Black Heart Justice [Now in Selection] (OOC, Now Accepting)

[Dad]

Opening Theme:  Ain't No Rest for the Wicker - Cage the Elephant

 

Trial Status:  Currently in selection.  Spaces are available.

 

 

YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR JURY DUTY.  PLEASE REPORT AT THE ABOVE STATED TIME AND LOCATION.

 

Thanks to UnendingEmpire for this poster and its edits.

 

 

 

[hr]

 

First and foremost, thank you for coming.  The aforementioned 'Jury Duty' is player duty.  You players, will decide the outcome of the case.  You can find more information below.

 

[spoiler=Plot]

 

 

. . . New Orleans, Louisiana.  There's not a lot you need to understand this case.  Father of two, husband, business owner.  Killed in cold blood.  His body was found on the curbside at Poydras Street, not far from the Courthouse.  But that's not the biggest problem in this story.  You see, the killer has turned himself in.  Now you would think, with the killer in custody, that would be the end of this case.  Then there's this.  The killer in question--Calvin Brooks--is a long time, professional, contract killer.  He was hired by a contractor, through a third party.  Normally, he would refuse these types of jobs.  But because he was paid up front and in cash, he had less of a reason to turn it down.  His contractor however, is unknown.  And so, in exchange for a lesser sentence, Calvin has agreed to work with the New Orleans Police Department and the United States Prosecutor's to find out who hired him, and why they wanted the primary victim to be disposed of.

 

The primary victim in question is Julian King Moorehouse.  Six feet, two inches, fairly well built.  Clean record, no history of drug use.  Father of two kids, married, and owns one of the city's biggest construction companies:  Moorehouse Construction.  Before he was found dead, the last man to see him alive was his son, Jermaine Moorehouse.  This was sometime on the Friday evening of the 19th of August, 2016.  Two employees on duty said they heard some shouting coming from the Foreman's trailer, and they saw the kid storm off.  Shortly after, a shot rang out, but initially missed Julian.  It had deflected from an I-Beam and struck and killed the second victim.  According to Calvin Brooks' testimony, he saw the kid take off.   It was raining that night, and he claims his shot was thrown off by the wind.  This was two days before Hurricane Gavin, so it checks out.  

 

Our second victim, Patrick Neville.  Just a casualty really.  He's the reason Calvin Brooks turned himself in.  He has a set of rules, you see.  No innocents.  Accident or not, he's in custody.  He still had to follow up with his contract of course.  He sneaked down from his perch and strangled Julian near his vehicle.  Brooks then proceeded to turn himself in after the storm.  As of August 22 2016, another Moorehouse family member was found dead.  This time, it was the mother, Klarice Irina Moorehouse.  There were signs of a scuffle, but in the end, this was labeled as a suicide.  Her body was discovered hanging from the ceiling railings in the family's home, that morning.  She was bruised on her wrists, stomach, and her left leg.  The last person to see her alive was also Jermaine Moorehouse, who was then labeled as a primary suspect.  Later that same day, Jermaine Moorehouse was arrested for charges of murder, assault, and contract killing.  He initially plead not guilty.

 

Jermaine has been assigned three attorneys, all of whom have experience.  As such, they will be defending him in order to prove his innocence.  The Prosecution will also be working with a gentleman by the name of Frederick Withers--alleged accomplice to Calvin Brooks.  He is the only person in the entire case to have spoken with the contractor who wished to hire Calvin.  However, the contractor masked their voice with voice modification, in addition to being dressed in entirely black garb, a face mask, gloves, and heavy work boots to cover their appearance.

 

The Defense has lined up a number of character witnesses.  They amount to the following:

 

Character Witnesses:

 

Grandma - Willie Mae Brooks

Younger Sister - Ciara Nicole Brooks

Son in Law - Jeffrey Johnathan Mayfield

Jermaine's Best Friend - Eric Overton Rodgers

 

The Prosecution has of course also brought about their own witnesses.  They amount to the following:

 

Key Witnesses:

 

Quest Construction Owner - Logan James Quest

Brother to Julian - Michael Moorehouse

Ex-wife to Julian - Chloe Faith Stevenson

Former Best Friend to Julian - Troy Nathaniel Black

[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler=Setting]

 

 

New Orleans, Louisiana, November, 2016

500 Poydras Street; Courthouse

 

 Home to Superbowl Champions, the best food in the south of the country, and one of the highest murder rates in the nation.  You can find a bad time as quickly as you can find a gas station.  The city is enormous, over populated, but beautiful.  But don't let its history and prestige mislead you.  There's a reason it is also one of the scariest cities to visit, and it isn't because of the stories of voodoo.  On average, there are 200 or more murders in New Orleans alone.  From the French Quarter to the West Bank; from Algiers to Lafayette.  Don't ever consider yourself safe.  Don't travel alone.  Keep your wits about you.  But most importantly of all, enjoy yourself.  A lot of tourists who visit this place, often never leave.[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler=Rules]

 

All standard YCM rules apply.  For legal reasons, I will now post a disclaimer.

