“The defendant is predicted to be… not guilty.”
Silence fell over the courtroom.
Even the air in the gallery seemed frozen.
My eyes remained fixed on the source of the voice—
the large monitor mounted at the front of the courtroom.
Verdict Prediction: NOT GUILTY
The white letters stayed on the screen.
There were three judges present.
I sat in the center.
To my left was the associate judge.
To my right, the court clerk.
And apart from all of us…
stood a single black terminal.
Themis.
The Judicial Decision AI.
No one in the courtroom regarded its presence as unusual anymore.
Just as judges wore robes.
Just as every courtroom had a witness stand.
Just as every verdict required a written opinion.
Themis had simply become another part of the courtroom.
“Your Honor.”
The prosecutor rose to his feet.
“The prosecution requests disclosure of the basis for that prediction.”
“Granted.”
I answered without hesitation.
Lowering my eyes, I looked back at the case file before me.
Defendant: Shingo Saeki.
Thirty-two years old.
Charged with arson and murder.
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In the early hours of December 14th last year, a fire broke out in an apartment building within the city.
A man’s body was later discovered among the ruins.
Cause of death:
Carbon monoxide poisoning.
The fire had originated near the entrance.
Investigators concluded that gasoline had been used as an accelerant.
The evidence appeared overwhelming.
Security cameras near the scene captured the defendant running from the building moments after the fire began.
His fingerprints were found on a gasoline container recovered at the scene.
Soot recovered from his clothing matched the combustion residue inside the victim’s apartment.
His cellphone location data also placed him in the immediate area at the time of the crime.
I had served as a judge for more than twenty years.
I had presided over countless cases built upon evidence like this.
That was precisely why…
I could not understand why Themis had predicted Not Guilty.
A soft electronic tone echoed through the courtroom.
Analysis in Progress
No one spoke.
Reporters filled the gallery.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on the monitor.
The courtroom itself had changed since Themis was introduced.
Years ago, judges spent endless hours searching through legal precedents, comparing witness testimony, and examining every piece of evidence one by one before reaching a conclusion.
Now…
Themis completed that work in mere seconds.
Contradictions between pieces of evidence.
The credibility of witness testimony.
The reliability of forensic methods.
Signs that submitted documents had been altered or manipulated.
Even microscopic inconsistencies no human investigator would ever notice.
The AI analyzed them all.
Because of that, the role of a judge had changed.
The AI established the facts.
Humans decided how those facts should be judged.
For more than a decade after its adoption…
There had never been a confirmed miscarriage of justice attributed to Themis.
Wrongful convictions had fallen dramatically.
Appeals for retrials had become increasingly rare.
When it was first introduced, newspapers called it…
“The Age of Judgment by AI.”
Eventually, that phrase disappeared.
“The AI doesn’t judge people.”
“Humans still deliver the final verdict.”
That explanation became the accepted truth.
And before long…
No one questioned it anymore.
“The analysis is complete.”
The clerk spoke quietly.
I raised my eyes.
New text appeared on the screen.
Major defects detected in a portion of the submitted evidence.
The prosecutor’s eyebrows twitched.
Even the defense attorney stared at the screen in visible surprise.
I addressed Themis.
“Display the details.”
A few seconds later…
Another line appeared.
Evidence of deliberate manipulation detected in the timestamp of the security camera footage.
The courtroom erupted into whispers.
In the victims’ gallery…
the victim’s widow slowly shook her head.
“…No…”
Her voice was barely audible.
Beside her, her teenage son gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
Across the room…
the defendant remained motionless.
Despite the prediction of acquittal,
he showed no sign of relief.
Only his clasped hands,
resting on his knees,
trembled ever so slightly.
Something about that trembling bothered me.
If he had truly believed in his own innocence all this time…
wouldn’t he have reacted differently?
Or…
was that simply my own assumption?
“Counsel for the prosecution.”
I broke the silence.
“Do you wish to respond to this finding?”
The prosecutor slowly rose to his feet.
His eyes remained fixed on the monitor.
His expression never changed.
Only the fingers gripping his case file…
tightened almost imperceptibly.