Aldera Court Case

"Everything in place?"

"Troublesome old man," Shikamaru replied off-handedly, "Yes everything is in place. The bullies' convictions were dealt with separately,"

"What did they get?"

"Most agreed to confess and got away with community service. The ones who didn't got sent to juvenile detention centers ranging from 6 months to even 3 years. The judge ordered an investigation into the parents too,"

Hisashi nodded, "That's fair. What is today's court appearance on?"

"Taking out Aldera. Bakugou gave a signed confession and testimony on Aldera's misdemeanors. He also identified several students as bullies so his sentence has been reduced. He will be out at 18 years old now with 2 years of probation."

"They cut 3 years!?"

"The sentencing was so long for Bakugou because the judge felt that his past quirk usage accompanied with his behavior would be harmful. He seemed to control his anger much better so the judge reduced his sentence by 3 years.

"Hmph," Hisashi said, clearly unhappy.

"Don't go 'hmph' me. If the kid can change, a sentence reduction is best. Don't cloud your judgment," Shikamaru pointed out.

Hisashi sighed, "I suppose. Is Nedzu coming?"

"No. He's off to see the execution at Tartarus. He said you could cover his findings."

Hisashi nodded, "Did the judge agree to a re-sentencing if required?"

"He did but he was pretty annoyed that I wouldn't tell him what might cause such a scenario. I'm mad too. Do you know how troublesome it is to get lectured?"

Hisashi chuckled, "Sorry. I would tell you but it's confidential,"

"Didn't stop you before,"

"Let's just say that it's best not to spread any of this news in case I'm wrong. Shall we?" Hisashi opened the courtroom door.

Shikamaru gave him a pointed glare and muttered, "Troublesome," before entering, Hisashi following suit.

"You are late, Prosecutor," The judge said.

"Sorry, your honor. I was waiting for the detective in charge to arrive," Shikamaru excused.

"Don't make it a habit. Let the case begin," The judge banged his gavel, "In recent weeks, this case has taken both the media and law enforcement by storm. Today's case will be the last trial in the sense that it is the conviction of the staff. Prosecutor, please present your case to the court for formality," The judge announced.

Shikamaru nodded, "We would like to charge the defendants with child negligence, child abuse, physical and mental, quirk discrimination as well as assault and accessory to assault," Shikamaru noted.

The judge noted it down, "Would the defendants like to respond to the charges?"

"No sir," The defendant replied shocking Shikamaru, "We would like to plead guilty to the charges of mentally abusing the children only,"

The judge nodded, "Noted. But what about the physical child abuse, and assault charges?"

"Your honor, there is no evidence of these claims,"

"Objection your honor. We have video evidence of them hitting the children. The commissioner also caught them red-handed in the raid," Shikamaru retorted.

"Do you have the evidence to support these claims?" The judge asked.

"Yes, your honor. The tapes are already loaded. Would you like to see them?"

The judge nodded and motioned his assistant to switch off the lights. The judge watched the body cams as well as the tapes from the school with concentration. Once the tapes had stopped playing, the judge noted his findings down, "What would the defendant like to say?"

"Your honor, these are simply cases of using corporal punishment in the schools. It is still widespread in Japan!"

"Be that as it may, corporal punishment is still illegal. Not to mention the fact that the teachers used their quirks to hit the children. Any quirk usage that harms someone is illegal," Shikamaru said angrily.

"Objection sustained," The judge said with narrowed eyes, "Suchi-san," he addressed the defendant, "Please provide your defense while keeping the actual law in mind. Not the cultural norm,"

Suchi nodded.

"Do you have anything else to add, Suchi-san?"

"No, your honor,"

"Would the prosecutors like to add any comments on the other charges?"

"Yes your honor," Shikamaru said, "The defendants plead guilty only to mentally abusing the children. However, this also falls under child negligence,"

"Objection! In this case, the two are very different things,"

The judge looked at Suchi with an annoyed look, "Elaborate,"

"Your honor, the teachers always catered to the children. They never told them to bully or hurt others,"

"But the staff never stopped the students when they bullied those with weaker quirks either," Shikamaru narrowed his eyes.

