History Main / AccuseTheWitness

** In the fourth case of the second game:

** In case 5 of game 3, Phoenix doesn't even know who to accuse, and in the end [[spoiler:isn't even sure what crime has been committed (homicide or justifiable self-defense). For fully three days, he doesn't accuse ''anyone'']].

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' sees the player character defend an accused murderer on the planet Manaan. At his trial, you're given the option of asking a Rodian witness if he planted evidence to make your client look guilty. You can then use the argument that your client is being framed to potentially get him acquitted. As it turns out, the Roadian did plant the evidence, but [[spoiler: your client really did do it. It was a case of FramingTheGuiltyParty.]]

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' sees the player character defend an accused murderer on the planet Manaan. At his trial, you're given the option of asking a Rodian witness if he planted evidence to make your client look guilty. As it turns out, the Roadian did plant the evidence but [[spoiler: your client really did do it. It was a case of FramingTheGuiltyParty.]]

** He later tops himself and his descendant by accusing ''two separate judges'' of murder. And while one was a Japanese judge in England and had no legal authority at the time the other was the judge for the trial he was in. Unlike when Phoenix tries it, this works out [[spoiler: as both judges are guilty]], though it takes a BigDamnHeroes courtesy of Herlock Sholmes and [[spoiler: Queen Victoria herself]] to make it stick properly.

** Accusing the witness? [[ExaggeratedTrope Phoenix can do better than that!]] He goes as far as accusing the prosecutors. And at one point in the second game you have an option to select which strongly implies that ''the Judge'' is the guilty party. [[ShmuckBait This is about as good an idea s you'd think]]. [[spoiler:The two accused prosecutors in the original trilogy, however, are indeed guilty]].

** Subverted in one case of ''Apollo Justice''. [[spoiler:In the flashback of Phoenix's last trial, he starts pushing Valant as the murderer of Magnifi Gramayre because Valant tampered with the crime scene, but it ultimately turns out that while Valant ''did'' try to frame Zak, Magnifi's death was a suicide.]]

** Subverted in ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'', where this strategy blows up in Ryunosuke's face when the witness he [[spoiler:(falsely)]] accuses of murder in his first case [[spoiler:turns up as the ''jury foreman'' in his second and carries a bit of a grudge]].

A CourtroomAntic which involves accusing an unlikely or controversial witness of being the perpetrator of the crime--particularly the accused's spouse or other close family member. Whether or not this accusation is true is immaterial. The point is to cloud the issue and raise reasonable doubt.

** Accusing the witness? [[ExaggeratedTrope Phoenix can do better than that!]] He goes as far as accusing the prosecutors. And at one point in the second game you have an option to select which strongly implies that ''the Judge'' is the guilty party. The Judge goes nuts. [[spoiler:The two accused prosecutors in the original trilogy, however, are indeed guilty]].

[[caption-width-right:350:"He who Sahwit, done it."]]

** PlayedForDrama in the fourth case of the second game, where you are [[ButThouMust forced]] to accuse [[spoiler:Adrian Andrews]] just to buy time. [[spoiler:This also ends up backfiring spectacularly as not only does she clear her own name during the cross-examination but manages to extend the trial and inadvertently cause Phoenix to break his agreement with a kidnapper.]]
*** Later parodied in the same case when Will Powers (a former client of Phoenix's, now a witness for another case) breaks down crying on the stand because he knows Phoenix does this in every single case he takes and assumes he'll accuse ''him''.
--->'''Powers:''' You... You're going to try to trick me into a corner, aren't you?
--->'''Phoenix:''' Huh?
--->'''Powers:''' I... I know I'm just a poor, underpaid action star, but... But... I... I'm not the killer!
--->'''Phoenix:''' Um, no one said you were, Mr. Powers.
--->'''Powers:''' No, please! Don't trick me! Every time you do your lawyer thing, the witness suddenly turns into the bad guy...

** In the third case of the first game, Phoenix actually ''does'' intentionally accuse a completely innocent party purely to buy another day of investigation. In the process, she reveals that Global Studios Executives [[spoiler:(which includes the real killer)]] were at the studios that day, purely to save herself, and this enables Phoenix to get closer to uncovering the truth.

** PlayedForDrama in the fourth case of the second game, where you are [[ButThouMust forced]] to accuse [[spoiler:[[TheWoobie Adrian Andrews]]]] just to buy time. [[spoiler:This also ends up backfiring spectacularly as not only does she clear her own name during the cross-examination but manages to extend the trial and inadvertently cause Phoenix to break his agreement with a kidnapper.]]

** Accusing the witness? Phoenix can do better than that! He goes as far as accusing the prosecutors. And at one point in the second game you have an option to select which strongly implies that ''the Judge'' is the guilty party. The Judge goes nuts. [[spoiler:The two accused prosecutors in the original trilogy, however, are indeed guilty]].

