chapotraphouse

You don't understand. They had to concentrate on fringe inconsequential technicalities because that's what big book of rules said to do. They needed to follow all the rules to build an ironclad case to maintain the legitimacy of the judicial system. Because the rules. Otherwise there might be some sort of crisis of legitimacy. Like when a bunch of frothing chuds stormed the building in a failed coup and they slow walked the reaction to it, thus proving the impotence of the rule followers.