"Shikamaru-san is correct. Teachers should not stand by idly while a student is being bullied. That is explicitly child negligence."

Suchi cursed, his plan was falling apart. He knew this wasn't a case to win, he was just trying to get some of the charges knocked off, "Your honor, I'd like to present Dr. Garaki to the stand in order to explain how Aldera was not liable for much of the abuse,"

The judge nodded, "Garaki-san please come to the stand,"

The doctor nodded. Hisashi wasn't surprised, he had seen, on the CCTV cameras, the doctor come to Aldera on various occasions to give speeches. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have suspected the doctor. After all, he had taken Izuku to him when his quirk didn't manifest. He was a well-respected doctor. But after all the things he had uncovered, he had a suspicion.

"Now then, Dr. Garaki, can you please explain why the school cannot be held responsible for much of the quirk discrimination,"

The doctor nodded, "Adults, me included, always point out the stronger quirks. For example, if someone had super strength, there's no doubt that they would tell the child that he was perfect to be a hero. Unfortunately, this creates a superiority complex. Children with weaker quirks are never told that they can be a hero. But they aren't explicitly neglected either. They are treated normally. But for the children who look up to heroes and see them as strong members of society, the implication falls on them that they won't be as good as those with strong quirks. Ultimately it's society as a whole that is tampering with the psychology of the children,"

Suchi nodded, "Thank you, doctor. Your honor, this is what I mean when I say that Aldera cannot be held accountable for the quirk discrimination,"

Shikamaru scoffed, "It is the teacher's job to make sure that they correct the student's behavior,"

"The teacher's failure is not what we are discussing, Shikamaru-san," Suchi drawled, "Failing to teach properly is not the court's concern as it has no legal binding. If you want, you can take it up with the school district. I rest my case, your honor,"

The judge nodded, "Would the prosecutor like to add anything?"

"No your honor. But I would just like to point out that even if the Aldera staff is not fully accountable, they share some of the guilt as they proactively targeted those with weaker quirks as shown in the CCTV tapes. I too, rest my case."

The judge nodded. He wrote down a few notes for a while before looking up and banging the gavel, "The Aldera staff has been found guilty of Child Negligence and abuse. Both mentally and physically. The staff is also an accessory to assault due to them not stopping the bullies. While you did not actively teach to discriminate quirks, your actions are discriminatory and had a negative effect on the students. For this, you shall have to pay a fine of 500,000 Yen which will be used to accommodate mental care for all the victimized parties involved," The judge said and turned over a page.

"Now for your sentencing. The charges carried lands you in jail for up to 20 years but since you plead guilty, the court reduces the sentences by 2 years to 18 years of jail. Good Behaviour along with a recommendation from the prison warden can let your sentence be reduced to 16 years followed by 4 years of parole. The defendants should also be prepared to face a re-sentencing following an end to police investigations. The court is dismissed!"

Police officers surrounded the Aldera staff and swiftly cuffed them, ready to take them to jail. "Damn it!" Shikamaru cursed, "They got away on the discrimination charges through a technicality," he groaned unhappily.

"Well, at least we got them convicted," Hisashi assured, "Kenji, Tsukauchi. I'm going to UA to meet Nedzu and talk about my other findings on Aldera,"

The commissioner nodded.

"But I want you two to prepare an investigation into Garaki,"

"Garaki, why? He's a respected doctor," Tsukauchi said.

Hisashi nodded, "I know. But if my suspicions for this case are correct, Aldera leads to a much bigger cobweb. And anyone involved is a suspect. If my hunches are confirmed by Nedzu, I will explain. And keep the investigation silent. No tactical team or any big investigation squad. They might get spooked and we'll lose the trail,"

Tsukauchi looked suspiciously at Hisashi. He wasn't sure they should begin to move on a hunch and a lead that Hisashi wasn't even sure of. But Kenji had enough faith in his friends and nodded, "Sure thing,"

"Thanks," Hisashi said, "And now, All For One!"