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The deaths of the patients were a result of the nurse Mimi Miney mixing up their medications. 

Mimi was deemed responsible for this incidence of medical malpractice by the police. 

Weeks after the malpractice incident, Mimi and her sister, Ini Miney, were involved in a car accident where Mimi was driving resulting, in the death of Ini. The exact contributing factors to the accident are unclear. However, there are rumors that Grey drugged Mimi with sleeping pills, which caused the accident. At other points, Mimi also blames exhaustion from her working at the clinic and from her involvement in the malpractice investigation as contributing to the accident. 

Mimi’s face is very badly burned from the accident to the point that she is unrecognizable, and immediately after the accident Mimi uses a picture of Ini for facial reconstruction surgery, allowing her to take on the identity of her dead sister and to fake her own death. 

Although Grey was not legally determined to be responsible for malpractice, tabloids continue to spread rumors about his involvement in the malpractice and in Mimi’s accident. Grey’s clinic is struggling with declining numbers of patients. Grey attributes this downturn in business to the tabloid rumors rather than the malpractice incident itself. 

In an attempt to completely stop rumors about his involvement in the malpractice and accident, Grey sets up a spirit channeling to have Mimi sign an affidavit confessing to being responsible for the malpractice. 

Mimi, who is currently living as her sister, becomes aware of Grey’s plan. She fears that the channeling will expose her faking her death. To avoid this secret from getting out, she contacts Morgan Fey and devises a plan to kill Grey during a faked spirit channelling. 

While there is no evidence that he did anything legally wrong, Phoenix expresses apprehension toward Grey’s plan to get a confession from Mimi from beyond the grave and skepticism towards Grey’s version of events. Beyond tabloid rumors, Mimi, disguised as her sister, is the player’s main source of information about Grey’s character as a boss and how the culture and expectations of his clinic contributed to the medical malpractice. We get additional information from Lotta, who reports that he was an overly-controlling, verbally abusive boss. Phoenix confirms that this was his impression of Grey too, and seems apprehensive when Maya whole-heartedly believes Grey’s version of events as she prepares her channeling session with him. 

Interestingly, the player’s significantly bad impression of Turner Grey stands alongside ambiguity about the facts of the malpractice case and the car accident. In one instance, Mia comments to Phoenix that there is no way to know now if Mimi was actually drugged when the accident occurred.

With this line also, Phoenix is clear that the “truth” they are working with is what was documented by the police; in the context of Phoenix's experiences it seems like a possibility to him that the police report did not reflect the truth completely. 

While the text does not suggest that Grey was responsible for the medical malpractice in a legal sense, or that he intentionally caused Mimi’s accident, I would assert that it does suggest his controlling style of leadership and narcissism created a situation where his nurses were irresponsibly pushed to the point of incompetency. 

However, because the power he has over his nurses exists within the normative hierarchy of the workplace and because his behavior falls within legally acceptable limits, he is able to dodge any kind of responsibility for the situation he created. Indeed, he does choose to dodge responsibility at every turn. 

Indeed, Grey’s continued insistence on evading accountability after Mimi’s death is what leads to his murder. A particular nuance to this case is the clarification of Mimi’s motive to kill Grey. At different points of the trial, the case’s prosecutor, Franziska von Karma, and Phoenix assert that Mimi wished to get revenge on Grey due to him allegedly drugging Mimi the night of the car accident, which led to the death of her sister. However, once Mimi’s guilt in the murder is revealed, she is clear about her motivation; she did not kill Grey to get revenge (although she does say he deserved it), but did it to cover up her faked death and escape through her sister’s stolen identity. Had Grey, who had already been cleared of legal liability for the malpractice suit, moved on from the issue after Mimi’s death, rather than hounding her from beyond the grave, Mimi would have had no motive to kill him. 

I do not want to absolve Mimi of responsibility, especially for her decision to murder Grey and frame Maya. However, it is undeniable that the circumstances, where she was being made to directly shoulder the blame for the death of 14 patients and the death of her sister, with no recourse to hold the man that put her in that situation accountable, cornered her. Mimi felt unable to face the reality of her responsibility in the malpractice case and in her sister’s death, and she saw her faking her death and taking on her sister’s identity as her only escape. Ironically, hiding within her sister’s identity, Mimi finds herself trapped again; She hates her sisters’ lifestyle and involvement in paranormal studies, and eventually she is pushed to murder to cover up her secret. As unfair as the initial situation was, Mimi’s inability to face the reality of her responsibility for the deaths of the patients and her sister only ends up making her body count tick even higher. By going to such extremes to avoid consequences of her actions, she is in fact following in her boss’s lead, dodging any kind of accountability at all costs.

