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| “ | He won that innocent verdict for no one but himself. Yogi was a free man, but socially, he was ruined. | „ |
| ~ Marvin Grossberg describing Robert Hammond's role in DL-6. |
Robert Hammond (named Yukio Namakura in the Japanese version) is a minor antagonist of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and the victim of the game's fourth case, "Turnabout Goodbyes". He was a defense attorney and former associate of Mia Fey who defended Yanni Yogi during the DL-6 Incident.
In the anime, he was voiced by Eisuke Sasai in Japanese and by Blake Shepard in English.
Biography[]
Robert Hammond was a skilled criminal defence attorney employed at Grossberg Law Offices, and a colleague of Mia Fey during her time at the firm; at one point, he briefly met Mia's younger sister, Maya, while the latter was spending time with the former at the law office. Hammond was often at odds with Mia and the rest of his colleagues, as he never placed any trust in his clients or cared about their guilt or innocence, believing only in his own skill and prioritising on winning his cases for his own gain. Despite his conflicts with his fellow lawyers in the firm, his dedication and skill were never in doubt.
In December 2001, Hammond was hired by court bailiff Yanni Yogi, who had been accused of murdering veteran defence attorney Gregory Edgeworth while trapped in a District Court elevator during a blackout. The evidence seemed to condemn Yogi, including the testimony of Gregory's spirit (channelled by Misty Fey), who identified Yogi as his murderer. In order to win the case, Hammond convinced Yogi to plead temporary insanity and fake brain damage from oxygen deprivation while trapped in the elevator. The ruse was successful, and Yogi was ruled as not criminally responsible for Gregory's murder. However, as a result of his insanity plea, Yogi's life was ruined; he lost both his job as a court bailiff and his social standing, and his fiancée, Polly Jenkins, committed suicide. Following his court victory, Hammond would keep a low profile for the next 15 years, eventually leaving Grossberg's law firm.
On Christmas Eve 2016, Hammond travelled to Gourd Lake after recieving a letter from Yogi to meet him there. Upon his arrival, Yogi, wanting revenge on his former lawyer for ruining his life, shot and killed Hammond in his shack. Also wanting revenge on Gregory's son, Miles, who he believed to be the true culprit of the murder that had changed his life for the worse, Yogi had sent a letter to the younger Edgeworth under the guise of Hammond, also requesting to meet at Gourd Lake. Donning Hammond's coat to disguise himself, Yogi met with Edgeworth and took him out to the lake on a boat, where he fired his gun at the prosecutor before throwing himself overboard, leaving the gun still on the boat with Edgeworth. Swimming back to shore, Yogi put Hammond's coat back onto his corpse and dumped it in the lake, creating the illusion that Edgeworth had murdered the attorney; Edgeworth, stunned by the sudden turn of events and believing that he had witnessed a suicide, further implicated himself by picking up the gun and placing his fingerprints on it in a daze.
Edgeworth was subsequently arrested and placed on trial for Hammond's murder, with the trial being prosecuted by his mentor, Manfred von Karma. However, Edgeworth's defence attorney and childhood friend, Phoenix Wright, was able to prove that Yogi was the killer. It was also revealed that von Karma had sent Yogi a letter with specific instructions on how to carry out Hammond's murder and frame Edgeworth, and that von Karma was also the real murderer of Gregory 15 years prior.
