Mock Trial

It is eight fifteen in the morning. Norihiro’s alarm rang for a good five minutes before he finally decided to pay attention to it. He dismissed it and sat up in his bed with his hand on his forehead. He is in an unbuttoned dress shirt and has very evident bed hair, which shows his sleep was not pleasant.

“Damn, my head hurts; it’s been a long time since I had that dream,” Norihiro said. He looked around the room. His apartment is full of takeout boxes and various files and documents lying all around; his laptop is turned on and displaying different tabs, while his phone keeps beeping every second.

Norihiko looked to the calendar; the current date is circled. He got up, not minding the mess in the room, and stretched a little before doing his regular exercises. After his bath, he wore a bathrobe as he walked around his room to his wardrobe, picking one out of the several suits and ties he owns.

“BRRING.” He picked up his phone and answered his caller. “Is everything ready?” he said while adjusting his tie. “Good to know; I will send you the money.” Norihiko hung up the phone, took its SIM and snapped it before putting in another.

Once he was fully dressed in a black unbuttoned jacket covering a white dress shirt with black trousers and a red tie, he picked a black shoulder bag from the headboard of his bed. The bag is the only thing in the room which looked neat, although it did not look new.

Norihiko closed the lid of his laptop and placed it in his bag along with several files. He contemplated for some time before adding a tabletop photo frame to his bag. “Wish me luck… Mother,” he said before leaving his apartment.

The TV announced the trial of a suspect who is charged with several counts of murder, arson, drug trafficking and other crimes.

Norihiko went through the standard security check before entering the courtroom. He sat in the gallery as everyone wondered why a fifteen-year-old was sitting with them. The suspect, Tetsuya Wakazaki, was brought to the defence counsel with handcuffs. He is a tall man in his early forties; he has well-groomed hair and a handsome face, and he is rather tall. It is definitely not the appearance of a killer.

For someone who has been in a holding cell awaiting trial for six months, Norihiko evaluated him; he is rather well kept.

The court session started; Norihiko could immediately tell, Tetsuya’s lawyer is very skilled and experienced, which is in contrast to the prosecutor, who looks like it is his first day on the job.

Every time evidence was brought to the judge, the defence attorney skilfully objected to it with evidence of his own. Norihiko simply watched with a bored look, he paid no mind to the witnesses who came to the box.

What a joke. Norihiko's head rested on his hand while he watched the court session play out, but I got to say, it is a really good performance.

The court hearing ended, and, to no one’s surprise, the final verdict declared Tetsuya Wakazaki not guilty of all charges. With that, the court was dismissed, and Tetsuya Wakazaki is now a free man.

“I knew he couldn’t have done it.”

“To hell with whoever accused him.”

“Tetsuya will never commit murder; he is as honest as they come.”

These are the words of the spectators as they stood to leave the courtroom. Norihiko did not seem bothered by the final verdict; he gave Tetsuya a final glance and left the courtroom.

Outside of the building, Norihiko hailed a taxi. He took out one of the files in his bag. A profile picture of Tetsuya Wakazaki is stapled to the first one of its documents. While he was going over the contents, Norihiko got a call.

Once he hung up, he snapped the phone in two and threw it out the window. He then arranged the documents back in the file before smirking. “It’s about time… for a retrial.”