screen in Biden’s trial on gun charges.

“Cocaine was identified within the residual white particles I sampled,” he told the jury.

Biden trial followed collapse of plea deal for gun and tax charges

A plea agreement that fell apart last July offered the possibility Biden could avoid jail time for all of the charges. Noreika rejected the deal because of disputes between prosecutors and defense lawyers about Biden’s protection from future charges.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed the U.S. attorney in Delaware, David Weiss, a special counsel to continue an independent investigation. Biden's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, argued unsuccessfully the charges should be dismissed because no new evidence had emerged since the plea agreement.

The gun indictment charged Biden with knowingly deceiving a firearms dealer by buying a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver. He was charged with falsely filling out a federal form denying he was addicted to any narcotics. And he was charged with knowingly possessing the revolver despite the restrictions against people addicted to drugs owning firearms. The three charges carried a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

The tax indictment charges Biden with three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanors. He allegedly engaged in a scheme in which he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed taxes from 2016 through 2019, and also evaded tax assessment for 2018 when he filed false returns.

The previous agreement would have allowed Biden to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges, which could have resulted in no jail time, and enter a pretrial program for a gun charge that could have been dismissed if he complied.

But Republicans blasted the agreement as a sweetheart deal and Hunter Biden became a lightning rod for criticism of his father.

[ronearoundblindly]

Evil chuckles *rubs palms together*

Sorry I can't help it!

Imagine his coworker, Bailiff Bucket Barnes, notices that Steve seems to (unintentionally) put a little more detail into his courtroom sketches when reader is in them.

Ohhhhh let the teasing commence 😏

- 👜

court sketch artist!Steve Rogers x lawyer!reader drabble

[super short, just trying to get back into the swing of things. No warnings.]

Steve uses his middle finger to smudge the line of your leg just as the judge adjourns the court for jury deliberations.

It's not quite perfect, so he focuses on fixing the exact angle of your bare calf in those delicate heels.

"Punk," his friend rumbles from the doorway, securing the emptied room, "kinda missed your cue to leave..."

Whoops. Steve hadn't even sketched the judge behind the bench yet.

"Right. Sorry, Buck. I'll get out of your hair."

"Don't bother," Bucky says, stopping Steve's hand as it rushes to replace the charcoal in its tin. "Not expected to take long for a verdict."

The bailiff adjusts his uniform tie and takes a seat next to Steve.

"Ohhh," he coos with a craned neck, "I see why you lingered. 'Bout time you asked her out, ya think? You've been pining over her for six months."

"Have not, jerk," Steve practically squeaks.

Bucky puts up his hands in defeat. "You're right. You're right. It was this time last year that she started with the DA's office."

"I'm not...pining," Steve muses, running a nail through some black buildup on his thumb. "She's just photogenic."

"Then take a picture. With your phone. And then put us out of our misery and use that phone to get her number."

"Us?"

"The poor stenographer lost her bet in the fall. She was so sure you'd make a move after the Kinsey case."

Steve shrugs shyly. "Nah, that was such a big win for her. I bet the office took her out right after--had a party maybe."

"So? There are seven nights a week, big guy. Court is closed two of those days, too."

"Buck, I'm not gonna--"

"Bud, I'm gonna die of old age waiting for you to get your ass off this pew. Shit, my hair will be down to here--" Bucky gestures to below his shoulders "--by the time you--"

"Language," Steve warns.

Bucky relents and settles on a judging look.

After a long pause, he shrugs.

"Fine. Maybe I'll ask her out. She's got great legs."

Steve's head whips up so fast that his blond hair falls across wide eyes. "You wouldn't dare," he bites back.

Another shrug is his only answer.

A door at the back of the court creaks open.

"Barnes, call them back in."

"Damn," Bucky cards his fingers through his dark locks and whistles, "my girl's fast."

Heat flares across Steve's disbelieving frown.

Bailiff Barnes stands up with a chuckle.

"See, when you recreate that look at home, the color you're gonna wanna pick is Fuschia."

No sooner has Bucky opened the double doors than you flit past him and down the aisle.

"Barnes," you nod politely before your eyes meet Steve's.

Your head cocks to the side in surprise. "Mister Rogers."

It's a split-second in time, but Steve loses all ability to form words. He had no idea you knew his name. The smile you flash over your shoulder after setting your briefcase down, too, isn't just a polite smile or a confident 'I've won this case' smile. No. That smile is just for him.

Steve gulps, letting that gleaming gesture sear into his brain so he can sketch it later.

He plucks out his charcoal again.

At least he has this chance to draw the judge behind the bench...and put all the others he forgot on the page, too.

[Main Masterlist; Light Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

Oh boy. Yet another mini-series taking up real estate in my mind... Hopefully, none of you guys are taking bets about how long all these things are taking me!! Luckily, this one is pretty straight-forward fluff--which is, of course, how Threadbare started and that ended up ::checks notes:: at 20,000 words... Whoops, indeed...

@supraveng @1950schick @patzammit @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @yiiiikesmish @ashesofblackroses @bucky-fricking-barnes-reads @fallinallinmendes @deandreamernp

[misfitwashere]

The Special Counsel Jack Smith just made a hell of a mistake

He enabled Trump to avoid all accountability 

ROBERT REICH

NOV 25

Friends,

Today, the rule of law was thrown out the window — not by Trump but by Special Counsel Jack Smith. 

Smith asked a federal judge to dismiss the indictment charging Trump with plotting to subvert the 2020 election. 

Smith made a similar filing to an appeals court in Atlanta, thereby ending Smith’s attempt to reverse the dismissal of the federal case accusing Trump of illegally holding on to classified documents after he left office. 

Both filings were a grave mistake. 

What happened to the rule of law? What became of the principle that no person is above the law, not even a former president? What happened to accountability?

Smith says he had no choice, given the Justice Department’s policy that it’s unconstitutional to pursue prosecutions against sitting presidents. 

But he did have a choice. He could have asked the courts to put the cases on hold until Trump is no longer president. 

That’s essentially what Judge Juan Merchan did Friday with regard to sentencing Trump on his May conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. 

Sentencing in that case had been scheduled for Nov. 26 but has now been stayed, according to an order issued Friday by Merchan. No new date for a potential sentencing has been set, delaying it indefinitely, although it could be reimposed later.

It’s no answer to say there’s no point in trying to keep the two cases alive because Trump will force his new Attorney General to quash them. 

Let Trump do that, so all the world can see him seek to avoid accountability for what he has done. And let Trump’s Justice Department — which will likely be headed by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi — ask the federal judges involved in the two cases to dismiss them, so all the world can see Trump’s Justice Department acting as Trump’s handmaiden. 

Smith should have put the responsibility for avoiding the rule of law squarely on Trump. 

In the meantime, Smith should release all the evidence that his team has accumulated about Trump’s plot to subvert the 2020 election and illegally possess highly classified information. 

That’s my view. What do you think?

The New York City judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump's "hush money" case said there will be no sentencing next week, as had been previously scheduled, and he will hear arguments from the defense team as to why the case should be dismissed now that Trump is president-elect.

A sentencing was scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 26, but the sentencing has now been stayed and that date is adjourned, according to an order issued Friday by Judge Juan Merchan. No new date for a potential sentencing has been set, delaying that indefinitely, though it could be reimposed later.

The judge has asked the defense team to file its motion to dismiss by Dec. 2 and prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office will have until Dec. 9 to respond.