 

 All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

 

With that being said, the rules are as follows:

 

I have the final say on everything.  As this is a courtroom rp, I will be playing most of the NPCs, but most importantly, the judge.  If you don't have much legal knowledge, don't fret.  I'll provide sources on objections and things of that nature.  If I miss anything, please let me know.  90% of the RP will take place in the courtroom.  There may or may not be spells in which you'll leave the courtroom to go about the city, or things of that nature.  If you have questions regarding the city, please ask me.  

 

This rp is LIMITED ACCEPTANCE.  I will have a maximum of five players (one for each attorney and / or prosecutor) to be precise.  I advise taking your applications as seriously as you would if you were turning over your information to an actual courthouse.  To confirm this information has been read by you, you are to place the word "Black" in size 10 underlined print in the bottom right hand corner of your post before you submit it.[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler=Application]

Please state if you are applying as a Prosecutor (persons trying to convict the defendant) or Attorney (person's trying to aid the defendant) before submitting your application.  Please replace all information in parenthesis with the corresponding information.

 

*If you are applying as an Attorney, I recommend that you fluff up your character in bio.  Make them look super intelligent.  Blow up their education and work history, and make them super flashy.

 

Name:  (First, Middle Initial, Last)

Age:  (As old as 55.  As young as 25.)

Place of Birth:  (Preferably somewhere in the U.S.  This is not required.  If your character is born outside of the U.S., you must cite their citizenship in the biography.)

Roll:  (Is your character a Prosecutor or Attorney?)

Biography:  (No less than 2 paragraphs.  Bonus points for going further, in addition to mentioning education history.)

Occupational History:  (Ever filled out a job application?  This can be fictional.  Name an employer.  Then, in brief detail, describe what you did while you were employed with that employer.  Be sure to include any awards you may have received.)

 

*Attorney's Only  Why have you chosen to represent the Defendant?:  (No less than one paragraph.)[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler=Things to Note]

 

I realize that evidence is not listed in the OP.  This has been done on purpose.  Evidence will not be submitted until the trial actually begins.   Because I will be playing the role of the judge and most npcs (including the Court House Deputy, CSO, etc.), I will be handing some things to you discreetly.  Be sure to contact me via PM before calling your witnesses.  Defense and Prosecutor's are allowed to both call the Defendant to the witness stand.

 

*Some important parts of the case will be cross examination.  That is, after the Prosecution opens, they will call their first witness.  After questioning their witness, the Defense will be allowed to question this same witness, once.  Afterwards, the Prosecution may or may not ask further questions to the witness once more.  Upon the Prosecution or Defense's post-cross examination, the Witness will step down.

 

*Everything you say or do will affect the case.  In the end, this case is NOT decided.  There is always another probably outcome.  Be wary of what you post, and how it could affect the trial.[/spoiler]

[a bad post]

Name: Stephanie R. Fujikawa

Age: 32

Place of Birth: San Francisco, California 

Roll: Prosecutor

[spoiler='Biography']The sole daughter of 2nd generation immigrants, Stephanie Fujikawa's early life was, in all respects, quite normal. A very smart young lady during school she took many advanced classes, and with little effort excelled at them due to her airtight, photographic memory. Despite her high natural intelligence Stephanie's school life was rather standard. She attended school clubs, complained about homework, went to parties, perhaps the only out of the ordinary thing she did was tutor her fellow students, which helped make more than a few friends, and by the time she was in high school Stephanie had become quite the popular young lady. In high school she went on to graduate at the top of her class, and later attended Yale University on several scholarships. At Yale she obtained her bachelor's degree double majoring in both political science and criminal justice before going on to obtain her law degree.

 

Upon completing her law degree at Yale Stephanie returned to San Francisco and got a job working a the State's Attorney's office as a prosecutor. Back in San Francisco Stephanie, now employed, moved out of her parent's house into an apartment. Now in a relatively comfortable job and due to pressure from her parents Stephanie began to date, though it was after a series of particularly bad break-ups, one of which included a verbally abusive and very nearly physically abusive boyfriend, Stephanie decided it would be best to leave the Golden State behind, and moved to Louisiana hoping to live a more carefree life, and start a-new.[/spoiler]

[spoiler='Occupational History']Fujikawa Steakhouse: Since her earlier teens Stephanie worked in the restaurant her parent's and continued to work there through high school until she left for college in New Haven. 

Employer(s): Katsuya Fujikawa {Father}

Rinkako Fujikawa {Mother}

Legal Assistant: A job Stephanie obtained in New Haven which she used to pay some off some of her expensive college tuition. Initially she obtained the job on an internship due to her desired field of study at Yale, but was later hired.

Employer(s): Jacob West {Lawyer}

California State's Attorney's Office: Stephanie's first place of employment after completing her education and obtaining a law degree. She spent 5 years working there as a prosecutor before transferring to the Louisiana State's Attorney's Office after her move.

Employer(s): Jerry Brown {Former California Attorney General 2007 - 2011}

Kamala Harris {Current California Attorney General 2011 - ???}

Louisiana State's Attorney's Office: Stephanie's current place of employment after moving to New Orleans. She has been working there for 2 years.

Employers(s): James "Buddy" Caldwell {Current Louisiana Attorney General 2008 - ???}[/spoiler]

[Dad]

Accepted.  I'll add your application to the OP shortly.  Love the app.