While at least some of the truth of what occurred in Dr. Grey’s clinic comes to light and Phoenix clears Maya’s name (again), the end of this case is bleak. Phoenix gets justice for Turner Grey, a man who was never held accountable for the harmful culture he cultivated in his clinic, and condemns Mimi, a victim of that workplace culture. This realization goes hand in hand with the discovery that Morgan Fey was Mimi’s accomplice and that she framed Maya for murder in order to place her daughter, Pearl, as next in line for the master title. Arguably, this case has one of the worst “downer” endings in the series (I think only “Turnabout Beginnings” from Trials and Tribulations can compare). The bleakness of this ending stands in contrast to the endings of the two other main cases in JfA, which both allow their characters to begin healing from past traumas.

One thing about this case that stands out to me is the text’s agnosticism toward the question of who was ultimately to blame for the malpractice incident and for Mimi’s car accident. The ambiguity of the facts surrounding these events made this write-up somewhat difficult for me, as I was concerned that my interpretation was too biased towards Mimi (they should have had a union if you ask me) in the absence of “verified facts”. I wondered if I was missing subtext that would tell me more clearly how I, as the player, was supposed to interpret the situation. It's clear at the end of the trial that Mimi can be determined to be at least guilty of Grey's murder, and further questions about moral culpability for previous events are not really relevant to the limited scope of the trial. 

The main cases in JFA emphasize the role that context and culture has in shaping the decisions of individuals. Specifically, the three main cases bring attention to how harm is perpetuated within communities when those in power are not held accountable and when toxic norms and expectations pervade. For present purposes, the following is a summary of the parallels between these stories, focusing on key characters in each case, being Mimi Miney, Acro, and Adrien Andrews. 

Each of these characters is presented to us as embedded within specific communities, where they are each situated within hierarchies of power: Mimi Miney was a nurse working for Dr. Turner Gray at his clinic; Acro performed as an acrobat under the direction of the ringmaster, Russell Beery, at Big Beery Circus; Adrian Andrews was a manager for the actor Matt Engarde, working within Global Studios under the generally toxic culture of show business and celebrity.  Each of these characters is a survivor of some kind of incident of harm which occurred prior to the events of the case. The incidents of harm include: 

Mimi’s boss overworking her to the point of incompetency, which then led to Mimi committing medical malpractice, killing 14 people

Acro and his brother’s accident, which was the unintended result of a prank committed by Russell Beery’s daughter, Regina

Juan Corrida and Matt Engarde’s cruelty toward Adrian’s mentor, Celeste, which resulted in Celeste’s suicide. These incidents of harm are covered up or insufficiently addressed by those in power, leading to anger and grief festering within these three characters over time. 

Left with the weight of shouldering the ramifications of harm, each of these characters finds themselves trapped, psychologically and sometimes physically, within their circumstances, which leads them to act out and continue to cause harm to those around them:

To escape the reality that she is at fault for the medical practice and the death of her sister, Mimi fakes her death and steals her sister’s identity. Then, when Grey’s proposal of channeling her as a spirit risks Mimi being found out, she murders him. 

Acro, who has lost the use of his legs after the accident and uses a wheelchair for mobility, is stuck on the third floor of the performer’s dorm due to the circus’s lack of accommodation. Acro sits in his room, stewing in his resentment towards Regina for her role in the accident and for her naive, childish attitude, which is a result of Russell’s coddling. His anger is so great that he attempts to murder her and accidentally murders Russell instead. 

In an attempt to recover her mentor Celeste’s suicide note, Adrian assists with Juan’s plot against Matt, ultimately underestimating Juan’s manipulations as it is revealed he forged the suicide note. When Juan is murdered as a result of this plot, Adrian tampers with the crime scene, attempting to implicate Matt Engarde. 

These situations are only resolved when the truth comes to light and those who committed harm are made to face the consequences of their actions. In some cases, a community or individual can take the truth coming to light as an invitation towards healing (e.g., the Big Beery circus and Adrian Andrews), although this is not always a possibility (e.g., Mimi Miney).