Trump was convicted in May in New York of 34 counts of falsifying business records, arising from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush money payment just before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations.

In a court filing Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office opposed dismissing Trump’s case, but prosecutors expressed openness to delaying his sentencing until after his forthcoming term.

“We have significant competing constitutional interests — the office of the presidency and all the complications that come with that, and on the other hand, the sanctity of the jury verdict," D.A. Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, said Wednesday while speaking to the Citizens Crime Commission, a local civic group.

Trump's lawyers urged a judge Wednesday to scrap the case before he takes office in J

[qnewsau]

Two teens guilty of ‘senseless’ murder of trans girl Brianna Ghey

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/two-teens-guilty-of-senseless-murder-of-trans-girl-brianna-ghey/

Two teens guilty of ‘senseless’ murder of trans girl Brianna Ghey

Two 16-year-olds have been found guilty of the “senseless” murder of transgender girl Brianna Ghey, who was stabbed 28 times in a park in Cheshire, England earlier this year. 

Known as Girl X and Boy Y to protect their identities, the “murder obsessed teens” were found guilty unanimously by a jury at Manchester crown court on Wednesday.

The judge, Justice Yip, said she would sentence the pair next month, and would decide whether to lift reporting restrictions so that the killers could be named.

She told the teenagers that she would have to impose a life sentence but that she needed to adjourn for further reports to decide on the minimum term.

Girl X, who was fascinated by serial killers and boasted of watching torture videos on the dark web, said she was “obsessed” with Brianna. She and Brianna had been friends for a few months before she began plotting to kill her.

IN OTHER NEWS: Jury finds 77-year-old guilty of gay hate murder of Raymond Keam

Nigel Parr, senior investigating officer for Cheshire police, said Brianna had been betrayed by two teenagers whose only motivation was to experience how it felt to kill.

“This was a senseless murder committed by two teenagers who have an obsession with murder,” he said.

The defendants exchanged thousands of WhatsApp messages in the lead up to the murder.

The boy referred to Brianna as “prey” and “it” in his messages, saying she would be easier to kill “and I want to see if it will scream like a man or a girl”.

Earlier this year, Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, told the Guardian that while her daughter had anxiety and mental health problems, she was “very outgoing and very confident” and dreamed of becoming “TikTok-famous”.

The court heard she did not go out alone often, and texted her mother on the way to meet her killers, saying she was “scared” because there were lots of people on the bus.

But she had a large following online, where her dance routines and skits drew friends from around the world. After the verdicts, Esther described her daughter as “larger than life” and “funny, witty and fearless”.

Brianna came out as trans when she was 14. Her mother said she supported the transition: “It didn’t bother me. It was just something that Brianna wanted to do and I was happy. As long as she was happy then that’s all that mattered.”

After the verdicts, the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This has been one of the most distressing cases the Crown Prosecution Service has had to deal with. The planning, the violence and the age of the killers is beyond belief.

“Brianna Ghey was subjected to a frenzied and ferocious attack and was stabbed 28 times in broad daylight in a public park.

“Girl X and Boy Y appear to have been a deadly influence on each other and turned what may have started out as dark fantasies about murder into a reality.”

If you need someone to talk to, help is available from QLife on 1800 184 527 or online at QLife.org.au, Lifeline on 13 11 14, Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[edwordsmyth]

Statement of Hisham Awartani, who was shot along with 2 of his friends, Tahseen Ahmed and Kinnan Abdelhamid, last week in Vermont in a zionist anti-Palestinian hate crime: "What was my crime? What heinous deed did I commit for me to deserve to get shot and lose control of my legs? I was Palestinian. This is not the first time I had been tried and had a sentence passed on me in the kangaroo court of hateful violence. In 2021 I was shot in the knee by a rubber bullet during a demonstration. My classmate—not so lucky as me—suffered a gunshot wound in the leg from a .556-caliber-rifle.

When Israelis protest for the democracy of their courts, the Palestinian does not care. His court has adjourned with the presumption of guilt by existence. The judge, jury, and bailiff are all one: someone holding a rifle at a checkpoint, who will not meet my gaze.

It is of no importance that the person who shot me was not Israeli, because the hate that made this possible was made in Israel. It dehumanized Palestinians on an industrial scale, and was sent to the U.S. in neat little airwave packages. This hate is what makes the ongoing genocide in Gaza acceptable; a Palestinian is not human. When he walks through the prison-style rotating door, gets randomly selected for a search in Jerusalem, or is standing behind the bulletproof glass having his passport checked, he is no longer human. The pain of the Palestinian is not understood because to them we simply cannot feel pain.

This is not about Hisham Awartani though. It was never about me. On November 15 I joined my fellow Brown students to write the names of thousands of Palestinians killed in the war on Gaza. They gave us a document issued by the Gaza Health Ministry, and out of curiosity the first thing I did was look up my name. There were 30 results. 13 people named Hisham and 17 with Hisham as a middle name. I didn’t know how to feel. My name was not a common one. The list was incomplete and only included around 6,500 names, while an estimated 11,000 had been killed by Israel or according to American media, “had died.” Had I been one of those Hishams in Gaza my picture would not have been on the BBC or CNN. Instead of being interviewed, my mother would be fleeing south or already killed, trapped under the rubble with me.

I am the Hisham you know. I lived. My story is being told. The 13 other Hishams were killed, their stories forever erased. They were human and they did not have to prove that to anyone. They knew no respite, no justice, no peace."

Hisham Ali Hisham Awartani

هشام علي هشام عورتاني

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

That fact rose its ugly head yet again today when Judge Juan Merchan delayed sentencing Donald Trump in the New York hush money fraud case in which a jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records, several of which were related to his attempt to conceal the payment he made to Stormy Daniels before the presidential election in 2016. 

Reading Judge Merchan’s order is like being in a room with a middle-aged man on his first day in a yoga class, pain leaching from every corpuscle of his body as he contorts himself into making a decision he clearly believes not in the interest of either justice or the wellbeing of the country.  The order begins this way:

“By letter dated August 14, 2024, Defendant requests an adjournment of his sentencing, currently scheduled for September 18, 2024, until after the 2024 presidential election. He argues the adjournment is necessary to provide adequate time to ‘assess and pursue’ appellate options in the event this Court denies his pending Criminal Procedure Law ("CPL') S 330.30 motion and to avoid the potential ‘politically prejudicial’ impact that a public sentencing could have on him and his prospects in the upcoming election.  He attempts to bolster his application by repeating a litany of perceived and unsubstantiated grievances from previous filings that do not merit this Court’s attention and will not be addressed in this Decision.”

The judge’s quotes from Trump’s letter are proper given the nature of the order, but let me tell you, along with his dismissal of Trump’s “unsubstantiated grievances,” they are included to reflect the contempt Merchan has for Trump, his lawyers, and his request to delay sentencing. 

Take a step back for a moment.  This is the judge that Trump trashed every single day of the trial that concluded by finding him guilty on all counts.  He is the judge who found Trump in contempt of court ten times for various violations of gag orders imposed to prevent the defendant from harassing his clerk and employees and relatives of the prosecutors and other persons associated with the New York court system, including the judge’s own daughter.  The 10th time Merchan found Trump in contempt, after fining him $1,000, he threatened him with jail time.  Merchan had already fined Trump $9.000 for his previous violations.  Trump had attacked the judge’s daughter as “a rabid Trump hater,” among other slurs, and Merchan sanctioned him for that, as well as forbidding him from discussing any relatives of anyone associated with the case.  Trump had also attacked the make-up of the jury.  He made thinly veiled threats against witnesses in the case that Merchan warned Trump against but did not find contemptuous.

