Prosecution

*"IRRELEVANT."*

The Prosecution in Attorney Online are given the task of finding the defendant guilty for whatever the case may be. They accomplish this by presenting evidence, calling up witnesses and countering the defense's theories.
In the country of Japanifornia, it's guilty until proven innocent, therefore the Prosecution always have the advantage.
Not all prosecutors will strive for a guilt verdict, however. Some may strive to find truth and justice, regardless of the final verdict.

## How To Play

As a prosecutor you have a few duties that will be explained here based on the order they take place in-game:

## Opening Statement

The judge will, after asking if both sides are ready, tell the prosecution to present their opening statement. This task must always be handled by the main prosecutor. Opening statements must be short, brief and objective. Make sure to mention the crime committed, the names of the victim and defendant, and also the motive. Avoid explaining all the evidence in the document because that task is handled by the detective.

## Witness Calling

As a prosecutor you can call witnesses to support your case. This task can be handled by the main prosecutor or the co-prosecutor. After calling a witness, it is important to ask them their name and occupation. During this process some players often start joking around and chilling, make sure you don't ruin that moment. When you feel like the court is ready, ask the witness to testify.

## Cross Examination

During the cross examination, the prosecutors are able to interject and make the defense's life harder. Do not abuse that, however, or else you will end up making the cross examination last more than necessary. Remember that the defense is asking questions to the witnesses, not to you. If the defense asks a joke question, do not immediately object and ask for a penalty, just lighten up and have some fun if they don't abuse the jesting. It is also vital that as a prosecutor you won't answer the defense's questions for the witnesses. Sometimes a witness doesn't know something they should know or maybe they even know something they shouldn't know. No matter how much obvious the question is, don't answer it for them; Simply wait for the witness to answer it and then proceed to yell about how the question was irrelevant if needed.

## Rebuttals

You are expected to give rebuttals when the defense manages to find contradictions and poke holes in your case. The first rule for this is to avoid going for cheap tactics such as saying "Where is your evidence?" or "But this doesn't prove your client is innocent!". Also avoid the mindset that you are always right and the witnesses are lying. Instead, consider for a moment that the witness was telling the truth, and adapt your case and include the contradiction in your theory. The key to being a good prosecutor is having a flexible case, so that even if the defense manages to find contradictions, you can use them to your advantage and explain how those contradictions still ultimately result in the defendant being the guilty party.

## Common Mistakes

Some classic mistakes that many novice prosecutors make will be listed here:

* You should not be talking more than the defense. If you are, then you're most likely overstepping your role as prosecutor.
* You are not in charge of the cross examination. You should not be asking the witness questions, period. The information gathering duties fall to the defense; your task is to (re)interpret their findings to your benefit - pinning everything on the defendant.
* You may rebut, but refrain from blocking questions purely because the defense is on the right track. Blocking excessively makes the case unbearable to watch, and unbearable for participants.
* Excessive banter. For bad prosecutors, this can make up over half of their spoken lines, and contributes heavily to case time inflation - not to mention post-case salt.
* Talking too much. The defense will not move anywhere, everyone will get angry for want of lines, and the case will stagnate.
* Talking too little. While talking too much is damaging to a case, talking too little is just as damaging. The defense will run wild, and rarely will things make sense.
* Not having fun. This is a game, and people who invest in long cases expect to have fun. Have fun, make sure it's fun for everyone else, too, and salt levels will be at a minimum.