->'''Judge:''' Mr. Wright, are you indicting the witness as the real murderer?
->'''Phoenix:''' Of course! That is precisely what I am doing!

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1635601224000436000
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* A similar thing happens in ''WebAnimation/PhoenixWrightDevilsAttorney'' as well, though the witness is capable of looking after herself and understands why Phoenix had to do it; the new laws in the Netherworld of "guilty until someone else is proven guilty" forcing him to do this to extend the trial, lest Laharl would be convicted on the first day. However, she did say it stung a little, and Laharl is none too happy about it either.

[[quoteright:280:[[Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smbcaccuse.png]]]]

* In the fifth episode of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', [[spoiler: Battler accuses ''himself'' of the crimes to prove that Natsuhi needn't necessarily be the culprit. Of course, everyone know's he's lying, but Erika has to accept the possibility because [[HoistByHisOwnPetard her own rules have eliminated all the evidence exonerating him.]]]]

* A similar thing happens in ''WebAnimation/PhoenixWrightDevilsAttorney'' as well, although it isn't as heavy on the TearJerker part. Mostly because the witness is capable of looking after herself and understands why Phoenix had to do it; the new laws in the Netherworld of 'guilty until someone else is proven guilty' forcing him to do this to extend the trial, lest Laharl would be convicted on the first day. However, she did say it stung a little, and Laharl is none too happy about it either.

* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'':
** Subverted. In an antic taken from the book which inspired the series, in a murder for which the body was not found, the defendants' lawyer insists that the whole case is nothing more than a publicity stunt, and that the "victim" is going to walk into the courtroom... Now! He doesn't, but, as the lawyer points out, the fact that everyone ''looked'' proves that they have a reasonable doubt. Once the defendants have been convicted, the thunderstruck prosecutor and defense attorney ask a jury member why the antic didn't work: one of the jurors noticed that ''the defendants'' hadn't looked -- they knew darned right well that the victim was dead.
** A further subversion in an earlier episode. Kay Howard and Ed Danvers, while going over trial strategy on the Pony Johnson case, argue over the use of one of the victim's sons (and Pony's friend and drug mule) as a witness. Danvers notes that the son was at the scene, knew the victim and provided the bullets used to kill the victim and would thus make a terrible witness as the defense attorney would simply take all of that information and use it to set up the witness as the perfect alternative murderer, gaining them an acquittal.[[note]]This scene is an almost word for word mirror of a scene from the ''Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets'' true crime book that inspired the series. It almost worked for the defense, too, but the perp's key witness, his girlfriend, was so unconvincing that by the end the jury were laughing at her. Guilty.[[/note]]
** The first episode of Matlock uses this same scene almost exactly, except his client was innocent (his clients are always innocent), and so, also looks.
** It's also used in the 1987 film ''From the Hip'', with Judd Nelson as the defense attorney and John Hurt as the accused; this time, it's Nelson who notices his client didn't look, and Hurt defends himself by scoffing at it as being too obviously theatrical a stunt to take seriously. [[spoiler: He turns out to have done it.]]
** And again in Boston Legal, even the prosecutor remarks that he saw it in the aforementioned Judd Nelson movie. In this case Alan Shore sees that his client doesn't look and thus blackmails her into taking a plea bargain offer.
** All of these are likely based on [[http://www.snopes.com/legal/nobody.asp an urban legend]] commonly attached to the 1959 trial of Leonard Ewing Scott (one of the more notable "no body" murder trials).

* Variant: [[spoiler:Kurt Godel]] in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' claimed ''himself'' to be behind the attack on Negi's village. [[spoiler:But he was lying. It really was apparently the senate.]]

* The last witness is the real perpetrator in a number of the four cases in ''[[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Aya Shameimaru: Touhou Attorney]]'', a fangame based on the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games.

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* ''WebVideo/GameTheory'': [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in a video about ''VideoGame/AmongUs''. When an imposter is caught after murdering someone, they might accuse the person who caught them of committing the murder. MatPat argues this is the wrong strategy, as it becomes clear that one of the people making the accusation is a liar. Even if the imposter is successful, the rest of the crew will be suspicious of them in future rounds of the game.

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A CourtroomAntic which involves accusing an unlikely or controversial witness of being the perpetrator of the crime -- particularly the accused's spouse or other close family member. Whether or not this accusation is true is immaterial. The point is to cloud the issue and raise reasonable doubt.

** Rarely, if ever, done as blatantly as in fiction, but there certainly are cases of one suspect testifying against another. Direct accusation is against the rules of practice in some jurisdictions. However, a competent lawyer should be able to pick enough holes in a genuine murderer-witness's story for what really happened to become obvious to all concerned, or at the very least secure an acquittal.