While the main cases of Justice for All highlight how injustice can be embedded into a community’s culture and norms, the cases in the first game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, present a simpler moral outlook, as injustice primarily stems from the illegal actions of individuals. In these cases, while there are some morally ambiguous characters – Marvin Grossberg is a particularly interesting one – there is always unambiguously bad, powerful people that harm can be traced back to:

Redd White is a powerful CEO who has murdered Mia Fey and is blackmailing Grossberg and the lead prosecutor. The studio producer Dee Vasquez murdered actor Jack Hammer after blackmailing him for years over his involvement in an accident in order to exploit his labor. In addition to the blackmail, the accident itself involved an issue of on-set safety and Vasquez would have been ultimately responsible for on-set safety as a producer. Manfred von Karma’s murder of Gregory Edgeworth, which was motivated by only petty revenge, set into motion a whole chain of events that resulted in Misty Fey’s disappearance, Robert Hammond’s murder, and Miles Edgeworth being framed for two murders. 

Even corruption in the legal system in the first game can be traced back to individual bad actors. Redd White’s blackmail of the chief prosecutor leads to Phoenix’s indictment for Mia’s murder and presumably White’s initial immunity. The only piece of evidence from the first game that has its authenticity called into question is the updated autopsy report which casts suspicion onto Maya; if fabricated, it could have been done so to protect Redd White. The unscrupulous prosecutorial tactics Phoenix has to face either come from Manfred von Karma himself, or Miles Edgeworth emulating the methods and philosophy of Von Karma, as his mentee. (I’d argue the only dirty tactic Winston Payne resorted to was run-of-the-mill misogyny which, unfortunately, does not count as corruption). “Rise from the Ashes” complicates this calculus, but since the aim of this essay is to focus on how JFA expanded on the original first game, which did not include that case, I am not considering it in this analysis.

These morally straight forward cases work well with the first game’s story and themes. Through his faith in his clients and his unconventional thinking, Phoenix can save the weak, scapegoated defendant, and identify the powerful individual actually responsible for the crime. Phoenix’s ethical imperatives do not extend past saving his innocent client and finding the true perpetrator, and in the end, each case is resolved and justice is served. 

In contrast, Justice for All complicates the moral world of Ace Attorney by calling more attention to the culture that people are embedded in rather than just focusing on corrupt individuals. The culprits in “Reunion, and Turnabout” and “Turnabout Big Top” are both victims of complex circumstances that lash out. As a culprit, Matt Engarde has more in common with previous culprits like Redd White and Manfred von Karma; however, this is why “Farewell, My Turnabout” takes the time to establish the world of celebrity culture, show business, and tabloids; Matt Engarde is clearly a product of this environment, as his obsession over his image both fuel his cruelty towards others and is rewarded by the entertainment industry.

Justice for All depicts a world where cruelty is entrenched in culture and bad actors are products of their environments. In this complex world, Phoenix is not able to take the simple, heroic moral stance he took in the first game. This is why, until Phoenix is forced to adopt a more nuanced moral stance that accounts for his limitations in “Farewell, My Turnabout,” the resolutions of “Reunion, and Turnabout” and “Turnabout Big Top” are so bittersweet. 

The final moments of “Reunion, and Turnabout” are less focused on Mimi Miney than on Maya processing that her aunt framed her for murder. The story of Mimi, even if we have most of the facts straight, feels unresolved. We end with Mimi’s crying sprite, and her bemoaning that becoming Ini Miney has been the “worst experience” of her life. Regarding the Fey story line, the case ends on a dour note as well. Maya asks Phoenix why her aunt framed her for murder. Phoenix’s reaction is to at first dismiss her question, saying “Maya, it’s over. Why don’t we just let it be.” 

When he finally responds that it was so that Pearl could become the master, Maya, dejected, responds “Yeah, I can see that.” As for the very last scene of the case, we are treated to a villain monologue from Morgan in prison. The scene foreshadows that the pain in this case won’t just continue through Maya’s grief, but by Morgan once again planning to get rid of Maya for good. Phoenix did what he could to save Maya this time, but the painful legacy of the Fey clan has many hydra heads that are yet to be slain. 

While “Turnabout Big Top” has a more hopeful ending, it is not Phoenix but the members of the circus themselves who make this a reality. In the defense lobby after the end of the trial the mood is morose. 

