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Judge (Labyrinthia)
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Judge
I will pronounce the verdict. This court finds the accused guilty of being a witch.

The unnamed Labyrinthian judge who presided over both of Espella Cantabella's witch trials, as well as the witch trial of Maya Fey. Although he bears a striking resemblance to the judge that normally presides over Phoenix Wright's trials, this judge was far less jovial and not as easily led.

Life in Labyrinthia[]

Like nearly all other citizens of Labyrinthia, almost nothing is known about the man who would become the judge for the town's witch trials aside from the fact that he at some point signed a contact with Labrelum Inc. This contract resulted in the memories of his former life being suppressed, and he was given the role of the presiding judge over the local witch trials in Labyrinthia as part of his new life.

Cantabella's first witch trial[]

Main article: The Fire Witch

The judge presided over the witch trial of Espella Cantabella when she was accused of using the Ignaize spell to murder Robbs and Muggs, who had tried to mug her. The inquisitor for the case was the renowned Zacharias Barnham, with Cantabella selecting Phoenix Wright as her defender, recalling how he had previously defended her in London.

Unfortunately, Wright, as well as his co-counsel Maya Fey, were under the impression that they were bakers who had lived in Labyrinthia for a number of years, and so had forgot their previous encounter with Cantabella, as well as all their previous legal experiences. Despite this, they still agreed to defend Cantabella, with their true identities eventually returning to them as an American defense attorney and spirit medium, respectively. After some later help by Professor Hershel Layton and his assistant Luke Triton, the real witch responsible for the murder of Robbs and Muggs was revealed to be a flower girl named Kira, who was one of the witnesses in the case. Cantabella was subsequently acquitted and Kira dropped into the fire pit in the Witches' Court that was used to execute witches.

An American accused of witchcraft[]

Main article: The Golden Court

Not long after Cantabella's trial, the judge presided over Maya Fey's own witch trial when she was accused of using the Goldor spell to transmute Professor Layton into solid gold, with the additional charge during the course of the trial of using the Godoor spell to murder the alchemist Newton Belduke three months prior. Wright and Barnham once again acted as the defender and inquisitor for the case, respectively.

Although Fey was eventually found innocent of both charges, it was revealed during the trial that Jean Greyerl, Belduke's former assistant, was a witch, and she was therefore arrested and sentenced to death for witchcraft, regardless of the fact that she had not murdered either Layton or Belduke. Cantabella suddenly claimed that she was the Great Witch Bezella, who was said to be the source of all witches in Labyrinthia, and requested that she be executed instead in order to fulfill the prophecy that if Bezella were to no longer exist, the witch trials would end. However, Fey objected to this and attempted to get her out of the execution cage. Although she succeeded, she ended up locked inside herself and dropped into the flames below, to Wright's horror.

The Great Witch's judgment[]

Main articles: The Final Witch Trial and The First Story

After the Storyteller, ruler of Labyrinthia, was murdered via the spell Granwyrm, Cantabella was put on trial accused of being the Great Witch Bezella and causing his death. Wright again acted as her defender, with a woman calling herself "Maya the Ironclad" as his co-counsel. Although High Inquisitor Darklaw was initially his opponent in court, Layton eventually took over as inquisitor while Darklaw testified as a witness.

The trial proved to be a turning point for Labyrinthia's history, as it was revealed that it was an artificial town created by Labrelum Inc. in a project funded by the British government. "Magic" was actually an illusion set up by the Shades; a group working outside Labyrinthia from the Eldwitch Woods. In addition, the "witches" sent to the flames in previous witch trials (as well as those supposedly killed by "magic") were revealed to all be alive, although they were stripped of their memories and working as Shades (including Kira). Darklaw's real identity was revealed to be Eve Belduke; Newton Belduke's daughter and a childhood friend of Cantabella. Perhaps most importantly, it was revealed that Bezella was a fictional character created by the Storyteller to save Cantabella's mind from her belief that she had caused a terrible disaster known as "the Legendary Fire" that had annihilated a previous incarnation of the town. In actuality, it had been Darklaw who had caused said tragedy, albeit accidentally. Due to the revelations brought to light in the case, the final witch trial resulted in a verdict of "Not Guilty" for Cantabella and an end to witch trials in Labyrinthia.

The singing judge[]

After the final witch trial, the Storyteller decided to release the inhabitants of Labyrinthia from their memory suppression and allow them to leave to pursue their own lives. The judge, however, stepped forward and told him that he intended to stay, as the lives he and the others had lived whilst in Labyrinthia were still very much a reality, a thought shared by many of the fellow townsfolk. With no further need for the witch trials, the judge resigned from his role and was later seen singing on a stage alongside Foxy and Birdly for the former Vigilantes.

Unsure of his future[]

Main article: Shady Types

In the special episode Shady Types, the judge has a conversation with Wordsmith revealing that he wasn't sure how to progress with his life after learning that almost everything about his it, even his beliefs, had been manipulated by Labrelum. He decided to try fortune-telling as a new career, but found it to be much more difficult than he'd expected.

Notes[]

  • The Labyrinthian judge is referred to by the formal addresses of "My Lord" and "Milord" (pronounced ""M'lud"), which are both titles used in British courts for male judges (with "My Lady" being used for female judges), although "Milord" is now obsolete. However, the judge who presides over Wright's trial in London is instead given the formal address of "Your Honor"; this may have been intended to make the contrast between London and Labyrinthia more apparent.
    • In the Dutch version, he is referred to as "Edelhoogachtbare," (which is usually only used for members of the Dutch Supreme Court) instead of "Edelachtbare" which is used to address lesser judges.
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