Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney/Episode 1: The First Turnabout/Day 1 - Trial

In this first case you will spend all your time in Courtroom mode. This will help you get familiar with courtroom proceedings.

Before the trial
The day will begin with a conversation between Mia (your boss) and Larry (your friend and client). Phoenix will run through the facts of the case as far as he is aware:
 * The victim, Cindy Stone, was killed inside her apartment.
 * The accused is Larry, who was dating the victim.

At this point that is all you really know; you can check the Court Record at any time to view evidence and information about the case. Currently all you have in the Court Record is your Attorney’s Badge and the autopsy report for the victim. The report says that the victim died on 7/31 between 4:00pm and 5:00pm by blood loss due to a blunt force trauma.

In the courtroom
Now the trial begins. The judge expresses concern about how nervous you look, and decides to ask a few questions to establish whether you are capable of defending your client. You must answer these correctly or the judge will get very annoyed with you.


 * "Please state the name of the defendant in this case."
 * Answer: Larry Butz


 * "This is a murder trial. Tell me, what's the victim's name?"
 * Answer: Cindy Stone


 * "Now tell me, what was the cause of death?"
 * Answer: Hit with a blunt object.

Once the judge is happy that you are capable the proceedings will continue. Prosecutor Payne will submit the murder weapon. It is a statue of The Thinker. The statue will now be added to the Court Record and you can view it at any time.

Next, Larry will be called to the stand. Payne will inform the court that Cindy had actually dumped Larry, even though Larry believes they were still dating. He tells the court that Cindy had been away in Paris, and just returned the day before the murder. Cindy’s passport will now be added to the Court Record.

Payne will try to get Larry worked up (which isn’t hard). He asks Larry what he thinks of Cindy now that he is aware that she was cheating on him. Here you will get the option to stop him from answering or let him speak.

It doesn't really matter which you choose, as Larry will say whatever he wants to anyway.

He will ask if Larry was at the victim's apartment that day. You will be given the choice whether to let Larry answer honestly, or to stop him from answering. Again, it won't really matter which you choose. Payne has a witness that proves Larry was at Cindy's apartment on the day of the murder.

Sahwit's Testimony: Witness' Account
With witness Frank Sahwit on stand, it's time for your first witness testimony. You have to point out the contradictions in his testimony. See Getting Started for more information on how to press and present during Courtroom mode.

Straight after the testimony, the judge will ask why the phone in the apartment wasn't working. Payne informs the court that there was a blackout in the building that caused her cordless phone to stop working. He presents the blackout record, and it is added to the Court Record. If you check the blackout record, it states that the electricity was out from 12:00pm until 6:00pm on the day of the murder.

Witness' Account: Cross-Examination
Now it is time to cross-examine. You can press every statement without getting any penalties. You need to find the lie in his testimony, and prove it is a lie by presenting evidence from the Court Record.

Press Sahwit's ninth statement. Mia will tell you that this is suspicious. Check the autopsy report in the Court Record. Notice anything contradictory? The victim died between 4:00pm and 5:00pm, however the witness is saying he found the body at 1:00pm. Present the autopsy report while his statement about the time is on the screen.

Congratulations. You found your first contradiction in a testimony. The witness will now have to revise his testimony and try to explain why he was so certain it was 1:00pm.

The Time of Discovery: Cross-Examination
After this revised testimony, press his second statement. Mia will step in and say that it sounds fishy. There is no way he could have heard the television. Check the Court Record and present the blackout record. The television could not have been on due to the blackout.

Sahwit will testify once again to try and back out of his lies.

Hearing the Time: Cross-Examination
You have to figure out which statement is wrong by yourself this time, but it is pretty obvious. He is now saying that the murder weapon is a clock, but we already have the murder weapon, it's the statue of The Thinker. Present the statue to the court against his second statement.

He is sure that the statue is a clock and Payne confirms this claim. The statue will be updated in the Court Record. When the neck is tilted, it says the time aloud and this is how Sahwit heard the time that day. At this point the judge will ask you if you have any problems with the witness' testimony. How could Sahwit know that the statue was actually a clock? We only discovered this after inspecting it a little closer, and Sahwit testified that he never entered the apartment. He must be lying. Choose "Yes" to the judge's question.

Phoenix will explain this to the court. Sahwit would have needed to hold the clock in his hands to realise that it was indeed a clock, but he also said he never entered the apartment. Phoenix will be presented with two options at this point. Choose "He went into the apartment."

Phoenix then declares that Sahwit did enter the apartment and that he is the real murderer. When he hit the victim with the clock, it must have said the time and that's why he was so sure it was 1:00pm.

The witness gets very angry, because he can't talk his way out of it. Then he throws his toupée at Phoenix.

But it's not that easy; the judge wants to see some proof of your claims. You will be faced with three options. Choose "Try sounding the clock."

The clock will now say "I think the time is 8:25," but the time in the courtroom is actually 11:25am. Remember there was about a three hour gap between the time Sahwit claimed to have found the body and the time of death on the autopsy report.

Solving the case
You almost have him now, it seems he was in the apartment on the day of the murder. However, Sahwit states that you can’t prove that the clock was three hours slow on the day of the murder. The judge says that without being able to prove that the clock was slow that day, he’ll have to let Sahwit leave.

Mia isn't willing to give up just yet. She tells you to think "outside the box." Don’t try to figure out when the clock was, try to understand why the clock was slow to begin with. Choose "Yes" to the question.

Why would Cindy need a clock that didn't display the correct time? Perhaps the clock was set to the correct time. If you remember back, Cindy was in Paris before the murder. She must have set the clock to show the correct time in that time zone. Present Cindy’s passport to the court. The number of hours between the courtroom and Paris is nine hours. This proves that the clock was nine hours fast, before and on the day of the murder.

Sit back and watch as you win the first case!

Larry Butz is found Not Guilty!

What really happened
Frank Sahwit is actually a common thief disguised as a paper boy. He was at Cindy's apartment to do the usual: steal things. Sahwit waited for the place to be clear of any witnesses. He saw Larry come out leaving the apartment defenseless, so he thought he could make a clean getaway. But Cindy was on her way back to the apartment.

As he burglarised the house, Sahwit saw Cindy herself come in through the door back from shopping, surprising him. Sahwit acted quickly and grabbed The Thinker and literally knocked her dead with it. The blow activated the clock, which said it was 1:00pm, which is wrong, as Cindy didn't change it back from when she was vacationing at Paris. Unaware of the true time, he was fooled.

Knowing he may be in trouble, Sahwit decided to pin the blame on the man he saw leave the apartment earlier (Larry). The power was out, so he decided to look for a phone to call the police.

Sahwit was taken for questioning, where he implicated Larry for Cindy's murder.

The First Turnabout: Epilogue
Though Larry is found Not Guilty, he looks terribly sad and disappointed. He believes that Cindy didn’t really like him at all. Mia tells Phoenix to prove to Larry that Cindy cared for him! Present Larry with the statue. Cindy took this awkward clock with her on her travels, and Larry made it especially for her. Cindy did still care for him.