they already have the sprite for it

During the credits, Simon talks with someone whose father is accused of something... my question is: Is that person supposed to be someone we know? I mean, I've been thinking about it but I don't really know, I feel like I'm missing something important....O'Conner maybe? And, well, I loved how Blackquill went there for Aura's defense

ladders vs stepladders i always keep seeing people say

Yeah, it's another moment like when you're checking the lighter.

How did Athena's mom ever get a psychological exam result from the phantom?

She probably got it when Mr. Nameless was blackmailing Yuri Cosmos.

wouldn't she have to personally have him in the flesh to do the test unless she did it through the phone

For instance, when "ATHENA STABBED THE REAL CULPRIT" appeared on screen, along with a mighty WHAM, in big, bold, black letters - and especially the perfect silence that followed after? It's been a while since my spine has received that much of a shiver.

L'belle is the killer.

a demon killing a person when it's actually a human, thus rendering the entire argument that a demon could have been a possible suspect moot. Then again, no one could believe what the defense was daring to spout.

Why bother make a "The victim was murdered by a demon!" locked room if you're going to show that it was a human at the very start?

So... In the English localization of the game, Mr. Tonate's implied motive for stealing bombs is to sell them on the black market. However I was looking at the profile on this site, and in Tonate's spoiler tag, it states that he steals bombs to keep in a private collection because he is so passionate about.
Now, I know any site can be prone to errors, but this seems like it could be a legit holdover from information sourced from the Japanese release. What I NEED to know is if this is true or not. Was Barashima Shingo's affection for mechanics/bombs the sole intention in his thefts? Can I get a direct translation of his confession?

If this is true, it actually changes his character a bit and makes a heck of a lot more sense! In fact, it actually makes me appreciate him even more than I already have, which I thought impossible! One of my biggest questions about the character was: What kind of factors would play in his life where he would be so desperate for money to sell the bombs when it is even evidenced in the localization that he has a fixation with, and longing desire for them. This would sure clear it up, but it really makes me wonder why they'd change a detail like that even though it's obvious he's completely enamored with the HH-3000.
Think about it - He finds it regrettable he couldn't replicate the detonation mechanism and it's sexy puzzling wiring. - His whole bluff about having the HH-3000 involved him stealing it because he was obsessed with it's unique properties. "I just had to have it" - He gets adorably excited in the most geeky way when shown the photo of the fragments of the bomb's components...wishing he could have them. It's all right there. Please tell me it's true.

Another thing I found odd was the Judge had him arrested on suspicion of the courtroom bombing and the assault on Mr. Justice, but said nothing about the murder of Candice Arme. Is the localization missing something here, or am I?

He was selling them on the black market in the Japanese version too, IIRC.

There are a lot of odd inconsistencies about Tonate and his situation that are driving me crazy.
Well, looks like I'm potentially back to square one. It's the curse of falling in love with a character that isn't meant to be examined so thoroughly...

1. How did no one else see that Means was missing from the balcony? Only Hugh seems to have spotted him, but the assembly hall has stadium seating, meaning Hugh is at the bottom! The only person in a worse position to see Means' balcony is Robin. Juniper, at least, should have noticed that neither of her judges were actually watching the trial as she ran back and forth through the seats!

Athena's knife (and its bloody DNA evidence) goes entirely unaccounted for in the final mix-up, doesn't it? Where did that end up?

Who knows, maybe the mock trial was just that hectic. The entitled "genius" was getting his butt kicked, after all. I suppose Hugh's eyes just wandered up there at some point.

It's assumed the spy disposed of it somewhere. Where that is, is never explained.

I think you can explain this if Means was in a private "box". In other words, it had three walls, with the fourth one opening out to view the stage. If it were like that, then the people to the "side" of the box (the audience) wouldn't be able to see it; the only person who would be able to see into it was the person standing across from it, Hugh.

there are still some people in the gallery with a similar view to Hugh, even if they didn't see any need to look up. Who really looks at a teacher during a speech? Between the points you've both brought up, though, I think that minimizes the number of people.

Maybe it was also in the capsule, but the game devs didn't draw attention to it because the only thing you could prove was the moon rocks?

About Athena's knife, I always thought it was the same knife which killed Terran...