"Cross" Moriarty
Defense Attorney "Cross" Moriarty
The Player Character and a defense attorney with his own office.
- Identical Stranger: To Phoenix Wright, something that is commented on.
- Known Only by Their Nickname: Moriarty's full name is never revealed, as he prefers to go as "Cross".
- Leitmotif: Cross' "Objection!" theme
. - Secretly Dying: Cross is sick with some disease that ends up making him lose conscience during the trial. In the True Ending, he starts coughing out blood while talking with Masterson.
- Walking Spoiler: He is the true serial killer "E". For further details, see the "Spoiler Character" folder below.
Philip Masterson
Philip Masterson
A senior detective down at the precinct and a good friend of Cross. One of the prosecution's witnesses.
Christine Yalt
Christine Yalt
The defendant, Christine Yalt is a quiet girl in a strange get-up.
- Identical Stranger: Though she doesn't show up personally in the case, Phoenix Wright mentions that Christine looks just like his daughter Trucy.
- Karma Houdini: In the Good Ending, her role in the attempted murder of Philip Masterson goes undiscovered and unpunished. In the True Ending, while she is still convicted for the murder of Richard Groud in Masterson's place, Cross told her to confess to everything to get a lighter sentence, ending up as the only one who doesn't lose everything due to the conclusion of the trial.
Richard Groud/"E"
Richard Groud, AKA "E"
The victim, Richard Groud was a serial killer known as "E" who was killed in the Powers Employment Offices after having escaped the Miles Edgeworth Mental Asylum.
- Asshole Victim: An insane serial killer who was confirmed to have killed at least five other people, few mourned Groud after he was killed. Too bad he wasn't the real serial killer.
- The Killer Becomes the Killed
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes are bloodshot red.
- The Scapegoat: Used as one by the real "E".
- Serial Killer: Richard Groud was known as "E" due to his tendency to leave the letter "e" whenever he killed someone. After being discovered, he was placed in a mental institute.
- Spanner in the Works: If it wasn't for Masterson killing him, Masterson would've been killed by Yalt.
Eileen Dawns
Prosecutor Eileen Dawns
The prosecutor in charge of the case. Something of an acquaintance of Cross, they faced off in court once before.
- Driven to Suicide: In the True Ending she poisons herself in despair after being played by "E" so easily, wondering what her part in his plan was, or if she was even considered important enough to have one.Dawns: "...All the world is a stage... And all the men and women merely players... They have their exits and their entrances... And one man in his time plays many parts." Let's see... If this is where the curtain falls on me...
- May–December Romance: With the Judge.
The Judge
The Judge
The judge overseeing the case. Doesn't seem as happy-go-lucky as some of the other judges.
- May–December Romance: With Eileen Dawns. It's the reason why "E" says he can't leave the courtroom in chains and his client found guilty, as it would be seen as an act of favoritism towards the prosecution.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The presiding judge is much more serious than the goofy judge from the usual Ace Attorney trials, and doesn't tolerate much shenanigans. Also, despite not being able to touch Cross directly after he confessed to being "E", he still delivered a guilty verdict to Christine Yalt.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Despite the controversy described under May–December Romance, in the True Ending he declares Christine Yalt guilty due to the real "E" revealing himself and his plan in private, despite the evidence and testimony that instead pointed to Masterson.
Victor Eisenhower
Victor Eisenhower
A chief "evaluator" of the Powers Employment Offices.
- Control Freak: Has a tendency to create rules for institutions he has no place making them on.
Phoenix Wright
Phoenix Wright
The second witness to the crime. A once-legendary attorney disbarred for forging evidence, now a piano player. Was responsible for the jury test trial a little while ago.
Spoiler Character
"Cross" Moriarty, AKA "E"
The true serial killer.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Though it's something of a Pyrrhic Victory due to Yalt's conviction, the disease that is slowly killing him and his own insistence that Yalt confess to everything he did.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Cross' personality does a 180 after he's ousted as "E", revealing him to be a sadistic murderer with no qualms about using a poor girl who blindly trusts in him to commit a murder.
- The Chessmaster: He was taught chess by Masterson in his youth, and so uses a lot of chess-themed metaphors in his planning and internal monologues. In the present day, he and Masterson both took measures to cover their tracks and lay down the, but Cross eventually gets the upper hand when Masterson finally slips.
- Death Seeker: Implied. He mentioned to Masterson that if he played his cards right, Dawns would be planning to kill him. Furthermore, he told Yalt to confess to everything to the police. Given that it was implied he was dying from some disease, he probably wanted to finish it as fast as he could.
- Didn't See That Coming: The one flaw in his plan is that he failed to take into account the possibility of the judge declaring Yalt guilty despite the testimonial and in spite of the controversy that would come from the verdict.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: As much of a sadistic near-sociopathic killer he had shown himself to be, Cross could never bring himself to kill Masterson himself, necessitating the complex scheme he had put together.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Subverted according to Word of God. Cross takes enjoyment in killing people, but at the same time acknowledges that what he is doing is nothing short of evil. As he took Yalt as his accomplice, he slowly realized that she could easily change and become a serial killer of her own, which is something he just doesn't want.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: As much of a sociopath Cross is, he genuinely seems to care about his mother, and hated seeing her miserable because of his father.
- Evil Costume Switch: When outed as "E", Cross' jacket unbuttons on the bottom and reveals the bottom part of his tie. He's back to normal after the gallery returns.
- Karma Houdini: In a sense. After Masterson asked for the entire gallery to leave there was no way for him to be punished for his deeds. As far as the public knew, Masterson, the Judge and Dawns were no longer credible witnesses due to the former's crime and the latter two's obvious relationship. Christine is completely devoted to "E", and would never admit to anything. The closest he's come is the Judge using his conscience to deliver a guilty verdict to Christine after the gallery returns. The only reason Cross will likely face justice is because he specifically told Christine to reveal everything when she was going to be interrogated.
- Leitmotif: "The True Culprit's Reveal" when he's outed as "E", and "Cross vs. EVERYONE" during the final cross-examination.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: As part of his Evil Costume Switch his eyes turn red when he's outed as "E".
- Self-Made Orphan: Though his mother is still alive, she faked her death and went into hiding. As such, Moriarty was orphaned when he killed his own father.
- Serial Killer: The true "E", he murdered at least five other people, including his own father.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He delivers a particularly breaking one to Dawns in the hopes of driving her to kill him, though it instead drives her to kill herself."You're not some bringer of justice. You don't give a damn if the defendant is guilty or not. You just want to win."
- Villain Protagonist: Although his status as the serial killer "E" and his attempt on Masterson's life is only uncovered in the final stage of the trial.
- Wham Line: "Please, call me "E". Everybody does."
