Court Cases

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Court Cases
Release date								9 June 2010 (Update)
Area								Seers' Village Courthouse
Members								Yes
Frequency								Item
Reset								Unknown edit
Skills								Combat
Currency								None

Court Cases are a Distraction and Diversion that is accessible after completing the King's Ransom quest. It was released on 9 June 2010 along with a developer blog which provided some insights into its development. Players also require level 65 Attack if they wish to prosecute or 65 Defence to defend during the case. The first court case can be tackled for free, but players must obtain a court summons to attempt court cases thereafter. Court Cases have a variety of rewards, including a total of 142,000 combat experience if all cases are completed.

Completing all of the court cases completes the achievement All Rise, which is a requirement for both the trimmed completionist cape and master quest cape. Unlike other Distractions and Diversions, Court Cases cannot be replayed as each case can only be completed once.

Getting started

The courthouse.

Players can take on their first court case immediately after the completion of King's Ransom by talking to the clerk in the Seers' Village Courthouse. The clerk will give the player their first case, which also acts as a tutorial, Mugger v. Roger Murray.

For general assistance in completing cases, see Completing cases below. For simple guides on each specific case, see Cases below.

Court summons

Main article: Court summons

A court summons interface.

Court summons are necessary in order to tackle court cases after the first case has been completed.

Court summons can only be obtained if the player does not have an active court case, does not already have a court summons, and has completed King's Ransom. They can be obtained through a variety of means:

• Monster drops
• Pickpocketing
• A drop from caskets
• A reward from hard or elite clue scrolls
• A reward from the Giant Oyster
• Dwarven instinct aura

Completing cases

When a player has a court summons, they can start the case by talking to the Clerk in the Seers' Village Courthouse and choose either to defend (requires 65 Defence) or to prosecute (requires 65 Attack). This choice will affect how the events of the case play out and the actions the player must take to succeed but do not affect final rewards.

Pre-trial

Players should begin each case by taking any relevant documents from the filing cabinet. These include:

• Up to 3 Case reports. The contents of the reports can differ from case to case but can include:
  • A fingerprint report, which players can use to match fingerprints to help their chances in the courtroom.
  • A circumstances and evidence report, which details the circumstances surrounding the case and any relevant evidence.
  • A Character background report, which contains background information on any characters relating to the case.
• A crime scene viewing orb and magnifying glass which can be used to inspect the crime scene for further clues.

Matching the fingerprints.

Once these items have been obtained, there are a number of activities a player can carry out before the trial, depending on their current case. The player should first read all court documents in order to learn the details of the case, as well as match any fingerprints. The court documents will often inform the player of which characters can be interviewed prior to the trial, as well as the location of the characters in question.

It is also possible in some cases to inspect the crime scene using the crime scene viewing orb. When inspecting a crime scene, players can use the magnifying glass to closely inspect certain objects and find additional clues which may help in the trial.

It is usually not necessary to perform every possible action before the trial, but each action taken can open up new arguments or interview questions during the trial, increasing the players chances of convincing the Jury and ultimately succeeding in the case.

Trial

The courtroom

When ready, the player may enter the courtroom to start the trial and argue their case, as they did in King's Ransom.

Cases start with the prosecution and then follow with the defence. During the case, players can talk to the judge in order to question witnesses or present evidence. The player can often only question witnesses if they interviewed them before the trial. In addition, the player may be unable to present certain evidence or make specific arguments about it if they did not discover enough about it before the trial.

Players are advised to carefully consider the evidence they present, the witnesses they question, and the questions they ask. Good choices can greatly help, but poor choices can hinder it.

Once the player is satisfied with their case, they can conclude the case and move to the verdict. In most cases, the player will be able to summarise their case to the Jury whereupon a specific Jury member can then be chosen and appealed to. For more information on selecting a Jury member, see Appealing to the Jury below.

The Jury.

If the player is successful in convincing the Jury, they are rewarded with a combat XP lamp and some items depending on the specific court case tackled. See Rewards below.

If the player is unsuccessful, the Jury will return an 'undecided' verdict and the judge will explain that the player needs to make their case clearer. The player will be returned to the clerk's room, keeping all of the necessary case files, and can proceed downstairs to try again as many times as needed until the case is won.

If the player chooses to abandon the case, the clerk will take it away and the player must obtain a new court summons before they can try again.

Jury

Main article: The Jury

The Jury agrees with you

The Jury is bored

The Jury must be convinced by the player's arguments in order to succeed in each case. Depending on the choices made, the Jury will respond in one of three ways to each witness or piece of evidence:

• The Jury agrees with your argument. (positive)
• The Jury disagrees with your argument. (negative)
• The Jury doesn't know what to think about your argument. (neutral)

Positive responses indicate that the Jury is becoming convinced, while negative responses indicate the opposite. Neutral responses appear to have little effect on the case.