Defendants in criminal trials don’t do this stuff unless the defendant’s name is Donald Trump. 

In his order, Merchan cited the unprecedented nature of criminally sentencing a candidate for president: “This matter is one that stands alone, in a unique place in this Nation's history,” Merchan wrote.  He also included a statement of impartiality and purpose that you would not ordinarily find in such a judicial order:  “This adjournment request has now been decided in the same way this Court has decided every other issue that has arisen since the origination of this case, applying the facts and the law after carefully considering the issues and respective arguments of the parties to ensure that the integrity of the proceeding is protected, justice is served, and the independence of this judiciary kept firmly intact.”  The statement is, without citing instances of Trump’s continual disruption of his trial with lies, slander, and bluster, a defense of the integrity of the judicial process, which Merchan was caused to do almost daily during the trial.

All of this is unprecedented.  The nature of the crime is unprecedented:  a presidential candidate paying off a porn star to conceal a sexual affair from the voters; the defendant being a candidate for president during his trial; the contemptuous behavior of the defendant during the trial; the contempt of the defendant for the jury and the verdict; and of course, before the defendant was sentenced, the intervention of the Supreme Court that found Trump immune from prosecution for official acts taken while president, at least several of which – the signing of checks to Michael Cohen by Trump in the Oval Office – the defense will contend somehow fit the definition of “official acts.”

Trump wants the sentencing hearing postponed so that voters will not know whether he has been sentenced to jail for his crimes in New York.  That is unprecedented, too, just as was Trump not wanting voters in 2016 to know that he had paid hush-money to a porn star. 

Whether voters would take into consideration the judge’s sentence is almost irrelevant.  At this point, voters are faced daily with face-slaps of Trump’s misbehavior and madness, his jumble of unintelligible remarks and lies about childcare before the Economic Club of New York the other day being one of the most recent.  The Economic Club of New York includes among its membership people Trump wanted so badly to respect him when he was a real estate developer and citizen of Manhattan.  They are the uppermost crust of the upper crust of New York society and business – members of the clubs Trump wanted to belong to such as the Union League and Metropolitan Club and other mahogany-and-brass-fittings temples of the Manhattan elite.

And yet there he was, mumbling and lying and stumbling through a discussion any parent in America could speak about coherently: 

“But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, childcare is child care, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to. But they’ll get used to it very quickly. And it’s not going to stop them from doing business with us. But they’ll have a very substantial tax when they send products into our country. Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including childcare, that it’s going to take care. We’re going to have — I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country.”

The phrase, word-salad, is inadequate to describe what he said to that roomful of business executives and economic experts.  What could he have been thinking?

Well, he wasn’t thinking.  He was just flapping his jaws incomprehensibly, because that is what works for him out there among his MAGA faithful.  They don’t have childcare they can afford, and they don’t care that Trump has no plans to get it for them, because that is not what they want from him.  What they want is hate, of which he supplies copious quantities, which is not unprecedented in this country, and that in itself is a problem and has been since our founding as a nation.

Just as Judge Merchan had to take into consideration who the jury found guilty in his courtroom and upon whom he has to deliver sentence, I am afraid that the rest of us are saddled with a similar burden.  We have a monster in our midst.  We are trying to bar the monster from the White House as we did in 2020, but even if we succeed, he will not be gone, not in person, nor in the excretory politics he has encouraged among the citizenry. 

We are not a monstrous country, not yet anyway, but we have always had the tendency to become one.  We avoided such a fate only by Civil War once in our history.  We will find out in November if defeating Trump at the ballot box will enable us to go forward as a nation without resorting to violence. 

We can only vote, and hope.

Lucian Truscott Newsletter

[thecourierlive]

Ex-Celtic star CLEARED of sexually assaulting woman

A FORMER Celtic player has been cleared of sexually assaulting a woman after a sheriff deserted the case against him.

Simon Lynch, 41, was alleged to have groped her at a flat in Glasgow’s Tollcross on February 6, 2020.

Court papers stated Lynch – who played five times for the Hoops – repeatedly entered her bedroom uninvited.

It was claimed he repeatedly asked her to kiss him and touched her on the body.

Lynch, who played for Preston, Dundee and Airdrie, was said to have seized her by the wrists.

The charge said he sat astride her, placed her wrists above her head and pinned her to a bed.

The former striker, of the city’s Mount Vernon, was then claimed to have seized and slapped her on the bottom.

Lynch - who had been due to face a summary trial - without a jury - denied the single charge at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

The trial was initially adjourned in November due to the non-attendance at court of the alleged victim.

The new trial date today was told that the woman had not been cited to come to court by the Crown.

Prosecutor Leo McGinn said: "There were two requests made by my office to the police to personally cite her following the last occasion.

"I appreciate this is an unsatisfactory position as the case was adjourned due to her non attendance on the last occasion."

Paul McCormick, defending, opposed the Crown motion to adjourn the trial.

The lawyer told the court that his client has since lost his job at a charity since the last calling of the case.

He said: "The entire process has been hanging over my client's head for 27 months.

"There have been obvious consequences with the loss of his employment.

"He understands the firm stance due to the publicity that reached the press.

"The Crown really ought to have done more to have the witness cited for today."

Sheriff Jonathan Guy refused the motion to adjourn the trial to another date.

He said: "It has been more than two years and the Crown are not in a position to proceed as it failed to take the necessary step to cite the witness for this case.

"Given the impact of these proceedings and the Crown's repeated failings, I have decided the interests of justice don't support the Crown.

"It is not in the interest of justice for the Crown to be given a third opportunity to do that."

The case was then deserted simpliciter by the Sheriff.

Lynch followed in the footsteps of father Andy, who captained Celtic, by playing at Parkhead between 1999 and 2001.

After hanging up his boots, Canadian-born Lynch also embarked on a music career and even sang at Celtic Park.

[readingsquotes]

What was my crime? What heinous deed did I commit for me to deserve to get shot and lose control of my legs? I was Palestinian. This is not the first time I had been tried and had a sentence passed on me in the kangaroo court of hateful violence. In 2021 I was shot in the knee by a rubber bullet during a demonstration. My classmate—not so lucky as me—suffered a gunshot wound in the leg from a .556-caliber-rifle.  When Israelis protest for the democracy of their courts, the Palestinian does not care. His court has adjourned with the presumption of guilt by existence. The judge, jury, and bailiff are all one: someone holding a rifle at a checkpoint, who will not meet my gaze.  It is of no importance that the person who shot me was not Israeli, because the hate that made this possible was made in Israel. It dehumanized Palestinians on an industrial scale, and was sent to the U.S. in neat little airwave packages. This hate is what makes the ongoing genocide in Gaza acceptable; a Palestinian is not human. When he walks through the prison-style rotating door, gets randomly selected for a search in Jerusalem, or is standing behind the bulletproof glass having his passport checked, he is no longer human. The pain of the Palestinian is not understood because to them we simply cannot feel pain.  This is not about Hisham Awartani though. It was never about me. On November 15 I joined my fellow Brown students to write the names of thousands of Palestinians killed in the war on Gaza. They gave us a document issued by the Gaza Health Ministry, and out of curiosity the first thing I did was look up my name. There were 30 results. 13 people named Hisham and 17 with Hisham as a middle name. I didn’t know how to feel. My name was not a common one. The list was incomplete and only included around 6,500 names, while an estimated 11,000 had been killed by Israel or according to American media, “had died.” Had I been one of those Hishams in Gaza my picture would not have been on the BBC or CNN. Instead of being interviewed, my mother would be fleeing south or already killed, trapped under the rubble with me.  I am the Hisham you know. I lived. My story is being told. The 13 other Hishams were killed, their stories forever erased. They were human and they did not have to prove that to anyone. They knew no respite, no justice, no peace.  Hisham Ali Hisham Awartani 

From Hisham Awartani, Wednesday, November 29

[stupldappie4]

My Apollo Justice sequel plot ideas:

Trucy finds out about her mother (that she has her memory back). Dilemma: does she stay with her or with Phoenix?

