Direct any questions to the Rules thread. This is for game posts only.

Setup:
An evening at Medieval Times has turned into a disaster. The owner of the restaurant offered to let a semi-regular guest attendee volunteer to joust a real knight. This knight was a jouster at Medieval Times for while. The volunteer knocks down their opponent surprisingly easily only to discover they don't get up. Now they are charged with Negligent Homicide. The circumstances surrounding the events are suspicious though, so you agree to take the case! The prosecutor is equally convinced your client is guilty though, so you have a hard case ahead of you!

First Day in Court
*Rumbling Of the Court Audience.*
[Bangs Gavel Three Times]
"Welcome to the court attorneys. The defendant has been accused of negligent homicide. I assume both the prosecution and defense are ready. I also assume the defense enters a "not guilty" plea. Without further ado, please call your first witness to the stand prosecutor, after we first hear from the investigator."

((I did it this way above to cut down on the number of beginning posts and to give you guys an idea of how I want this to start. Sorry it's not more game accurate.))

[turns a page in her book]
The prosecution calls Detective Skip Tracer to the stand.

*crosses his arms, clenching the sleeve of his suit*
(First murder trial, already...calm down, Hunter. If your client is innocent, it will come out.)

*A well-dressed young man, police badge visible at his hip, enters the courtroom and takes the stand. He smells faintly of whiskey.*

S'up.

Inspector Tracer, take the stand and please give us a report of what you found at the crime scene.

TESTIMONY

The victim's name was Gawain Greene. He was a performer at the restaurant. It's a Ren Faire style place, so he would do jousting, sword fights... medieval stuff. He was a popular performer. Probably the crowd favorite. Women loved him for his rugged, star-like looks, men loved him because... actually, I don't know why men loved him. One of those mysteries for the ages. What was I testifying about, again?

WITNESS TESTIMONY
--The facts of the case--
[1] I arrived at the scene at around 9:40. The arena had already been cleared.
[2] According to the guests, a volunteer was called down to the arena.
[3] He played a round of joust against Mr. Greene and won quickly.
[4] Medics were called when the victim didn't move or respond to anyone.
[5] I arrested that volunteer right away. That would be the defendant.

[4]. HOLD IT!

*Hunter starts stroking his chin* I would have to imagine that an event like jousting is fairly safe and closely monitored. Did the investigation uncover anything unusual about the lance that struck Mr. Greene or the victim's cause of death?

"Oh, yes that's right. If the performer was a regular, was there anything unusual about the crime scene?"

Naturally, there was something odd at the crime scene. Here's the lance the defendant used in the joust.

*Presents evidence: Lance*

As you can see, it cracked in half. Witness reports say that the thing broke like this when he struck the victim. Now, it's not unheard of for lances to break in a joust, but this lance was different. We did some forensic tests and determined that before the joust, someone tampered with it. Sawed partially through the handle here, see? Had the victim not fallen off his horse on impact, the defendant's hand would have been broken.

Evidence added to Court Record: Lance
Type: Weapon
Received from Skip Tracer
Used by defendant during the joust. Someone has tampered with it.

As for the victim's death?

*Presents evidence: Autopsy report*

The autopsy report was just finished. I grabbed a copy on the way here. Read for yourself.

Evidence added to Court Record: Greene's Autopsy Report
Type: Report
Received from Skip Tracer

Name: Gawain Greene
Estimated Time of Death: Between 9:00 and 9:30
Cause of Death: Internal bleeding caused by head trauma. Origin of trauma uncertain.
Notes: Victim's body has several large bruises from near time of death. Unknown if related to CoD.

I see...and what possible benefit would there be to sawing partially through the handle? If it is as you say and the only thing that kept my client's hand from being broken was the fact that the victim fell from his horse, it seems that this tampering was aimed against Mr. Rist, not Mr. Greene!

Mr. Gant, is the really necessary? The fact remains that the man is dead.

*Hunter slams on the desk, glaring at Prosecutor Bow* It is precisely because Mr. Greene is dead that we must be this thorough. We must leave no stone unturned and uncover the complete truth of this incident. That is the job this court has bestowed upon us.

If you insist. *turns a page in her book*

Hmph...do you need me to repeat the question, Inspector Tracer?

Probably should. I didn't catch a question in all that desk-slammin' and posturin'.

...Ahem!
*Hunter crossed his arms, reaching to push his glasses back up while hiding a slight red tinge to his cheeks*
Detective Tracer, can you offer any reasoning for why the defendant's lance would be altered in such a way?

"Yes, why would the lance be tampered with?"

We've got two theories down at the precinct. We think the less likely one is that somebody working at the restaurant had a grudge against the defendant. Seized his volunteering for this joust as the perfect time to humiliate him.

But everybody downtown thinks it's more likely that the defendant himself tampered with the lance, planning to make some sort of bogus personal injury lawsuit of it.

That's strange, don't you think...neither of those theories seem to lead to the defendent killing the victim.

Who said the lance breaking has anything to do with the defendant killing the victim? The defendant is accused of negligent homicide, not murder.