Phoenix is not able to provide a positive ending for the circus. Instead, Moe is the one to spin the situation into an opportunity for a new future of the circus; Here, he steps up to take the Ringmaster position, makes amends with Max, and encourages Regina to stick with the circus; Max, who was inclined to leave the circus after the case, sees Moe’s efforts to bring the community back together and decides to join him. It is a decidedly bittersweet ending; while Bat is still in a coma and Acro is going to jail, in light of the truth about the accident and Moe’s leadership the circus is able to stick together and move forward.

The toxic culture in question in “Farewell, My Turnabout” is the world of celebrity culture; this culture is less defined than the workplace cultures of a clinic or a circus, as norms are perpetuated across a network of studios, tabloids, and fans. As a result, this culture is bigger and harder to change. Hopefully, the conviction of Matt Engarde might serve as a lesson to powerful individuals in the industry who have not had to face consequences for their actions, but this is difficult to conclude. Instead Adrian Andrews is the case’s example of how truth can beget self-reflection, which can lead someone to shed old, harmful ways of thinking. Notably, it is not Phoenix’s actions that led Adrian to self-reflect, but instead Edgeworth threatening to reveal Adrian’s “dependent personality” to force her to continue testifying, and Adrian’s own courageous effort to change her outlook.

I want to take a moment here to address this exchange between Adrian and Edgeworth, because it is a frequently discussed, controversial characterization moment for Edgeworth within the fandom. 

Even if Edgeworth saw no other way to keep Adrian testifying, it would have been less cruel and more responsible to call a recess and talk with her in private rather than threaten her with revealing sensitive information in public. However, I think this was an intentional writing decision to show that Edgeworth is still ruthless, just in pursuit of finding the truth rather than winning convictions. Additionally, his response to Adrian’s protests is that he does not care if she will “choose death,” echoes the note he left before his disappearance: “Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death.” This very specific choice of words speaking to Adrian suggests that Edgeworth sees parallels between Adrian and himself, and that he is projecting his self-punishment onto Adrian in the moment due to the shame he feels for his past actions as a prosecutor and for running away. The conversation that Edgeworth has with Phoenix later further supports that Edgeworth is projecting his personal issues onto Adrian. Phoenix asks why Edgeworth pushed Adrian in court, asserting that he didn’t need to go “that far.” Edgeworth responds, comparing himself directly with Adrian:

I do think that, writing wise, Adrian's speech at the end of the case could have not let Edgeworth “off the hook” as much as it did. I would have preferred Edgeworth to see some kind of consequence for his cruel interpersonal behavior. However, I believe that the intention of these plot beats was to show that Adrian was able to truly heal when she took the revelation of the truth as an opportunity to self-reflect and remove herself from toxic celebrity culture; this directly mirrors how Edgeworth was able to use his “death” as a prosecutor as an opportunity to reinvent his professional philosophy, seeking to find the truth rather than relying on his mentor’s corrupt tactics. Furthermore, Edgeworth prompts Franziska to use her defeat as a moment to self-reflect, as he directly compares Adrian's dependent personality to Franziska’s reliance on the methods of Manfred von Karma, her father and their shared mentor.

Notably having these instances of healing be prompted by other characters de-centers Phoenix’s role as a singular savior and hero, which is appropriate for these cases, as the circumstances that lead to the killings extend far beyond what would ever be resolved with a court verdict. Instead, like any other character, Phoenix’s agency and moral reasoning is limited by his circumstances. The limitations of Phoenix’s moral agency drive his internal conflict throughout the Engarde case until the very end, as Phoenix cannot save Maya and be committed to justice at the same time; like Mimi, Acro, and Adrian, he is trapped within his circumstances and is prompted to act out in a way that he knows will cause some kind of harm. This theme of Phoenix’s limited moral agency is encapsulated well in a conversation Phoenix has with Edgeworth on the second investigation day in “Farewell, My Turnabout.” At this point, Phoenix knows that Matt is guilty and is at a loss for what he should do. He explains to Edgeworth that he became a lawyer because he thought he could “save people in suffering and pain,” but now he cannot even protect Maya. He asks Edgeworth what he should do, and Edgeworth responds:

Another common thread across the main cases of Justice for All are characters turning away from painful truths. Mimi cannot admit to her fault in the medical malpractice incident, Acro cannot admit that there was no one person at fault for his brother’s accident, and Adrian cannot admit to the truth of her dependent personality. 