Apollo (slowly) figures out (on his own) who his mother is and that he is Trucy's brother. Problem: He gets mad at Phoenix for not telling him.

Flashback case involving Kristoph. Possibilities:

You play as Kristoph, essentially playing the "bad guy", knowingly presenting tampered/false/forged evidence and knowingly using dirty tricks. (You kinda know the defendant is actually guilty)

You play as the prosecutor (maybe Edgeworth?), having to go up against Kristoph. You have to try to prove the defendant guilty. You know the defendant is guilty.

-> Maybe the defendant gets away with the crime as a result of this (and Apollo has to maybe prove this persons guilt.)

Klavier gets accused of murder and you have to defend him. Underlying problem: Klavier doubts himself and compares himself to his brother. He's asking himself if being a criminal lies in his family's blood. And then there's also the doubting himself as a prosecutor after now knowing that he helped his brother ruin an innocent man's life.

Phoenix gets his badge back. Problems: trying to find footing in the legal world again after being disbarred. The people still think of him as the forgin' attorney.

Fleshing out and establishing the jury system. Problem: theres still corruption going on (chief prosecutor Miles Edgeworth comes in clutch)

The Magical Turnabout but the pacing is better: It should have been split in two days: Day 1: Witness Bonny & it ends with twin reveal, instead of the recess court gets adjourned, trial and investigation is split across two days. Apollo uses Perceive instead of the Mood Matrix.

these are just some random thoughts i wrote in my notebook

[pippenpaddlopsicopolisthethird]

Juri won Best Master at the cosplay contest tonight 🫶

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

Jury Duty episode 1.03 "Foreperson"

This is the funniest thing I’ve seen on tv in a really long time. I’m so happy for Ronald- literally no one else in the world has had this experience and he was such a champ. I was pulled in by the premise- a guy reports for jury duty and essentially walks into The Truman Show. Ronald Gladden was appointed to a jury that was sequestered for 17 days, without access to his phone, and without knowing that the case is fabricated and everyone he interacts with the entire time is an actor. It actually sounds crazy to describe, and I initially started it with morbid curiosity because I didn’t see how this could possibly be an okay thing to do to someone.

But Jury Duty is somehow an incredibly wholesome, heartwarming, and hysterical piece of work. I can’t get over how much they lucked out with Ronald- he was so genuine and present and really did his best with all these bizarre situations. Just down for anything. This could definitely have gone another way with a different type of person, but the acting feat involved with the rest of the cast staying in character for days on end is also almost shocking.

Ronald’s laid back and willing attitude put my concerns for his wellbeing to bed pretty much immediately, but this episode is where I got fully invested. Ronald had just been appointed foreperson of the jury, which seems to just mean that he has to handle it when everyone else does weird stuff during the case.

To start with, Todd is wearing his chants (chair pants) to court today. No description can do them justice, you gotta see them, but they’re basically crutches with kneepads on top that attach around his waist so he can lean back into them and sit. He’s really proud of his invention, but he makes a scene everywhere they go because “the only part that is slightly inconvenient about these is interacting with other chairs while you’re wearing them”. When attempting to walk through the metal detector at the courthouse, the security guard just says “no”, and Todd then spends several minutes removing them inside the courtroom at the judge’s request. This all sounds too silly to believe, but I think David Brown’s performance is so realistic. And what would it take for you to start wondering if everyone and everything around you is fake?

Susan Berger, Ronald Gladden, Mekki Leeper, Ross Kimball, and Edy Modica in Jury Duty. Image courtesy of IMDb.

Todd is embarrassed after having to take off his chants in front of everybody, which makes Ronald feel bad- and admit that he may have given Todd the inspiration for chants when he showed him A Bug’s Life over the weekend. He thought that Todd might appreciate the nice tale “about the bug who’s making these inventions. He’s trying to introduce technology into their lives. That’s exactly what Todd is trying to do. You know, that’s what he’s passionate about. And I think it’s really cool. So I showed him that movie to kind of let him know that, you know, those people tend to be misunderstood in society, just like it’s portrayed in the movie. You know, he’s kind of an outcast. And all he’s trying to do is just help in his own way.”

This is both the funniest and sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s such a funny, silly thing that it’s amazing it wasn’t scripted. Ronald just decided to show this guy A Bug’s Life over the weekend. And David Brown hung out with him and watched it, in character.

Barbara, meanwhile, can’t stay awake during the depositions. Ronald taps her several times to wake her up, but the judge finally adjourns for a coffee break, telling Ronald to keep his jury in line. He understandingly pleads with Barbara to stay awake, and she reassures him that she just ate a cookie that has “sativa and Dexedrine in it”. Ronald was asked to keep her awake, not monitor her drug use, so he just laughs and says “as long as you don’t fall asleep”.

Barbara doesn’t fall asleep. Suddenly, she is very invested in the case, gasping and reacting to every twist in the testimony. Afterwards, Ronald gushes about how proud he is of her, innocently saying she must have taken a new interest in the case.

This stand-up behavior from Ronald continues throughout the case, even as the situations get weirder and weirder. The concept of Jury Duty seems like it’s opening new doors in comedy, but I can’t imagine this ever being replicated. It was a really involved, risky experiment that managed to turn out perfectly. Please watch it and tell me your favorite part.

[lcvebvtes]

Josie - ❝ it’s been a long time since someone stuck their neck out for me like that. ❞

Seated in court, Josefine is calm and collected as her defendant, Gregor Regis- the CEO of a major publishing company, is being grilled by the plaintiffs lawyer, an ex employee who had filed both a harassment and wrongful termination lawsuit. The other lawyer, a man she is familiar with by the name of Marcus Pike, is almost as good at his job as she is, however he's not quite on her level. He's midway through a tirade about how terrible of a boss Gregor is when she speak up "objection!" the judge looks to her in a querying manor and her chin lifts a fraction "counsellor Pike is leading the jury with his tall tales". The judge considers this for a moment and nods sagely "sustained, please keep your questioning concise and pertinent, counsellor." There's a glare in her direction and Marcus finishes up his questioning before returning to his seat and Josefine stood to begin her own.

"Mr Regis" she begins, hands clasped at her waist "tell me, before Ms Quinn filed this lawsuit against you- had you ever met her?" The defendant shakes his head and replies "not once in my life." "Interesting. Had you ever set foot in the Editing Department based on Whale Island?" "No, I can't make the journey due to my health issues" "can you please elaborate on these issues- for clarities sake?" "certainly, I have a heart condition and my body struggles to regulate my blood pressure. I take daily medication for it but my doctor advises me not to make strenuous journeys." "And I believe, climbing all the way up the vines to Whale Island would be classes as a strenuous journey- no?" The defendant chuckles slightly "there is a air balloon, you know" "I'm aware- however the wile change in air pressure is difficult for even perfectly healthy people to cope with- why there are many documented cases that attest to this where folks become unwell, or even lose consciousness due to these conditions." She heads back to her desk and plucks the relevant file and carries it over to the judge "for your consideration, your honour". She turns back to her defendant "so tell me, Mr Regis, has the plaintiff ever had business in your head office in Selphia?" "not once has she been called to the main office. Both her interview and hiring were held on the Island and we have never had cause to call a junior editor to the HQ of Regum Print and Publishing." "Interesting." She pauses "that is all."

