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Phoenix Wright's "class trial" was a major event in his childhood that heavily impacted his goals for the future. At the time, Wright was put on trial by his own classmates, and he experienced what it was like to be alone, with no one on his side.

The incident[]

Baby Nick

Wright under pressure at his first (but not last) trial.

Wright attended a small elementary school in which all students brought in an envelope with money at the beginning of the month to pay for their lunches for the month. One day, during P.E., Miles Edgeworth's envelope containing $38 was stolen. Wright, who was coming down with a cold and had skipped P.E. that day, was the only one without an alibi. As such, he was accused of the theft and put on "trial" the next day.

The class trial[]

Baby Miles

Edgeworth leaps to Wright's defense!

Baby Butz

Butz putting in his two cents.

Despite Wright's claims that he didn't do it, everyone else in the classroom continued to accuse him. Wright was so sad, he couldn't stop crying. Eventually, even the teacher thought that he had done it, and ordered him to apologize. However, Edgeworth objected on Wright's behalf. Edgeworth pointed out that, while everyone kept saying that Wright had done it, no one had any evidence, so Wright couldn't be found guilty of the theft. Despite Edgeworth's objection, the class did not relent with their accusations against Wright, claiming that they did not require any evidence to be certain of his guilt. However, Larry Butz, the class troublemaker, also stood up for Wright. He accused everyone of ganging up on Wright, and not considering how he felt. Ultimately, the teacher ended the trial, declaring the case dismissed, and replaced the money.

The aftermath[]

This event led to Wright, Edgeworth, and Butz becoming best friends. When Wright asked Edgeworth why he had defended him, Edgeworth explained that he wanted to be just like his father Gregory Edgeworth, a well-known defense attorney. However, after his father was murdered, Miles transferred to another school. The turmoil that Wright felt when he was totally alone, until someone stood up for him, made him vow to help anyone who found themselves in the same situation. This event was one of the inspirations for Wright to grow up to be a defense attorney.

The resolution[]

Over 15 years later, the truth finally came to light. After Miles was found not guilty in his own trial, Butz gave him a "congratulations present" of $38. Butz then admitted that he was the one who had stolen Miles' lunch money, which the latter had suspected all along because he couldn't have seen Butz standing up for Wright any other way. Wright was annoyed that Miles hadn't voiced his suspicions earlier, but Maya Fey jokingly pointed out that the statute of limitations for the theft had already run out by that point, so there was nothing that could be done about it.

Development[]

The class trial is based on an incident in which, in his second grade, series creator Shu Takumi found a piggy bank in his school's courtyard. He was subsequently accused of stealing the piggy bank from a classmate, and was forced into her homeroom to apologize to her.[1]

References[]

  1. Hsu, Janet (2014-10-31). Ace Attorney Trilogy - Surprising Tidbits You Never Knew! Capcom Unity. Retrieved on 2014-11-02.
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