Thorax was led back to the courtroom an hour later to rejoin Plea Bargain at the defendant's table. State Evidence and her two lackeys sat at the prosecution table. Judge Iron Gavel and Princess Cadance both took their places, and Cadance resumed her glaring at Thorax. Right now, the changeling wanted to hide under a rock until he was sure it was safe to come out.
Judge Iron Gavel was ready to resume the proceedings. "State Evidence," he said to the mare, "you may call your next witness."
"Your honor, we call Doctor Micron, our expert witness in crime scene forensics."
A stallion with graying mane and dark brown coat approached the witness stand and was sworn in. State Evidence approached and began her examination.
SE - Please state your name and occupation for the record.
DM - Doctor Electric Micron. I am an expert in crime scene forensics.
SE - And how long have you held this position?
DM - I have held this position for the past fifteen years.
SE - Doctor, did you examine the crime scene where the attempted foalnapping took place?
DM - I did so.
SE - What did you find there?
DM - I was able to locate several things relating to the crime. Firstly, I found pieces of hair that were reportedly from the filly who was the target of the attempted abduction. By analyzing the hair, I determined that it came from a female pony of prepubescent age.
SE - How were you able to determine that?
DM - Analysis of chemical components on the hair did not reveal any sign of hormones typically associated with an adolescent female entering puberty. Medical science has shown that fillies entering into adolescence begin to secrete these hormones from their bodies before any of the more obvious signs associated with the onset of puberty.
SE - Could they not have come from a male pony?
DM - No. Genetic study of the hair follicle determined the dominant chromosome to be XX, which is the dominant one for females.
SE - Okay. What else did you find?
DM - I also found a broken magic inhibitor ring, and found a serial number on the inside of the band. Tracking that serial number, I was able to confirm that it was one that was meant to be used on the defendant to reduce his magical capabilities to simple telekinesis.
SE - Okay. Now, you stated that the hair found at the scene came from a pony filly. Can you determine if they did indeed come from the victim in this crime?
DM - Unfortunately, I cannot determine that. However, the earlier witnesses confirm seeing the young filly with her mane caught in the defendant's mouth, so I feel confident enough with the facts I found in my analysis combined with their testimony that the hairs did indeed come from the filly that was targeted.
SE - Can you determine if a cutting spell was used on the hair?
DM - I could not determine what exactly was used to cut the filly free from the defendant's mouth. It could have been a cutting spell, or it could've been a physical knife with a sharpness charm placed on it to help preserve the edge of the blade. Both use the same fundamental base in spell construction.
SE - I see. What else did you find?
DM - Using a magic signature scanner, we found five traces of magic in the alley way that correspond to the four ponies and one changeling involved. There were also several other signatures in the alleyway, but their sources could not be determined.
SE - Could any of those belonged to the two changelings that escaped?
DM - I can't say conclusively. None of the other signatures matched closely to the one confirmed sample from a changeling we have, though it's possible that their magic signatures vary widely from one specimen to another.
SE - Was there any other evidence that you discovered?
DM - Yes, there was. I examined the area where the changeling was found incapacitated and discovered that he had had combat spells used against him.
SE - So one of the two witnesses used a spell on the third changeling that was knocked out by Heavy Hitter's blow?
DM - Yes.
SE - How did you reach this conclusion?
DM - When the spell was cast, there was a mana spillage. That's a trait common with almost every spell. When I analyzed the area the defendant was found, I encountered mana spillage that used spell structure consistent with combat spells.
SE - Interesting. Tell me, Doctor, when did you collect all of this evidence?
DM - I gathered this evidence shortly after the guard alerted me to a crime being committed. They had told me that they had kept ponies out of the crime scene until I could collect my samples and bring them back to my analysis lab for study.
SE - Exactly how long is "shortly after"?
DM - I arrived on the scene about a half hour later.
SE - Was the defendant still there when you arrived?
DM - No, he wasn't. The guard had taken him to prison by the time I had got there.
SE - I see. Now, about the ring. Did you do any analysis on it?
DM - The magic of the ring interfered with the machine I use for magic signature analysis, so I couldn't identify who removed it. I could only examine it and find the serial number that traced it back to being the one used on the defendant.
SE - Is it possible that the ring was removed by another changeling?
DM - It is possible, yes.
SE - Thank you. I have no further questions.
