The Hearing

Everyone in the Court Room was waiting for the Judge to arrive. Two Court Room clerks were sitting beside the bench of the Judge and were rummaging through the case files.

Near the Judge's bench was the Counsel table placed vertically on either side of the room. The legal representatives of both plaintiff and defendants were sitting on those tables.

In front of the witness box, a robot was sitting all ready for the hearing. It was a Court Reporter and its job was to record everything that was spoken inside the Court Room, both in written format as well as in recording.

The Police Officers who brought in Mina and Nora were also sitting right behind them, keeping an eye on them so that they wouldn't run away.

As soon as the clock stroked 11, a Judge entered the Court Room. He had a bald head and a serious look on his face. He was wearing a black robe and was carrying files in his hand.

Everyone inside the room stood up from their seat to show respect to the Judge. And after he took his seat at the elevated platform, also called bench, everyone sat back on their respective seats.

There was a protective glass in between the Judge and rest of the attendees. Therefore, the Judge turned on the microphone and started the hearing proceedings. "Greetings! from the Area Court of Area P. We will begin our morning session now. Case number 2293, 07-57469."

The Judge stared through the glass and then ordered, "Defendants, will all three of you sit on the Counsel table by your attorney?"

All three girls, Judy, Mina, and Nora were being represented by a single private lawyer. As ordered, they all got up and took a seat beside their lawyer.

The Judge then proceeded. "First defendant from my left, is your name Judy Fortin?"

Judy nodded and answered, "Yes, Your Honor."

Then the Judge shifted his gaze towards another girl, "The defendant in the middle, is your name Mina Smith?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Mina nodded to confirm.

Finally, the Judge asked to the last bully, "The last defendant, is your name Nora Freeman?"

Nora answered, "Yes, Your Honor."

The Judge asked another question to all the girls, "The information that you all provided is the same as given in the case file, correct?"

All of the girls nodded and answered, "It is correct."

Finally, the Judge shifted his gaze away from the girls and looked towards Mr. Johnson. "Plaintiff attorney, you may start with your statement."

Mr. Johnson got up from his seat and went to the open space in the middle of the Court Room. He was also wearing a black robe on top of his formal dress.

He was very confident as he started his statement, "The defendants Judy, Mina, and Nora frequently roamed around the P-97 Street from the last three years."

He shifted his gaze towards the first row where Alexis was sitting and continued, "Their only purpose to frequent that Street was to bully the Plaintiff Miss Alexis Emerson."

Then he quickly turned towards the Counsel table and gestured, "They had bullied Alexis verbally and physically countless times in the span of three years. I would like to bring one recent incident to light, Your Honor."

Now Mr. Johnson was fully facing towards the Judge and was starting to explain the case, "On 5th July, 2293, Defendants Mina and Nora physically assaulted Jimmy Jones, a friend of Alexis, and dragged him away. After that Defendant Judy physically assaulted Alexis Emerson. She was unconscious from the beating and was left there on the cold Street."

Mr. Johnson finally concluded his opening statement, "Therefore, we are indicting defendants for violating Personal Safety Code of Citizens of Earth."

Then he tugged his robe with a sense of accomplishment and returned back to his table.

The Judge cleared his throat and addressed to the Defendants, "Defendants, all of you received the indictment notice, am I correct?"

All three girls nodded their head.

Then the Judge continued, "Do you admit to the crimes mentioned in the indictment notice by the plaintiff attorney?"

Mina and Nora agreed to the crime one by one. There was no denying the crime they committed since the video recording was already submitted to the Court by the Police Department.

It was now Judy's turn to speak. She stole a quick glance of Alexis, who was also looking at her, but with eyes full of fury.

Judy immediately turned to the Judge and answered, "Your Honor, I accept that I have repeatedly bullied Miss Alexis Emersion for the last three years."

Judy's voice started to break. She remembered all the times she bullied Alexis and hated herself for doing all those horrible things to her. "I have repeatedly caused her mental as well as physical harm. And I agree that I beat her till she was unconscious and left her on the Street."