Indeed, Phoenix’s characterization throughout JFA emphasizes a tendency to avoid personal, painful truths rather than confront them. We see this primarily through his reactions to Maya when she brings up Edgeworth at various points; at every turn he avoids the conversation, eventually telling Maya to not bring up his name. Phoenix shows this attitude of avoidance at other points, such as his initial response to Maya asking him why Morgan framed her for murder. Phoenix tells Maya to move on from the situation, and it is only at her tearful insistence that he tells her the truth. Throughout the first half of “Farewell, My Turnabout,” we see Phoenix telling himself that Engarde “has to” be innocent despite his doubts. Phoenix’s avoidance of confronting painful truths resembles the situations of Mimi, Acro, and Adrian. However, Phoenix is ultimately able to overcome this avoidance when he does not let his circumstances get in the way of seeing the truth of Engarde’s guilt as well as the truth of Edgeworth’s commitment to helping Phoenix and Maya. 

Player Choice vs. Phoenix’s Canonical Arc

Analyzing the arc of Phoenix’s moral reasoning throughout “Farewell, My Turnabout” is somewhat tricky, as the player is given the option to request a “not guilty” verdict from the judge four different times; depending on the choice of the player, they may receive a few different lines of dialogue, but the player’s decision does not ultimately affect the flow of the trial or the outcome of the case. However, I would like to take a closer look at two of these “choice points” to make an argument that there is still a defined arc for Phoenix regardless of the players’ decisions. 

In the first two choice points, the player is given the opportunity to either: (a) request a not guilty verdict, or (b) continue the trial. In the last two choice points, the player is prompted to either (1) plead guilty or (2) plead not guilty. In terms of Phoenix’s character arc, I believe the first two choice points are more significant as, by comparing these choices and how player choice affects Phoenix’s actions, we can see a change in what Phoenix can do before he has accepted the truth of Engarde’s guilt and what he can do after.

At the first choice point, which occurs at the end of the first trial day, Phoenix will follow through with either option the player chooses. At this point in the trial, Phoenix has tried to pin the blame for Corrida’s murder on Adrian but is now doubting that she could be the murderer. Adrian appears extremely upset and is suddenly refusing to testify despite the fact she may be indicted for murder. When the Judge gives Phoenix the opportunity to call for a non guilty verdict, Edgeworth challenges Phoenix, insisting that he look at the facts of the case. If, despite his doubts, Phoenix chooses to request a not guilty verdict, he will think, “No matter what she says… Ms. Andrews is the only person it could be! Not to mention… I don’t have a choice. I have to win a complete acquittal today!” Here, Phoenix pushes his doubts away for the opportunity to secure the guilty verdict. 

By the second day of the trial, Phoenix has realized Engarde’s guilt and Gumshoe has told Phoenix to prolong the trial as much as possible to buy the police time to rescue Maya. In the middle of the trial, the player is faced with the same choice: request a “not guilty” verdict or request to prolong the trial. However, this time even if the player selects the option to request the “not guilty” verdict, Phoenix does not follow the players command, thinking: “It's no use... I can't... It feels like I've lost my voice...!” He cannot bring himself to do it. Regardless of the option the player selected, Phoenix then explains the following to Mia:

While Phoenix could request a “not guilty” verdict rather than have the trial continue on the first day, this happens before he knows the truth that Engarde is guilty. Now that he has accepted Engarde's guilt, Phoenix will not choose to request a verdict rather than continue to work with Edgeworth to prolong the trial. Importantly, he has also decided to trust Edgeworth based on his actions in the case up to this point, despite the fact that Edgeworth has the role of the opposing counsel and despite Phoenix’s personal anger with him.

I think that this decision is the most crucial to Phoenix's character arc in this case, since the player cannot override Phoenix’s choice to stay in this incredibly stressful situation and to trust in Edgeworth as long as he can. In the end, with the help of Franziska and Gumshoe, Phoenix and Edgeworth are able to draw out the trial until Phoenix can corner Engarde into pleading guilty; Phoenix was able to get to this seemingly impossible result because he did not turn away from the truth and he trusted Edgeworth, who would otherwise be his “enemy.” 

Justice for All subverts the first game’s portrayal of Phoenix as a morally autonomous savior of his clients. To be fair, Phoenix has always needed to rely on others to find the truth and win in court. However, “Farewell, My Turnabout” is the first time Phoenix finds himself in a situation where he is ethically cornered and has to rely on others so that he can do the right thing.