State took her seat while Thorax looked at her with worry. With each witness, the mare appeared to be getting more confident. Plea looked over at her with an unreadable expression. Before Thorax could ask the stallion what was on his mind, the judge informed him of his turn to cross-examine the witness.
PB - Doctor Micron, you testified that you collected samples of hair that was presumed to be from the filly identified as Raspberry Mint, correct?
DM - Yes, I did.
PB = And when you collected these samples, you did an analysis on them, correct?
DM - Yes.
PB - You said that you did find traces of magic on the hair. Could you identify who that magic belonged to?
DM - After studying the hair samples and the remaining magic signatures, I determined the magic traces as belonging to the stallion Velvet Dice.
PB - I see. Doctor Micron, did you do a physical analysis on the hair samples?
DM - I put them through several machines to examine for various magic signatures, testing for everything I could.
PB - Doctor, that isn't what I meant. What I meant was did you take some samples of hair and examine them under a simple microscope?
DM - I did not personally carry out that portion of the forensic analysis. The actual physical study of the samples was delegated to an assistant in my laboratory.
PB - Do you have the assistant's name?
DM - Dynamic Prion. She's a mare.
PB - Do you know what her findings were when she conducted the analysis?
DM - No, I do not.
PB - Oh? Do you not sign off on her reports?
DM - Dynamic Prion filed her physical analysis reports separately. The pony above us, Doctor Adenine, is the one who signed off on all the reports.
PB - Okay. I do have copies of those reports, so I'll have to examine them in more detail later. Back to the matter of the hair, my original reason for asking that line of questions was to ask you if you saw any evidence to show that the defendant was actually holding the filly by the tail with his mouth.
DM - I have little doubt on that matter. The defendant was found with the filly's tail hairs in his mouth. Part of my original analysis did find something akin to saliva on the strands of hair.
PB - But Doctor, is it not possible that the three witnesses could've cut the filly's tail hair off and placed it into the unconscious defendant's mouth in an effort to frame him?
SE - Your honor, I object to that question. It's purely conjecture.
Judge - Objection sustained. Doctor, you do not have to answer that question.
PB - I have nothing further your honor, but I may recall the witness later.
Plea Bargain returned to his seat and took a sip from the glass of water. Thorax continued looking at the stallion nervously. "Why did you ask that last question?" he asked.
Plea looked at Thorax with a smile. "I asked that question because it will come into play later on in our expert witness's testimony. You remember her name, right?"
Thorax thought on it for a moment. Then it clicked. "Dynamic Prion?"
Plea nodded. "When she presents her evidence, I'm going to remind the jurors of the question I asked today, and also present her report, which should help establish the scenario proposed by the question to be much more plausible, and the established narrative of the prosecution to be much less sound."
Thorax nodded. He could only hope what Plea had just told him would pan out.
Before he could ask anything further, the judge cleared his throat. "State Evidence, do you have any more witnesses to call forward?"
"No, your honor," she told the judge, "but I would like to submit my evidence at this time." The mare stepped forward with several items, some paper documents and others actual physical items in bags.
She held up each as she described them.
"For Prosecution Exhibit A, I present samples of the filly Raspberry Mint's hair, recovered from the crime scene." She presented a bag with several strands of red hair inside it.
"Exhibit B - A portion of the magic inhibiting ring that was found at the crime scene. The serial number for the ring is visible on the inside portion of the band." She held up another bag with a piece of ring inside of it.
"Exhibit C - The forensic report filed by Doctor Micron, detailing all of his findings, as well as his conclusions." She held up a paper, which looked like a very official document, with several swaths of hoofwriting all over it.
"For Exhibit D, I present these crime scene photographs, taken shortly after the defendant was arrested, but before Doctor Micron arrived to collect his samples." State Evidence then held up several photos, showcasing the alleyway. One photo was a close up of the hair, and another was of some of the ring fragments on the ground.
"This is everything that I have, your honor," State told Judge Gavel, "The prosecution rests its case."
The judge wrote down some information on his papers and then looked at a nearby clock. "I will adjourn the court for today. We will reconvene tomorrow morning at ten o'clock for the defense to make their arguments. Court is adjourned." The judge punctuated the dismissal with a loud bang from his gavel. Slowly, the ponies in the courtroom filed out for the day.