The Jury will not respond further to any piece of evidence or witness which they have already given a positive or negative response for. This means that players cannot "undo" poor choices made during the trial.

Appealing to the Jury

The Jury selection screen.

When summarising their case, players can choose a Jury member to appeal to. Depending on the choice made, the outcome of the case can be influenced. Each jury member has a different personality which will determine how well they respond to the summary depending on the individual case. Wearing the ring of charos (a) while hovering the mouse over Jury members will show their personal background and interests, which can help when choosing which Jury member to appeal to.

Juror	Description
Ranger	A ranger, he prefers the bow and arrow to all other combat. He's a straight arrow and hates evil doers.
Wizard	A wizard, he researches the mysteries of life and performs magic.
Miner	A miner, works hard all day mining rocks. Likes to party in the evenings.
Cook	A cook, he spends all day making bread and stopping people stealing his cakes. He hates stew.
Shady Gentleman	A shady-looking gentleman. He's likely involved in the criminal underworld.
Young Man	A young man. He's concerned with starting his own business and making money. Also enjoys a rowdy party.
Barbarian	A barbarian. He is sensitive to any disrespect of his culture.
Elderly Gentleman	An elderly gentleman. He's worried about his safety and a rise in crime.
Young Woman	A young woman. She's concerned with the safety of her children.
Shady Individual	A shady-looking fellow. He covers up his face to hide his identity.
Desert Dweller	A desert citizen. She doesn't have much love for mainlanders.
Elderly Citizen	An elderly gentleman. He doesn't like parties or noise.

Cases

There are a total of 16 cases, all of which have guides listed below. There are often several paths to victory in a court case; the guides are not definitive but show one successful path. Players may view which court cases they have completed by interacting with the clerk and choosing the "Check cases." dialogue option.

Case	Description
Mugger v. Roger Murray	The Mugger is accused of beating Roger Murray unconscious and stealing his recent gambling winnings.
River troll v. The People	The river troll is accused of littering.
Drunken Dwarf v. The People	The Drunken dwarf is accused of accosting Botros and throwing rocks at him.
Evil Twin v. Good Twin	Moira is accused of the theft of Molly's identity.
Rick Turpentine v. The (Rich) People	Rick Turpentine is accused of mugging Richard Maney.
The Frog Prince v. The People	The frog prince is charged with scamming Flora in order to obtain a kiss.
Sawmill Man v. The People	Will is bringing suit against the sawmill operator for monopolising the wooden plank industry.
Party Pete v. His Neighbours	Party Pete's neighbour, Ikis Krum, accuses Party Pete of making noise over the legal limit.
Ernest v. Professor Oddenstein	Professor Oddenstein is accused by Ernest of unlawfully turning him into a chicken.
Miss Schism v. Draynor Village	Miss Schism is charged with slander and interfering with the ongoing investigation into the Draynor Bank robbery. Requires completion of Love Story to receive court summons drop.
EVIL DAVE v. The People	Evil Dave is accused of evilness. Requires completion of Recipe for Disaster: Freeing Evil Dave to receive court summons drop.
H.A.M. v. Dorgeshuun	Gamdin is suing H.A.M. for abuse. H.A.M. is counter-suing Gamdin for theft. Requires completion of The Chosen Commander to receive court summons drop.
The Sandwich Lady v. The People	The Sandwich Lady is charged with assault with a deadly baguette.
The Mime v. The People	The Mime is charged with mimicry.
Barbarians v. Wizards	The wizards are seeking reparations for the destruction of the Mage Training Arena during the barbarian invasion.
The Gravedigger v. The People	The Gravedigger is accused of grave robbing by the families of the dead.

Rewards

Congratulations, you win!

If the player is successful in prosecuting or defending the suspect, they are entitled to a reward. Players can collect their reward from the clerk on the ground floor^[UK]1^st floor^[US] of the courthouse. Players are unable to obtain another court summons until they accept the reward.

Each case will award one or more mystery boxes as well as a combat XP lamp which gives a varying experience reward (depending on the case) in a chosen combat skill. Some cases award additional items, and further rewards can also be obtained upon completing a specific number of cases.