After the court has adjourned for the day, Gregor and Josefine are heading back to her office in the back of his car, she can feel his eyes burning into her skull. "Yes, Mr Regis?" she asks, looking at him sidelong "I just wanted to thank you, you've done amazing work. I really think this case is going to be thrown out." She smirks and looks ahead again "I know it is. Pike couldn't puncture a hole in the defense I've raised today even if he had an enchanted harpoon." He guffaws and shakes his head "where did you get all that info about the people fainting and such after riding the balloon?" The car pulls to a stop and the driver moves to get out and open her door for her, "I have my sources, Mr Regis, if I gave them all away people wouldn't need to hire me." She steps out and pauses, turning and bending to look back into him "I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early." and with a final smile she turns and heads towards the door, ignoring Joon who was panting with a rattling chest after he had sprinted to hold it open for her.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"PRISONER WAVED A FAREWELL TO FAMILY," Toronto Star. March 11, 1913. Page 14. --- Wife and Baby in Corridor When He Was Sent Down Into the Cells. --- CASES IN POLICE COURT ---- Man Accused of Beating Wife Begs for Mercy, But Fails to Get Freedom. ---- Walter Heald, who pleaded guilty to stealing a quantity of jewelry from his employer, Thomas Cuff, was dismissed by Magistrate Denison to-day on the assurance of Mr. Cuff that he would take Heald back into his employ, and watch over him and see that he could get even with the game again.

"I shall discharge you," said the magistrate, "because the spirit evinced by your employer is so rare that it would be a shame to discourage it."

Solomon Siegel, accused of picking pockets, was committed for trial before a jury, and was let out on bail of $1,000.

Wife Complains. John Andrews' sobbing in the dock moved everyone in the court-room but Alice Andrews, his wife, who laid a charge against him for doing bodily harm to her.

"I worship my wife," cried Andrews, "and I don't know why I scratched her. She was nagging because I had taken a couple of drinks, and got me into a rage."

"I'll send you down for three days, and we will examine the case in the meantime."

Andrews clung to the rail, and begged the magistrate, the constables, and the prisoners not to torture him "down there." Both he and his wife are young, married not more than two years.

Arthur Francis, the young man who is accused of passing bogus checks on boarding house landladies, was committed for trial on the charge of forgery, and is remanded in Jail until his trial. During the time he was in the dock Francis was peering out the door of the court-room, where his wife and two-year-old baby were sitting in the corridor. Francis antics to catch the baby's eye, and his waving and kiss-throwing were pathetic in the extreme, and even the court-room constables, whose thundering "sit down!" greets any movement on the part of prisoners, were touched a little, and cleared a path for the baby to see through.

Only One Woman. There was only one sentence handed out in the Women's Police Court to-day, and that was to Bertha Jacobs, who was sent to the Mercer for three months, for keeping a house of ill-fame.

An unfortunate case is that of Alex McPherson, who pleaded guilty to vagrancy, and who was handed over to the Salvation Army. McPherson has been suffering from heart weakness for years, and came to this city two weeks ago from a farm district around Galt and Berlin, to find some relatives he thought were here. Now he wants to get back to the farms, and the Salvation Army will find him some work, to enable him to pay his way.

Domestic Trouble. "I married Henry Chapman five years ago," said Mrs. Mary Chapman. in giving her evidence in a case of non-support. "He gets drunk and he deserted me for three weeks-left me alone to feed twenty-three starving chickens."

"Do you want to go back to your husband?"

"Yes! I was married for life and not for five years!"

Chapman claims that his wife was always nagging at him, and the case was adjourned till the 18th.

Robert H. Wood was committed for trial on a charge of committing assaults on two little girls, four and six years old.

After being set up in the plumbing business by William Marshall, George Brown started signing his friend's name to notes and L.LO.U's and defrauded Marshall out of $13.50, for which Brown was given a month in jail.

"I bought him a horse and wagon," said Marshall, "and put him on to the game in the plumbing business. Then I began to receive notes with my name forged."

Preyed On a Woman. Three months in the Central Prison were given to Wilber Ryan, for being an inmate of a house of ill-fame kept by Mary Howard. The Morality Department put forward facts showing that Ryan was keeping the Howard girl, who is still quite young, for immoral purposes. The house was raided, the girl sentenced and frequenters fined.

Ryan lived at the house, and had no visible means of support beyond what money was earned by Mary Howard.

The Department's record shows that this girl had a baby a couple of years Lago, and that since then she has been identified with houses run by Ryan.

"Three months in Central," said Magistrate Denison," and hereafter an eye will be kept on you! We will look for further light on your life."

[pokeprism]

Sinker and No Line

This is my first short story! This story’s production cycle started 3/23/2023 and ended 4/7/2023! The word count for this story is 2,466!

Any questions, comments, concerns that you might have are best served to my Tumblr askbox!

The story itself is below the cut~!

The usually sleepy courthouse in Deepmire is full of guests today. The accused, a young twentysomething by the name of Zax Erickson, stands accused of associating with people outside Deepmire, but even worse in the jury’s eyes is that those people included the undead and their necromancing masters. Despite the nature of the accusations, no out-of-towners were brought into the trial due to the trial’s ‘special nature’... A textbook witch hunt.

An anxious jury quietly surveys Zax, the accused party, as he sits directly ahead of the judge, Caleb C Justice. Caleb has been Deepmire’s local judge since the most recent (and rigged in his favor) election, and he has a reputation to uphold…

Caleb clears his throat, and looks at Zax’s face. “Do you, Zax Erickson, admit to conversing with necromancers and their minions on friendly terms?”

Zax wrings his fingers. “Y-Yes…”

“And that our witnesses' testimony about your ventures into the Accursed Boglands were true as well?”

The accused pauses for a moment. Zax’s eyes narrow. “I never went there of my own accord. It was-”

Caleb rises from his seat as he loudly sets his hands on the podium, quickly silencing Zax mid sentence.

The judge raises his voice. “By your admission of speaking to unholy folk, I’m forced to turn you over to Deepmire’s Sage to be dealt your sentence, Zax. You’ve made too much trouble in town already by bringing unholy doctrine back with you.”

A tense silence edges into the courthouse. Much like the way in which Caleb procured his seat of power, a good portion of the jury slotted in upon hearing that the local oddball was in the hot seat, once again flying in the face of the state’s ‘dedication to true justice’.

Zax, already on high alert and worried he might get a harsher sentence if he speaks again, opts to quietly tremble in his seat as Caleb settles back into his seat.

Caleb looks directly into Zax’s eyes with a stoic expression. “Zax Erickson, you are at the mercy of Deepmire’s Sage. You are sentenced to a transformation at sunset two days from now.”

Zax trembles in the brief silence. At least it wasn’t a death sentence…

Caleb stands back up. “This affair is adjourned…”

The guards on duty in the courthouse escort Zax back to his holding space, his chains swaying as he walks in step with the guards. Caleb eyes Zax as the young man keeps pace with his escorts, then cracks a crooked smile in the quiet of his empty courtroom.

