Hugh O'Conner

Hugh O’Conner is a cool-headed and snobbish third-year student at Themis Legal Academy, where he is studying to become a defense attorney. Often seen reading through "Zen and the Art of Mastering the Bar Exam", he is considered a genius by many of his fellow students, since he is deemed a perfectionist by his perfect scores. O'Conner is also considered an ace of the school's archery club and normally carries a bow around with him.

He is friendly with judge student Juniper Woods, and there were rumors at the school that he was involved in a love triangle for her affections with hot-headed prosecutor student Robin Newman.

Friendships tested

 * Main article: Turnabout Academy

After failing his classes, O'Conner took a seven-year break from school for an apprenticeship and learning period for a job as a construction equipment operator, something that he was ashamed of. This meant that he was far older than his fellow students (25 rather than the usual 18), and so he decided to keep both his age and job a secret. While at school, he befriended Juniper Woods and Robin Newman; the latter made friendship bands as "proof of friendship" between them. O'Conner wore his band around his neck, concealed by his uniform's collar.

When O'Conner's grades began to improve drastically (with him achieving perfect scores on all his tests), he began to believe he was a genius - but eventually, he found out that his "perfect scores" at school were actually the result of of his parents bribing Prof. Aristotle Means to change the grades on his assignments. He angrily confronted his parents over the phone, and happened to be overheard by Juniper. O'Conner became convinced that the friendship he shared with Juniper was over, thinking that Juniper hated him for who he really was, and became cold and distant from her and Newman.

On the day of the murder, O'Conner had been working the crane involved in setting up the stage for the festival, where he witnessed Juniper (and later testified about it in court.) In the art toom, he saw a script submitted by Myriam Scuttlebutt, the editor of the school newspaper, to be used in the mock trial. Myriam had held an apparent grudge against the trio and spread various malicious stories through her paper, including a circulating rumor that he and Newman were in a love triangle for Woods' affections. Thinking that the script was another nasty tabloid, he attempted to open it, but was injured by Myriam's booby-trapped envelope, leaving blood on the pottery display near the window facing the maintenance area. Fleeing the scene, he was witnessed by Juniper with his hands bloodied. Juniper would later suspect him as Courte's murderer, due to his injury and her report giving Hugh a motive, but withheld her suspicions from Athena to protect Hugh until she finally caved from Apollo's questioning.

Prior to the trial, O'Conner was handed a record tape by Professor Means to be given to the police as evidence. He made a deal with Simon Blackquill to testify against Juniper, in exchange for concealing the truth about his age and part-time job. Athena called his testimony into question, pointing out that he had met with the victim and suggested that he had manipulated the voice recording to hide the true killer's gender. At the end of the first portion of the trial, however, he claimed (separately from Newman) that he was the murderer, forcing the judge to suspend proceedings without a definitive verdict. Later that day O'Conner informed Athena and Apollo that he would testify again to prove his innocence, claiming that his friendship with Juniper had ended and he had no intention of protecting her whatsoever.

The following day, O'Conner took the stand again, testifying that he had witnessed Juniper set up the scene for moving Courte's body in accordance with her script. Through the cross-examination, Athena identified him as the crane operator who helped set up the stage, leaving Blackquill to reveal O'Conner's secret: he was really 25, and had failed his tests consistently, forcing him to repeat his senior year. Upon learning that this testimony still placed Juniper under suspicion, O'Conner suddenly claimed that he had masterminded Courte's murder, and he had used a body double for the mock trial, breaking his own alibi.

Everyone present realized this new testimony was preposterous, but O'Conner demanded that Athena review his testimony with the Mood Matrix. Athena deduced that O'Conner had, in fact, wanted to protect Juniper at all costs, even if it meant lying in his testimony and taking her place in prison. He believed that she no longer thought of him as a friend but could not bear to see her in trouble either. Athena responded that Juniper likewise attempted to protect O'Conner, and that Juniper and Newman must both be holding onto the proof of their friendship, just as he has. As he recalled a happier moment when Newman, Juniper and he shared their friendship bands, Juniper and Newman showed up in court, revealing that they were indeed still wearing their bands as proof of the bond they shared. Ashamed of the doubt he had over his friends, O'Conner burst into tears on the witness stand. He admitted that his testimony about having a body double was a lie.

Despite the erraticity of his testimony, Athena realized a crucial fact that O'Conner revealed: Professor Means was not in his seat during the mock trial. Athena also showed that the tape containing Juniper's incriminating yell was a forgery, horrifying O'Conner as he had handed it to the police on Means' orders. With Means' alibi now in question, this allowed Athena to call him as a witness and prove him guilty.

Personality
O'Conner had a habit of viewing other people as "lesser" than himself due to his seemingly genius-level intellect, although this was really all a show. In reality, he is underconfident and ashamed of the fact that he was out of school for several years, referring to each individual year as "a mistake", and becomes extremely nervous and flustered when his supposed genius is brought to task. Despite his lying to cover up his embarrassing deficiencies as a student, he holds himself to a high standard, to the point that he asked his parents' bribery to stop upon realizing the truth.

Like Juniper and Newman, O'Conner took the friendship he shared with them to heart, and the idea that Juniper no longer thought of him as a friend devastated him. Despite this, he tried his best to cover for her by any means necessary, to the point of naming himself as the murderer.

O'Conner wore his "proof of friendship" around his neck, and would frequently place his hand over it when flustered.

Name

 * His Japanese family name comes from the word "shizuka" (静か/閑か), meaning "quiet" or "peaceful". Part of his name also contains the word "ya", meaning "arrow", referring to him being skilled at archery.


 * "Rei" (冷), his Japanese given name, means "cold" or "zero", referencing both his aloof personality, and the fact that his test scores are artificially inflated and his own view of his "lowly" job as a construction worker. "Rei" is also part of the term "reisei" (冷静), which means "calm" or "composure", referencing his supposedly cold personality.


 * His English given name "Hugh" comes from the Old French aristocratic and saint's name "Hughe", which itself originates from Germanic names beginning with the element "hug", meaning "heart" or "mind". The latter meaning fits well with his supposed "intelligence".


 * The "O" in his surname can be seen as the number zero, referring to his less than stellar scores, while "Conner" could refer to his "conning" his fellow students into believing he was a genius and still a teenager.


 * His full name also intentionally sounds similar to the phrase "you're a goner", which is used by Cykes to try to persuade the court that a voice on a tape recorder was O'Conner being shouted at by Constance Courte. This turned out to be untrue.

Development

 * O'Conner and Newman are polar opposites in terms of personalities and the color of their uniforms. It is a common theme in popular culture for two linked individuals to have one have a red color scheme and the other a blue color scheme. The red individual tends to be extroverted, hot-blooded, and enthusiastic, while their blue opposite tends to be more introverted, intellectual, and proud.