Statement § 2 [Filter > Police Force]

[prosecutes]

[Edgeworth holds in his hand Adachi's latest report of recently departed and newly arrived citizens. The report was, as usual, handed to him in the morning. It contains no mention of Dahlia Hawthorne. If it is to be trusted (and for the time being, Edgeworth will indeed believe that Tohru has been doing his job properly), then her arrival was sometime earlier in the day.]

Attention, all members of the police force: Be on the lookout for a recent arrival named Dahlia Hawthorne.

/Dahlia.jpg

This woman is a known criminal with a history of manipulation, attempted homicide and murder in the first degree. She is capable of posing as her twin sister Iris. Use your best judgment and do not confuse the two under any circumstance.

/Iris.jpg

This message is only a warning, not an arrest warrant. In accordance with Somarium's laws, Dahlia remains innocent until proven guilty of a crime in this world. If confronted, she is likely to put on a helpless and innocent act. Convincing as it may be, she is not to be trusted.

Comments

[prosecutes]

Habeas Corpus, I'm afraid.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

...So we're supposed to just wait for her to do it again, then?

[prosecutes]

The ideal situation would be to catch her with sufficient proof before the actual crime is committed, hence the warning I've issued.

We lack evidence. Testimony alone cannot condemn a person.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

It's always been enough where I'm from.

[prosecutes]

Consider the following scenario: Two men arrive from the same world. Both men come to the authorities and inform us that the other is a murderer and should be imprisoned. There is no evidence to back either argument, only their verbal claims. Now tell me, Asch, how would you then know which man to believe?

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't, obviously. I'm not an idiot.

But this isn't the same.

[prosecutes]

The only difference here is that the claims made have come from a reliable source.

If we allow this to become a valid form of evidence, then any given citizen should have the right to testify the same way. How would we judge the credibility of future testimonies in such a system? It leaves too large a margin of error and a high risk of corruption.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

So instead you're just leaving her free, putting everyone in danger.

[prosecutes]

Instead, I am sending out a warning to the entire police force and asking its members to keep close watch over her. What more would you have me do?

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

Arrest her, obviously. It's not like I'm saying she should be killed for it.

[prosecutes]

On what charges would I be arresting her?

Somarium's laws are for dealing with those who commit crimes in Somarium itself. So far, she has done nothing.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

...Fine. But I won't stand idly by if Van arrives here.

[prosecutes]

Someone from your world?

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

A crazed maniac who tried to destroy the entire world, kill everyone, and replace them with replicas.

[prosecutes]

(...Replicas? Must be a mad scientist.)

The same protocol would be used. Van would be placed under close observation by the police force and detained at the first sign of danger.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

I have no intentions of letting him get to that point.

[prosecutes]

I don't know how law enforcement worked in your world, but that's not how things will be done here. A strong suspicion is enough for a search warrant, and a search of the suspect's living quarters would most likely reveal the evidence necessary to have them put away.

If you're going to work for Somarium's police force, you must accommodate to the way it is run.

[shouharekkousen.livejournal.com]

I'm only here to protect people. If the way it's run works, then that's fine with me. But if I don't like it, then I'll leave.