Justine Courtney

Hakari Mikagami is a judge determined to see an end to Miles Edgeworth's career. She is part of an organization called the "Prosecutorial Investigation Committee"; an influential organization consisting of 11 members selected by politicians and people involved in the legal world. She is tasked with observing the movements of prosecutors in order to determine who is unqualified, an activity the committee calls the "Prosecutor Purge". Edgeworth is one such prosecutor under evaluation, and Mikagami attempts to replace him with another prosecutor called Yumihiko Ichiyanagi.

A murder in a prison

 * Main article: The Imprisoned Turnabout

Mikagami made her first appearance during Edgeworth's brief investigation of Manosuke Naitō's murder. She wanted to meet him personally, in order convey the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee's message - Edgeworth was to be relieved of his authority in the case. She claimed he overstepped his authority as a prosecutor when he entered Teikun Ō's private jet, as it was protected by extraterritorial rights, and he ordered the search of the president's officials, thereby attracting the Committee's attention. Mikagami expressed her belief that his way of thinking was dangerous and that breaking the rules goes against the very heart and soul of law. If Edgeworth were to resist further, he would lose his badge for good. She then let the young prosecutor, Yumihiko Ichiyanagi, fresh out of law school, take over the case.

IS-7 resurfaces

 * Main article: The Inherited Turnabout

Tsubasa Kagome's murder

 * Main article: The Forgotten Turnabout

Mikagami later revealed that the fake autopsy report of IS-7 Incident is forged by Otome Itami and the one who forced her to do that is Bansai Ichiyanagi.

The trial of Miwa and Bansai

 * Main article: The Grand Turnabout

Mikagami was assigned to the trial of Miwa and Bansai as the Judgette. Through a game of Logic Chess, Edgeworth realised that she was forced by Bansai and if she handled a guilty verdict to him, her son, Shimon, will die. But thanks to Kay and Gumshoe, Shimon was successfully rescued and so Bansai and Miwa were convicted.

Personality
When first met, Mikagami is well-spoken and respectful. She has a great sense of justice as shown when Edgeworth presented that Kazami could still be arrested as the real deadline for IS-7 was 18 years. She then stopped defending Kazami and allowed the cross-examination to continue. However, when challenged she is a fierce rival and extremely calculating, often with her serene smile intact. She has a verging-on-zealous devotion to the law. She calls herself the "Goddess of Law" and uses many religious phrases. She also referred to herself as "an agent of law's strength".

She became Shimon's mother figure, after his real mother died. She is very protective of him, willing to suspend her dedication to justice when his life is threatened.

Mikagami is also a remarkably polite person, using Watakushi, the most polite pronoun to address herself and the -sama suffix to address everyone else, which mean she respects them.

Design
Mikagami has her own unique phrase equivalent to "Objection!": "Overruled!", a more fitting exclamation for a judge. A similar change was previously done with Shi-Long Lang. Mikagami also occasionally extends her hammer and says this whenever Edgeworth presents wrong evidence.

Name

 * Hakari (秤) means "scale," which reflects her career as a judge. It may also come from hikari (光), which means "light."
 * Mikagami comes from kami gami (神々), which means "[the] gods.", as well as kagami (鏡), meaning "Mirror". (The mirror is a symbol of godlike wisdom in Japanese mythology.)