Two days have passed. The sun nears the western horizon as a crowd forms at the Deepmire’s Eastern docks around the city’s infamous transformation block. The last person who was sentenced to transformation was the former mayor of Deepmire, an advocate for teaching magic in public schools, before being confined to a monstrous new form for the crime of spouting ‘unholy doctrine’. So regardless of Caleb’s wishes, Zax’s transformation will be the first of many carried out by his phony sense of justice, and he knows this too well. Standing at the foot of the transformation block is Deepmire’s local sage and holy man, simply known as Seer Deepmire. Supposedly having been gifted his incredible magical power by the disguised supernatural he helped in his youth, Seer is a force in Deepmire’s conscience, but in this moment, he’s silently watching the procession carrying the accused.

At the head of the procession is a carriage containing the carriage driver and Judge Caleb C Justice, who came under so-called ‘professional obligation’, and behind the both of them is a wheeled platform with Zax, the accused, chained to it via some metal staples imbedded into the platform itself. Zax, having had two days to mentally prepare, is quietly sitting in the center of the platform swaying with each bump and ditch in the road below. The guards around the platform keep pace with it while walking around armed to deter any funny business from happening at the transformation. Zax, who has been absentmindedly looking at each of the dozen guards around him, shifts his gaze towards the docks. His anxiety begins to ramp up as he sees the size of the crowd gathering on both of the docks surrounding the ritual site…

Caleb’s carriage turns out of the way of the accused’s wheeled platform into a carriage sized slot close to the soon-to-be ritual sentencing. The crooked judge will get a clear view…

Now at the foot of the transformation block, the guards surrounding the wheeled platform stop to watch the contraption roll into position. The platform comes to a stop, and Zax, his back to the ocean, snaps to attention as Seer magically teleports to a place in front of Zax on the platform.

Seer, magically projecting his utterances to those within the vicinity of him, clears his throat, then looks into Zax’s eyes. “Son of Erickson, you sit before me guilty of association with unholy folk.”

Zax stares into Seer’s eyes, softly trembling in the silence after his first statement.

“For you, I believe the best new existence for you is one spent at the bottom of the sea!”

Seer raises his staff as it glows with arcane energy. The motion magically grabs Zax by his chest and lifts him up, to a point where the chains binding him to the platform are at their limit. Zax is powerless to stop the sage’s whims…

Seer begins waving the staff in a rhythmic pattern, readying the cocktail of spells Zax’s sentence entails. As the sage finishes preparing the magical sequence, Seer points the tip of the staff directly at Zax’s heart and fires a beam of pure magical energy. The glowing energy passes straight through Zax’s shirt, striking him in the core of his being, and begins to radiate throughout his body, making his whole being glow with a strange sea-green energy. The onlookers near to the transformation block squint at the glowing form of the accused, and at the peak of the transformation’s brightness, Seer raises his staff once again.

With a simple upward flick of Seer’s wrist, Zax’s chains snap as his reforming body is lifted slightly higher than it was a moment ago, and within two swift motions of Seer’s staff later, the mage magically forms a metallic crate around the accused and sends it flying towards the sea. Everyone in the vicinity around the transformation block follows the crate with their eyes, but even the onlookers at the ends of the piers can’t see where the barrel lands…

Out of the view of anyone in Deepmire and miles away from where Zax and his container were launched, the metal crate that the accused is in begins to lose altitude before dropping into the sea, quickly sinking like a stone into the sea as the sun fully disappears behind the horizon.

By the time the sun emerges from the eastern horizon the next morning, Zax, still inside the metal crate that formed around him, begins to slowly awaken. Confused by the near complete darkness around him, he takes his dominant hand and slides it across his forehead, revealing a spot of soreness as his hand gets close to his right temple. Still in almost complete darkness, Zax begins to feel around for the borders of the space he’s in…

Zax quietly speaks to himself as his hand glides over the surface in front of him. “What in the-”

Zax silences himself as he feels a strange indentation in what’s containing him. “... Am I in a coffin?” His eyes narrow as he attempts to see something…

A soft blue glow enters the space that Zax is in. The light reveals the inner indentations of the metal crate to Zax.

Zax begins to quietly read out what’s just in front of him. “ Hmm… ‘Zax Erickson, doomed to a life in the sea’.....”

He looks just below the sentence, and notices an image of a small fish below the statement. Zax’s mind suddenly freezes. He sets both hands on the now illuminated panel ahead of him, but instantly notices the webbing between his digits and jets backwards as a result, colliding with the back side of the crate. As Zax’s mind switches into hyperawareness, he very quickly comes to notice his scaly skin, lack of hair, new ear like protrusions, a tail, and a mess of glowing markings on his body in rapid succession.

The anxious, fearful, and frankly disoriented Zax then screams without too much thought, his bioluminescent markings lighting up even more at the peak of his volume…

His mind begins to wind down as his scream ceases to be, gradually bringing his breath and heart rate back to an average pace over the course of several ins-and-outs.

Zax heaves a sigh of relief. “At least nothing here will wanna eat me…” He softly says.

Zax then feels a knock on the upper corner of his odd container. He flips over and crawls toward where the sound came from and strikes the container in a similar spot. “Hello? I’m kinda trapped in here…” Zax says.

There’s a silence for a moment, then a set of three lighter knocks on the container, accompanied by a simple, slightly muffled message. “We’re gonna getcha out! Just give us a sec!”

Zax sighs in relief. “Thank the gods..!”

Zax makes out a fair bit of what those around him are saying…

“I wonder how this fish face got stuck in there…” one voice calmly says.

Another voice scoffs. “Did you NOT see the markings on this crate?! They’re clearly someone who came off the transformation block!”

Yet another voice chimes in. “Whoever they are, I’m the one with the cutting power, you two! Just lemme line it up…”

Zax heart rate ramps up at the mention of ‘cutting power’. Zax curls up into a fetal position as his anxiety returns with a vengeance, making his whole being twitch at the thought of being cut to ribbons…

Outside the crate, the person who mentioned their cutting power winds up to swing his sharp edged arm, and within an instant, the limb sweeps forward with immense upwards force.

The metal crate, previously embedded into the seabed, is ripped out of the ocean floor and cleaved clean in half, all while leaving Zax completely unharmed. A textbook embodiment of a skilled cleave. In the same moment of the masterful cleave, the air pocket inside the metal crate ruptures and rapidly escapes from the depths, exposing Zax’s new form to the lukewarm sea.

Zax snaps out of his fetal position near-instantaneously once in contact with the water just before the two halves of the metal crate settle back onto the ocean floor. He then faints from the shock…

The person who just freed Zax and his two cohorts, confused at the stranger’s sudden lack of motion, all drift close to Zax as he floats in place. The trio all get a good three hundred sixty degree look at this stranger as they slowly circle around them.

A serpentine sea dragon, the one who freed Zax in one stroke, senses something magical in one of the stranger’s pockets, and starts drifting closer to investigate…

The tentacled member of the surveyors, seeing their comrade’s motion and deciding to throw some caution into the current, jets to a place in front of his draconic cohort.

“Levi! We literally have no idea what this guy can do, so maybe let’s NOT get too close, alright?”

Levi rolls his eyes. “Well, you didn’t stop Brook…”

The cephalopod quickly looks over his shoulder to see Brook looming above the still motionless fishfolk at a place even closer to the stranger.

