The Orthogonal Galaxy

Walking confidently toward the jury, the District Attorney began wrapping up the case from his perspective. “Ladies and gentlemen, first let me thank you for the full attention that you’ve given this case over the last couple of weeks. I know that each of you have very busy lives, and I appreciate the devotion and service you have given to see that justice is served.

“What we have before us is a classic case of a crime of passion… a very serious, violent crime of passion. It is a case where the defendant seated over there”—the attorney whirled around and pointed a long index finger at the suspect, who did not flinch at the attention, but who inwardly did despise the man standing before him, trying his best to wrongly ruin his life—“lost better judgment to greed. It is a case where money, in all of its ugliness, cost the lives of two hard-working individuals, murdered in cold blood. Oh, how vain and senseless is the almighty dollar at ruining the lives of people who should know better.

“This man, Paol Joonter, a high-flying executive, flew from his home in Seattle, Washington to Atlanta, Georgia, in order to prevent further risk to a failed business deal. He arrived on March 27th of this year, in order to mitigate the loss of vast corporate wealth, which he, in part is responsible for losing. When he could not succeed in his task, we have shown the unfortunate sequence of events which ensued.

“We have shown through documents and eyewitness that Mr. Joonter purchased a .38 caliber pistol at a local gun dealer on March 28th. We have shown surveillance video of his late-night entry into the office of Mr. Rawson Becker on the evening of the 28th. We have provided a chilling recorded audio of the exchange of words—and bullets—which experts have matched to the mouth and gun of the defendant. We have given forensic evidence of fingerprints matching those of Mr. Joonter so clearly that Detective Johnson of the FBI was quoted in the courtroom as saying, ‘Those prints leapt right off the gun.’ There is motive, there is clear, irrefutable evidence, and there is a man who must be punished for his crimes. Paol Joonter is clearly responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Becker and his assistant, Ms. Shannyl Cox. I’m confident that you will see justice done in this case. Thank you for your time.”

As confidently as he approached the jury, he returned to his table convinced of victory in this case. His opponent exchanged some hushed words with his client before proceeding with his closing remarks. While he was one of the most renowned defense attorneys of his day, he couldn’t help feeling that the odds were stacked against him. What made him such an excellent lawyer was his ability to remain composed, and to observe and utilize any holes in prosecution's defense. As a result, he did not give the impression that he was on the losing side of the case.