Thorax was taken back to the prison for the evening. Plea Bargain showed up about an hour after Thorax got back. He was sitting in the counsel room with a worried expression on his face. "Is something the matter?" Thorax asked him.
"Just nervous about tomorrow," Plea admitted, "Making our arguments tomorrow is going to be the best chance we have at getting you found innocent."
Thorax placed a hoof on Plea's withers. "If anypony is gonna give me the best chance in this whole thing, it's definitely you" The changeling offered reassuringly.
Plea looked at him with a halfhearted smile. "I appreciate your vote of confidence, Thorax," he told the changeling, "but even with all of the hard work I've put in on establishing our defense, it could still be for nothing."
Thorax looked at him confused. "What makes you think that?"
"State Evidence" the stallion said plainly.
"The prosecutor?" Thorax questioned.
Plea nodded. "State is good at putting together prosecuting arguments to get ponies convicted, but her real talent, and I'm not talking about her cutie mark talent, is her abilities in cross-examination. Just like I've tried to turn witness statements around on her, she'll do the same to us."
"How can she turn facts around on us?"
"It's honestly not difficult. We're already dealing with what is likely to be a prejudiced jury, so it won't take much to convince them that the evidence we're presenting is misrepresenting the facts."
"But it isn't" Thorax pointed out.
"I know," Plea countered, "but in a trial, the jury is tasked with making a judgment about whether or not a defendant is guilty, and they're likely to go with the most convincing argument, which in this case, would be the one most likely to align with their biases."
Thorax slumped down in his seat, the hope that the pony representing him could win the trial diminishing more. Plea gave him a sympathetic look and tried to offer reassurance.
"It isn't hopeless," he told Thorax, "but the hill we have to climb is pretty steep. Our best chance will be when we come to the expert witness. There's some evidence that the prosecution didn't present that we will, and I'm hoping it will be enough that even the most doubting pony on the jury can't deny it."
State then leaned back with a frown and added "Of course, having that filly take the stand and testify would certainly help our case as well."
Thorax thought over what he had been told and offered his own halfhearted smile, still not sure if what Plea was telling him would actually make a difference.
After a few more minutes of discussing trial strategy, Plea was told he had to leave for the evening, and Thorax was taken back to his cell. That night, the changeling didn't get much sleep, too worried about the outcome of the trial to find peaceful slumber.
Cadence should be ashamed of herself. She know ponies had already tried framing 'other changelings'. Which is also a valid argument.
Are we gonna get a scene like in 10 angry men with the jury? (cause I would not complain if we do) Also, you can do it Plea!
11248588
It's 12 Angry Men but...
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Dangit. I can never remember the number. Probably cause I watch shows that sometimes do a version of it, and they switch up the number of people. Sorry...
Calling it now, the filly's coming up as a witness at some point.
Interesting that he can tell that just by looking at the hair
While production of sex hormones does begin before the physical changes of puberty (which is logical, because the hormones in question are the thing that triggers the start of those changes), I'm not so sure that sex hormones get deposited in hair. (Maybe they are and I just forgot about it.) As far as I know, it isn't something forensic labs look for in hair samples. What they do do with hair is mostly comparison of the sample found at the scene to the sample taken from known persons, be they the victim, witnesses, suspects, or just routinely present in the area where the crime took place (usually for exclusionary purposes), either by comparing the morphological featues or by analyzing the genetic material. Which brings me to the next point...
Follicles are where the genetic material is, when talking about hair, but they're the part the hair strands grow from - the root, if you will - and the hair would have had to be pulled out in order for our forensic expert to analyze them and be able to say anything about what they're like and what they contain. It's been established multiple times throughout the story that the hairs were cut, therefore there aren't any follicles in the evidence (the follicles that belonged to those hairs remained in the filly's skin). This guy can't know the genetic (or chromosomal in this case, as X and Y are chromosomes rather than genes, though this is how you determine sex from chromosomes in humans and I don't know if the same goes for equines) composition of the hair because no such thing exists in the sample he analyzed, and he can't even claim making an accidental mistake because this is the most basic stuff he should have been taught on his first day as a forensic trainee.