The merperson’s tail twitches before turning to face their two teammates. “Guys, chill out. They’re unconscious. They just got their senses overloaded…”

The tentacled person crosses their arms and puts on a pouty expression…

Brook swims to a place between this cephalopod friend and the out-cold stranger, with the stranger at Brook’s back, before speaking again. “Let’s just wait for this fellow to wake up, Doc. Moving them in this state would be rude, and we’ll learn more from talking to them.”

Doc’s anger subsides, but his arms remain crossed. “Fair enough…”

Levi’s attention drifts beyond Brook’s shoulder as the stranger begins to stir. Brook and Doc see the sudden motion of Levi’s eyes and turn to face the stranger as they re-enter consciousness…

Zax adjusts his position to have his feet face the ocean floor before catching sight of the trio watching him. He stammers as he addresses them. “Erm, h-hello?”

Levi is the first to respond. “Howdy, stranger! My name is Levi, and I’m the dragon that gotcha out of that crate. What’s your story?”

Brook greets Zax with a silent hand wave.

Doc simply looks on at Zax with a cautious expression…

Zax is taken aback, both by his onlookers’ appearances and their largely kind reactions to his presence. “Well… I just came off the transformation block in Deepmire, and I don’t know where to go…”

Brook and Levi look towards Doc.

Doc’s eyes narrow. “... Fine, I’ll fact check that.”

Doc sets his upper two tentacles on his temples and looks deep into Zax’s eyes. Zax merely matches the stare as Doc magically reads the stranger’s memory feed.

After a moment, Doc closes his eyes, then laughs. “I was SO right!!!”

Levi, annoyed, loudly sighs.

Brook drifts forward toward Levi before putting a hand on his shoulder. “Well, at least we know that this fishfolk isn’t any trouble, right?”

Doc nods to Brook, then shifts to a place just in front of Zax. “Anyways, you’re Zax, yes?”

A chill goes through Zax’s system. His name WAS mentioned before his transformation… “... Yes. I go by Zax.”

Brook finds a chance to speak. “Well, what’s stopping us from taking Zax to our humble abode for now? We do have a fourth sleeping chamber that’s not in use…”

Doc, Levi, and Zax all exchange looks.

Levi is the first to regain his bearing. “That’s not a bad idea, Brook! I mean hey, I took you two to live with me, so how much would it hurt to get another weirdo in there?”

Levi turns to face Zax. “So hey, follow us to our place, new friend.”

“We’ll get you acquainted with life down here!” Doc interjects.

Zax pauses for a moment to think. His eyes sparkle with hope as he smiles in acceptance of the trio’s offer.

Levi, Doc, and Brook all smile in turn. Levi gestures for the others to follow, then snakes through the water in the direction of their home. The rest of the party obeys Levi’s gesture as they begin to wonder what this new living situation will be like going forward…

[erijonarexhepis-blog]

STAY

SEASON SIX, EPISODE FIFTEEN

Masterlist

THEY WERE IN THE COURTROOM again, and this time it was Jorge who had taken the stand. "Mr. Castillo, during the times that you were speaking with your daughter, Laurel, how would you categorize your relationship with her?" Lennox asked.

"Troubled."

"Why?"

"Did you ever catch your daughter lying to you?"

"Of course," Jorge answered. "When she was 14, she lied about using cocaine—"

"Behavior while a minor is improper character evidence, judge," Annalise interrupted him.

"Sustained," the judge said.

"Let's, um, move on to governor Birkhead," Lennox continued. "Mr. Castillo, have you ever met or spoken with the governor?"

"No."

"Have you ever contacted the governor or anyone associated with her to enact ill will against Ms. Keating?"

"Absolutely not."

"And do you believe any of the allegations that say the governor was involved in your son Xavier's death?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I've made a lot of money in my life— enemies too— so I can think of a long list of people who would have wanted to see my son dead."

Lennox kept glancing over at Annalise. "Mr. Castillo, one of the theories Ms. Keating has put forth is that the FBI is part of this conspiracy against her. Have you been in contact with the FBI about this?"

"No. The FBI's who put me in jail." So, he was still mad about that. "Based on misinformation from an informant. That's her sitting right behind Ms. Keating." Jorge pointed.

Annalise stood. "Objection!"

Jorge turned to the jury. "Those two women are conspiring against me."

"Mr. Castillo, don't address the gallery," the judge told him sternly. "I'm censuring the witness. Jury, disregard the last part of this testimony. Mr. Lennox, meet me in my chambers. Adjourned."

FLASH FORWARD

Shots were fired outside the courthouse. People, who were standing on the steps outside the building, started running and screaming in fear and panic. Some fell and stayed, hoping they wouldn't be hit. They were terrified.

The officers inside the building took action. They grabbed their weapons and ran down the hall to catch whoever was shooting before they killed someone. They ran past Annalise's mother, who was in distress. She hadn't seen Annalise and was worried. Her other daughter was holding her back.

"Is my baby hurt?!" She cried out. "Please tell me! Is she hurt?!"

Someone had been shot. Tegan looked down at this person in terror. How could this happen?

꧁   ꧂

"THANK YOU FOR BEING here, governor," Lennox said.

The governor had taken the stand. "You say that like I have a choice."

"Well, let's not keep you too long, then. Did you order the death of Nathaniel Lahey Sr.?"

"No."

"Do you know if Xavier Castillo ordered the death?"

"Yes, because that guard named him during the civil suit."

"Did you know Xavier Castillo?"

"No, nor have I ever met or spoken to him."

"Do you know his father, Jorge?"

"No."

"Governor, did you ever coordinate with any member of the Castillo family or the FBI to exact revenge on Ms. Keating for defeating you in a Supreme Court case?"

"No." She couldn't even look at Annalise.

"You weren't protecting your re-election?"

"No, because I plan to win my election by convincing the public I'm the best person for the job. The way not to do that is to commit a series of violent murders. That's more Ms. Keating's fallback."

Annalise stood. "Objection. Censure the witness."

"Governor," the judge scolded her.

"My apologies."

"No further questions," Lennox stated.

"Governor, when I beat you at the Supreme Court with my class action, were you upset?"

"More disappointed," the governor answered.

"Because of the damage to your political career?"

"To the taxpayer. Your victory cost the state millions."

"Money well spent if it saved thousands of poor people from unjust convictions."

"Argumentative," Lennox stated. He seemed calm.

"This speaks to the defense's theory of motive," Annalise protested.

"Sustained."

"Do you know Xavier Castillo?"

"As I stated earlier, no."

"What about Hannah Keating?"

The governor paused for a brief second. "I don't know who that is."

"She's my deceased husband's sister, Hannah. You don't know her?"

"I do not."

Annalise went over to her table. "And yet, Hannah Keating recorded herself on a phone call to Xavier Castillo saying this."

She played the recording. "I just saw the governor on tv saying Nate Lahey Sr. died."

"He did die."

"Because the governor killed him?"

Lennox stood up, not wanting to listen to more of it. "Objection. We can't authenticate this recording."

"I wish Hannah Keating were here to speak to its authenticity, but she just died." Annalise looked at the governor. "Gunshot to the head."

"Your honor."

The judge made a decision. "Falls under the death exception. I'll allow it."

Annalise hit record again. "I just saw the governor on tv saying Nate Lahey Sr. died," they heard Hannah's voice once again.

"He did die."

"Because the governor killed him?"

"Calm down."

"I wanted Annalise to go down for my brother, not hurt all these other people."

"I'm hanging up." The recording stopped.