Case Rewards

Case	Experience	Item(s)	Net worth
Mugger v. Roger Murray	2,000	1 mystery box	0
River troll v. The People	3,500	20 sharks and 1 mystery box	9,060
Drunken Dwarf v. The People	5,000	20 gold stone spirits, a kebab, and 1 mystery box	15,308
Evil Twin v. Good Twin	6,500	5 uncut sapphires and 1 mystery box	2,100
Rick Turpentine v. The (Rich) People	8,000	3 uncut rubies and 1 mystery box	1,221
The Frog Prince v. The People	9,000	2 mystery boxes	0
Sawmill Man v. The People	9,000	30 teak planks and 1 mystery box	12,090
Party Pete v. His Neighbours	9,000	The rainbow afro and 1 mystery box	0
Ernest v. Professor Oddenstein	10,000	100 feathers, 15 red feathers, 15 yellow feathers, 15 blue feathers, 20 raw bird meat, and 1 mystery box	22,860
Miss Schism v. Draynor Village	9,000	1 humble pie and 1 mystery box	0
EVIL DAVE v. The People	9,000	5 spicy stews and 1 mystery box	0
H.A.M. v. Dorgeshuun	15,000	100 cave goblin wire, 5 uncut rubies, and 1 mystery box	669,635
The Sandwich Lady v. The People	9,000	2 mystery boxes	0
The Mime v. The People	9,000	2 mystery boxes and the Faint emote.	0
Barbarians v. Wizards	20,000	10 dagannoth hides, 50 law runes, and 1 mystery box	36,830
The Gravedigger v. The People	9,000	2 mystery boxes	0

The net worth does not include the value of any items found inside mystery boxes.

Threshold rewards

Cases complete	Reward
5	Barrister wig
10	Barrister top
16	Gavel Title: [Name] the Detective

Achievement

• All Rise ( 50) – Complete all Court Cases and claim a gavel and the 'the Detective' title from the courthouse clerk.

Music

Music unlocked:

• Judge and Jury

Transcript

This article has an associated transcript page. Click here for the transcript.

Update history

This information has been compiled as part of the update history project. Some updates may not be included—see here for how to help out!

• patch 7 September 2020 (Update):
  • Court Case dialogue involving H.A.M. has been updated.

• patch 1 September 2020 (Update):
  • Viewing Orb information is no longer displayed if the Orb was used in previous Court Cases.

• patch 23 July 2018 (Update):
  • Selecting a member of the Jury in Court cases will now correctly proceed with the trial.

• patch 9 January 2017 (Update):
  • Rick Turpentine's name now appears correctly during court cases.

• patch 4 January 2016 (Update):
  • Prizes from mystery boxes gained from a Court Case will now stack correctly with another prize of the same kind, rather than giving multiple stacks of the same item.

• patch 15 June 2015 (Update):
  • References to the H.A.M. hideout's old location have been removed from the H.A.M. vs Dorgeshuun court case.

• patch 11 August 2014 (Update):
  • Balloons no longer appear outside the courtroom after winning a court case.

• patch 19 May 2014 (Update):
  • Defence XP rewards from Court Cases no longer give Attack XP.

• ninja 17 March 2014 (Update):
  • Court cases will now award xp lamps as opposed to direct xp when completing a case successfully.

• patch 25 September 2013 (Update):
  • After completing the Seers' Village courthouse case "Party Pete VS His Neighbours", players will now be able to see Party Pete's name appear in their court case history, viewable via the court's clerk.

• patch 10 September 2013 (Update):
  • Players can now move the camera during a court case.

• patch 11 December 2012 (Update):
  • Fixed an issue with mixed-up Gravedigger fingerprints in a court case.

• patch 19 September 2012 (Update):
  • The Court Cases gavel is now awarded when a player completes the correct amount of Court Cases.

• patch 30 April 2012 (Update):
  • It is now possible to destroy Court Case objects if a player manages to get hold of them outside of a court case.

• patch 22 November 2011 (Update):
  • It is now possible to use mouse-cam during a Court case.

• patch 17 August 2011 (Update):
  • Fingerprints in Court Cases will no longer state that they are not matched up correctly when they are.

• patch 24 November 2010 (Update):
  • The river troll from the Court Cases Distraction & Diversion now uses the correct animations.

• patch 2 November 2010 (Update):
  • The jury members in the court cases D&D have had their animations tidied up.
  • The H.A.M. court case has had some typos fixed.

• patch 15 September 2010 (Update):
  • Corrected a few typos in Court Cases.

• patch 15 June 2010 (Update):
  • Corrected several typos in the initial selection of court cases.
  • The court case clerk will now conduct extra checks to see if you're eligible for your reward.

• update 9 June 2010 (Update):
  • Added to game.

Trivia

• Court Cases were updated as part of the 26 May 2015 D&D updates, removing the 14 days wait time between cases, adding mystery boxes as rewards for all cases, and changing the experience lamp rewards. Players that had previously completed the Court Cases were not rewarded with the mystery boxes.
• If the first "free" court case is not completed before getting a court summons, it still uses up the court summons to complete it, thus losing the free one permanently.