Case NOT Closed - Chapter 49: Halftime - Taking Conan to Court

After Natsuki Koshimizu left, Haibara turned to Kensuke.

“You’re inciting a crime,” she said.

“What are you talking about?” Kensuke pretended to be surprised.

“When did you hear me inciting her to commit a crime? Those words were just to drum up business for myself,” he replied.

Haibara sighed. “You’re basically encouraging her to commit a crime and then come to you for defense, aren’t you? What if she actually goes and kills someone? Wouldn’t that be your fault?”

“What do you mean ‘my fault’? She was already likely to commit murder,” Kensuke replied dismissively, not bothering to explain further.

He certainly couldn’t tell Haibara that when the girl entered the room, her level of trust in him exceeded positive two bars, while her favorability rating was less than negative two bars. Typically, when two unrelated people have such a disparity in these metrics, there’s only one possibility: the person already harbors strong negative thoughts and might be on the verge of committing a crime. However, the girl had just come to the lawyer’s office to test the waters before committing the crime.

‘I hope Koshimizu-san won’t do anything foolish,’ Haibara silently hoped.

But such hopes were in vain, for they would soon meet again.

Over the next few days, Komemon Law Firm continued to operate as usual.

He had to eat, after all, and continue to take on commissions.

However, he wouldn’t accept just any commission.

To ensure a 100% success rate, he wouldn’t take on cases that seemed destined for failure, such as those with solid evidence like surveillance footage or photographs of the suspect committing the crime. Even with perjury, it would be impossible to overcome such direct evidence, making it a waste of time.

However, some cases were so straightforward that they were practically a gift.

“I hereby represent my client, Fujiwara Ryuuji, in civil litigation.”

“The facts of the case are as follows.”

“On [date], our client went to the residence of President Yoshida Tsuyoshi and stabbed him to death with a knife. While fleeing, he was hit by a soccer ball kicked by elementary school student Edogawa Conan, resulting in a diagnosis of a Grade 2 concussion at the hospital. Our client’s actions violated our client’s right to life and health.”

“The demands of the lawsuit are as follows.”

“The first demand is for the defendant, Kogoro Mouri, Edogawa Conan’s guardian, to compensate our client with ten million yen for medical expenses and mental distress, and to issue an apology.”

“The second demand is for all litigation costs for this trial to be borne entirely by the defendant, Kogoro Mouri.”

“With that, the statement is concluded. Your Honor, please render judgment according to the law.”

Kensuke calmly finished reading the complaint.

This lawsuit was quite interesting, with the detective Kogoro Mouri being the defendant.

The circumstances were straightforward.

His client, Fujiwara Ryuuji, was a laborer who had encountered an exploitative employer.

His situation was common among laborers: waking up earlier than roosters, working harder than oxen, eating worse than pigs, and living more miserably than dogs.

Being late for work by a minute was fined a thousand yen, and every second mattered. He was forced to participate in group exercises and extra tasks were assigned just before quitting time to delay departure. Overtime was unpaid, and all expenses during business trips were out of pocket.

Low wages with high expectations.

Under such treatment, the employer would often transform into a raging beast, publicly humiliating employees whose performance was lacking.

Over time, the anger of the laborers finally erupted.

Fujiwara Ryuuji went to the employer’s residence and killed him with a knife.

However, as he was fleeing, he was spotted by Edogawa Conan, who happened to be wandering around. Conan saw him covered in blood, holding a knife, and kicked a soccer ball at him, hitting him in the head and knocking him unconscious. Conan then contacted the police, leading to Fujiwara Ryuuji’s arrest.

Initially, the matter could have ended there, but Fujiwara Ryuuji’s family was not satisfied.

Sure, he committed a crime, but who was Conan to act like the police and physically stop him?

That’s what his mother thought, so she hired Kensuke to file a civil lawsuit.

“The plaintiff has concluded their statement. Now, the defendant and their representative are invited to present their arguments!”

The judge tapped his gavel.

The defense lawyer, a woman named Ritsuko Usui (from the anime Case Closed), a close friend of Eri Kisaki, immediately stood up.

“Objection! I object to the facts presented by the plaintiff!” she began.

“Our client’s actions were purely in the spirit of righteousness. He acted in an emergency situation where he encountered a murder suspect fleeing the scene and had no means to stop him. Therefore, he used whatever was at hand to attack the criminal. Legally speaking, this would be considered self-defense.”

“That’s right, it was self-defense! We are innocent!” Kogoro Mouri vigorously pounded the table at the defendant’s seat, shouting out.

His gaze turned towards Kensuke, filled with anger, dissatisfaction, and various negative emotions.

Since the last reunion lawsuit, he had fallen seriously ill.

He was unable to forgive himself for his negligence, allowing the suspect to escape punishment.

The media had also launched various attacks against him.

His detective career had hit rock bottom during that time.

Now, just as he was beginning to recover slightly, he was being sued by the other party.

One could imagine the state of his emotions now.

Ignoring the almost murderous look from the other side, Kensuke maintained his usual smiling expression after hearing the defendant’s series of statements.

“Well, ‘emergency situation.’ This term is almost becoming a catch-all excuse for those slipping through the legal cracks.”

Kensuke picked up a USB drive from the table.

The USB contained surveillance footage from the scene, capturing Conan spotting the suspect and subsequently knocking him unconscious.

He inserted the USB into the computer and played the footage for everyone present.

“As you can see, this troublemaker— Oh, sorry, Edogawa Conan, upon first sighting our client, immediately took out a soccer ball and launched an attack without any form of confirmation.”

“In other words, he didn’t actually know if the other party had committed a crime; he simply saw blood and a knife and rashly initiated an attack.”

“What if our client had just killed a chicken at home? What if he was merely an actor returning from work without yet having cleaned his costume?”

“The concept of an emergency situation requires confirming the harmful actions of the other party and performing necessary actions only as a last resort.”

“In conclusion, Edogawa Conan’s actions do not constitute an emergency situation but rather deliberate intent to harm!”

Kensuke spoke clearly, articulating each point without faltering.

The judge in the courtroom nodded involuntarily.

The argument was logical and legally sound.

“Objection!”

At this moment, the opposing lawyer, Ritsuko Usui, raised her hand again.

Glancing at Conan, seated beside Kogoro Mouri on the defendant’s bench, she forcefully argued, “Our client is just a child. Under normal circumstances, the soccer ball he kicked couldn’t possibly have caused the kind of injury described! I have reason to suspect that the other party is intentionally exaggerating the facts of the lawsuit!”