"If you didn't know Hannah Keating or Xavier Castillo, why are they speaking so intimately about you?" Annalise approached the governor again.

The governor shook her head. "I have no idea."

"What about Nate Lahey Sr.? Did you do what Hannah said and kill him?"

"Absolutely not."

"So, if Xavier and Hannah were alive to testify, they would say the same thing?"

"Objection," Lennox spoke up but was ignored.

"Did you have them killed to cover up your lies?"

"No! My god."

The judge cut in and stopped the questioning. "I'm ending this cross!"

"Good," Annalise stated. "I'm done with this witness."

꧁   ꧂

NATE TOOK THE STAND THE next day, and he would be the last to do so. "Mr. Lahey, were you involved in any way at all with the death of Sam Keating?"

"No."

"You were arrested and almost charged for his murder, though. Why?"

"I was the boyfriend. That's always the first suspect."

Lennox nodded. "Any other reason?"

Nate looked over at Annalise. "I was framed."

"Who do you believe framed you, Mr. Lahey?"

"At the time, I thought Annalise."

"Did you ever get confirmation of this?"

"No. 'Cause she wasn't the one who framed me."

Lennox glanced over at Annalise for a brief moment. He took a step closer to Nate. "You mean she had an associate do it for her?"

"I mean, she didn't do it. That was Hannah Keating. She wanted to connect Annalise to Sam's murder, and now it's very clear to me how Hannah did it— by using the Castillos and the governor."

"Let me stop you, Mr. Lahey. Did Ms. Keating coerce you to change your testimony today?"

"No. That was you and special agent Lanford when you offered me twenty million dollars to say what you want. I'm just guessing that's so I don't tell the jury that an FBI agent working for the Castillo's murdered Asher Millstone."

꧁   ꧂

THE LAST DAY OF THE TRIAL started the following morning. It was time for the closing arguments. Lennox went first. "Forget everyone else. The Castillos, the governor, the supposed conspiracy. That is all noise to distract you from the person who brought us here— Annalise Keating. She wants to play the victim, and she is good at it too. But you know the real victims."

Lennox showed the pictures of the people as mentioned them. "Asher Millstone. DA Ronald Miller. ADA Emily Sinclair. Rebecca Sutter. Sam Keating. It all started with this man. That is the original sin. You start there. Then there's no doubt that Annalise Keating is not a victim. She's a murderer."

"I'm no victim," Annalise started. "USA Lennox was right about that. But that's the only true thing that he said today. So, here's the truth about me. I've worn a mask every day of my life. In high school, it was a smile that I faked to get boys to like me. In law school, I changed my name to sound more New England. At the law firm, I wore heels, makeup, and a wig. And when I got married, I... threw myself into becoming a Keating, and it was all to create a version of myself that the world could accept. But I'm done."

"Instead, I stand before you, mask off, to tell you the god's honest. I have done many a bad thing. I've coerced witnesses, got clients to lie on the stand, bullied students to tears, manipulated jurors like you. But those are not the crimes I'm being tried for. It's murder. And I am no murderer."

"What I am is a survivor. I survived getting taunted by the n-word when I was in grade school. I survived the sexual abuse by my uncle when I was 11. I survived losing my first love, Eve, because I was scared to be gay. Then the death of my son in a car accident, the murder of my husband, then alcoholism, depression, grief, and every death leading up to this trial."

"But today, you decide. Am I a bad person? Well, the mask is off, so I'm going to say yes. But am I the mastermind criminal who pulled off a series of violent murders? Hell no."

"Who I am is a 53-year-old woman from Memphis, Tennessee, named Anna Mae Harkness. I'm ambitious, black, bisexual, angry, sad, strong, sensitive, scared, fierce, talented, exhausted."

Annalise let out a shaky breath. She glanced from one juror to the other. She said everything she needed to say and moved almost every person in the room.

"And I am at your mercy."

April was sitting between Laurel and Connor— with Michaela on his side. The jurors had made a decision, and they were anxiously waiting to hear what they had decided for Annalise.

"Ms. Foreperson, I've been told you've reached a verdict."

"Yes, your honor," the juror responded. Some papers got passed on to the judge. The tension in the room was thick. Laurel was gripping April's hand. They had no idea how this was going to end.

The judge looked through the stack of papers as the people in the room waited anxiously. "Please stand."

Annalise and Lennox both stood. "For the charge of conspiracy to murder Sam Keating in count one of the indictment, the jury finds the defendant Annalise Keating..." she paused for a while before revealing it. "Not guilty."

When those words left her mouth, April breathed relief, as did the people sitting behind Annalise. But it was not over yet. "For murder in the first degree of Rebecca Sutter, the jury finds the defendant not guilty. For the murder in the first degree of Asher Millstone, the jury finds the defendant not guilty."

Laurel leaned back in relief, tears threatening to escape. Connor and Oliver had a somewhat similar reaction. April couldn't help but smile, her eyes watering. It was over.

Michaela, on the other hand, was not as happy. 

"For murder in the first degree of Emily Sinclair, the jury finds the defendant not guilty. For the murder in the first degree of Ronald Miller, the jury finds the defendant not guilty. For murder in the first degree of Caleb Hapstall, the jury finds the defendant not guilty."

April looked over at her professor, who was hugging her family members. They were happy. Annalise wasn't going down for something she didn't do. And that was when April knew she had done the right thing.

The judge read the rest of the charges; not guilty. Those were the words that kept repeating themselves. Annalise was free. It was over. And she was enjoying the moment with the people closest to her.

Her students stood in the hall sometime later. Connor and Oliver didn't know how to feel, but they didn't have to wonder much longer.

April turned to her friends— her family. She just looked at them and took in the moment. It was over. It was finally over.

They could go back to when they worried about silly things, not murder. Their lives could go back to normal— somewhat normal.

But not for April.

She was ready. She knew it was the right thing, but she hadn't told anyone.

Her friends watched the two police officers approach them, and they were confused. Especially when they cuffed April. There was a lot she hid from them.

They questioned the officers— asked them why they were taking their friend away. What did April do? She told them she got probation.

April looked at her friends as the officers put the cuffs on. "I lied," she shrugged. "I'm the one who takes care of you. So that's what I'm doing."

They looked back at her with tears in their eyes. They were also confused and panicked. "I'm going to be fine. Fifteen years is not that much. Take care of yourselves."

"No, you can't do this!" Connor yelled at the police officer when they dragged her away. He was the most affected by this.

"Connor," Oliver pulled him back. He was crying too. Michaela reached out in an attempt to comfort him, but Oliver pushed her hand away. "You don't get to do that after everything."

"Oliver—"

"You betrayed everyone," Oliver cut her off harshly. Michaela was taken aback. She didn't have anything to say. She knew what she had done. She decided to walk away, no matter how much it hurt.

"Let's leave," Laurel spoke. She turned her stroller. And the three made their way to the exit. For a moment, they had enjoyed that feeling of happiness and relief. They hadn't felt that in a long time.

April gave up information and her freedom for her friends. She considered them family. She had lost her father, and her mother was being rearrested; that was a part of the deal she made.

As she was taken away, she thought about her friends and where they would end up. Annalise was free, and her friends were leaving. They were all going to start fresh.

April was unaware of the shooting outside the courthouse as it happened. As fast as that happiness appeared, it was gone. They were gone. It was over.

It was finally over.

She would be alone in prison, but that was how it had always been. Alone. But she took comfort in knowing her family would be okay.

No more worrying about people going after them or who killed who. It was over. It was finally over.