Also, 'dominant chromosome being XX'? That's not how it works. XX is't one chromosome but a pair of X chromosomes, called the sex chromosomes because they form the pair that determines the individual's sex (in this case, XX for female and XY for male), as opposed to alk the other chromosomes which are called somatic chromosomes, and the way they determine sex is that the Y chromosome carries the gene for male sex (the absence of which results in female sex). Trivia: there are occasional cases where this sex-determining gene moves from the Y chromosome to its X counterpart during spermatogenesis and ends up in the sperm cell carrying the X chromosome, resluting in a baby boy with the XX composition of chromosomes instead of the expected XY. Dominant chromosomes? Some chromosomes are normally made inactive for reasons that go beyond the purpose of this comment, but I doubt that's what the author referred to (he probably meant dominant genes, which are a thing but bear no relevance whatsoever to anything in this chapter). The distinction: genes are parts of DNA that carry information on one specific thing, and chromosomes are strands of DNA that carry a number of genes as well as 'informationless' DNA in between genes.
As I said before, comparing the hairs is the thing he should have done, but we've already established in the previous chapter that this whole investigation is either deliberately sloppy or just plain incompetent, if not both, and this is just continuing the trend.
Why wasn't this assistant called to testify as well, now that we're hearing expert witnesses?
This is conjencture, not evidence.
Oh, so she's coming up eventually. My apologies
Having her testify should have been mandatory and the most natural and expected thing and not something to be wished for to be able to happen. Has anypony even gotten to talk to her yet?
Bloody phone touchscreen... sorry for any typos I haven't caught
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Damn, you're getting as bad as Scyphi with all the analysis
I do my best to keep everything as accurate as possible. I neither have a background in law or medicine, so there will be mistakes I can't always account for, especially if it's the dirt of things you don't learn unless you go to school to study for the stuff. And also, I'm sitting this story from memory and about a half hour at a time wherever I can.
That said, I can clear up some stuff here. In regards to the xx thing, I meant for the testimony to imply he ran tests and identified them as being from a young female, which is where the xx thing came from.
As for the incompetence, yes, that is deliberate. The whole thing will be addressed in the last chapter.
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Heh, I've noticed
That's why I told you in the last chapter's comment it's alright to ask about stuff that you have little or no knowledge about that you're planning to incorporate into the story. Getting help with it can be done without spoiling the chapter for the person(s) whose help you're hoping to get, if that's what you're worried about.
Except there shouldn't be any chromosomes (XX or otherwise) to identify in the hairs he received for analysis, since the hairs were cut off and are therefore lacking the follicles (which are the only part of hair that contains any genetic material, as I already explained in the previous comment), so unless the ponies have some way of detecting the sex (and age, beyond verifying that the hairs haven't started greying yet and haven't been dyed) of the pony who grew the hairs that the humans haven't invented or would be unable to perform due to lack of magic, I don't see how he would have reached that conclusion. He couldn't have seen what isn't there.
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I'll remember that for future stories. As for this part of the story, I've unfortunately worn myself out on it. I'm going to finish out this part of the story so I can move on to the next. I liked the idea when I thought it up originally, but the execution went way different than I imagined, and that's not even taking the secondary High Tide story into account.
Why? Nothing in that testimony was conclusive for pinning Thorax as the criminal, and was really just a factual statement of facts and some speculation where the facts were not present (which Plea probably could've called out, but nonetheless). I can already see a couple of ways Plea could cross-examine in response to show it's not conclusive.
Yeah, surely she can be subpoenaed, or whatever the proper lingo for it, into coming to provide a testimony, or at least questioned by authorities/lawyers by now. I think the only time that can be truly prevented is if the judge or like judicial authority rules to prevent it for whatever reason (correct me if I'm wrong on that), and as far as I can recall, that has not happened here--nobody has had contact with the filly because they've been respecting the wishes of the mother on that, which normally I would sympathize more to, but I also know that can only go so far.
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Because State Evidence is the one calling in the witnesses at the moment, and she's only interested in calling in the ones that will paint the picture she wants painted before the jury. It's heavily implied the assistant's results would conflict with that goal, so State Evidence deliberately overlooked her. Lawyering 101, really.
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Should I feel smug, then, that my comment for this chapter is relatively short this time?
Owtcast can keep the ball for this outing though, as they clearly know more about the subject of the hair than I do anyway.
11248819
Understandable. Sorry if my nitpickiness added to the frustration If you need a break, that's fine
11248823
Makes sense.
I think you're giving me a bit too much credit. This was just basic stuff. I enjoyed Forensic Pathology classes at college but it didn't end up being my specialty.