Melissa clenched her fist in rage when she heard Judy accept the crimes she committed on her daughter. She was reminded again that if Vorian had not found Alexis in time, her precious daughter might have been dead.

Alexis noticed her mom clenching her fist and she held Melissa's hand trying to comfort her.

The Court Room robot was typing everything that was being said in the room in its own virtual keyboard. The keyboard could only be seen by the robot. To others in the room, it seemed as if the robot was flicking its fingers in air. Its typing speed was super-fast, and not a single word was being missed from its report.

After Judy and the other girls accepted the accusations, there was nothing more to argue about. So the Judge said, "The defendants want to enter a plea of guilty. So there will be no arguments for this case. I've already reviewed the case files submitted by both the parties."

Then the Judge looked at Mr. Johnson and ordered, "Plaintiff attorney, please give your closing argument."

Once again, Mr. Johnson went and stood in the middle of the Court Room facing the Judge and stated his closing argument. "The Defendants mentally and physically abused the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff might have been in serious danger if she was not rescued in time by a fellow passerby. So the prosecution is seeking imprisonment of the defendants for at least six month and a reimbursement of treatment charge of 150,000 points in total."

When he went back to his place, the Judge looked at the Defendants' attorney and asked him the same, "Defense attorney, please give your closing argument."

Then Judy's private attorney went to the center of the room and started to speak to the Judge, "Your Honor, I would like to bring a related matter into light. There were talks for solving this case through mediation, which would have dramatically reduced the punishment."

The attorney glanced at Judy and continued, "However, Defendant Miss Judy Fortin outright denied to settle the case through mediation stating that what she did was wrong and she wanted to be punished for her actions."

He took a pause for a few seconds to give everyone time to take in what he just said. Maurice's face had a hint of disappointment as he was unable to convince Judy to go through mediation and was rejected by her.

The attorney calmly looked the Judge into his eyes and continued, "Your Honor, I would like to request you to be lenient while passing the verdict by taking her remorse into consideration. I need not remind you that severe punishment can even backfire as the young minds might not be able to handle it."

Mr. Johnson immediately stood from his seat when he heard this and shouted, "Objection Your Honor." He wanted Judy to face severe punishment. Judy was already over 18 years and her actions while bullying Alexis never suggested that she had a frail mind. She was a perpetrator with dangerous mind, and who knows, she might even turn into a serial killer if she was left unpunished.

But the Judge denied his intervention. He hit the old fashioned gavel on a wooden platform and said, "Objection overruled."

Maurice Fortin had a sense of relief when Mr. Johnson was denied from speaking. He did not want the Judge to be swayed by Mr. Johnson's arguments, and did not want his daughter to face harsh punishment.

Then the Judge moved on towards the Defendants. "Defendants, please give your closing argument."

Judy spoke with a determination to take any kind of punishment. "Your Honor, I would gladly accept any punishment that fits the crime I have committed. I have committed a crime and I would like to repent for it."

Alexis was shocked to hear this from Judy. The Judy she knew never yielded. She thought to herself, "What is she up to? Why is she accepting everything just like that? Is she confident that her father will help her out like last time?"

But Alexis did not know yet that Judy was speaking everything from the bottom of her heart, and that she had started to deeply care for Alexis.

Mina and Nora also took Judy's lead and said that they would accept any punishment.

The Court Room clerks were already preparing the judgment and verdict form. The Judge was continuously giving them instructions in between regarding the content of the verdict.

There was a few minutes of silence in the Court Room while the clerks were preparing the Court Order. After they completed the Order, they passed it to the Judge.

The Judge looked at the Order and finally spoke, "On the basis of the video proofs, testimony of the witnesses submitted by the Police Department, and statement of the defendants; the court has found the defendants to be guilty. The court sentences all three of them to a three months of prison time and a fine of 50,000 points each."

The Judge then added one last clause. "If the Defendants display a good behavioral conduct during their prison time then they shall be considered for parole."

"Pff.. good behavior from Judy? Yeah, in your dreams, Mr. Judge." Alexis ranted in her mind when she heard the Judge.

Finally, the Judge declared, "The Court is adjourned" as he hit the gavel in the end.