"Do you know where you are?"

"The Boneyard, awaiting trial."

The details of how she got there are a little fuzzy, she doesn't remember dying and even if she had she would have expected to just wake up in Heaven, but noticing that confusion doesn't give her a good line towards resolving it.

"Not awaiting anymore, but yes. Does it sound to you like we are speaking in a language you understand, using words you are familiar with, at a speed you can follow?"

"Yes."

"Do you understand that you had, while alive, the capacity to take actions, and that those actions had effects on the world and on other people?"

"Yes."

That was the whole point of choosing to follow Iomedae, to dedicate herself to making Golarion a better place.

"Do you understand that the purpose of this court is to determine your alignment and which afterlife you are assigned to?"

"Yes."

"Then we may begin. I believe Heaven, as the recipient presumptive, wished to make opening statements first?"

"Yes, Your Honor. Louisa Hoffman has dedicated her life to the cause of good since a very young age - nearly as young as we start assigning moral culpability, in fact, though the lean was less strong then. Law starts later - early life was within the typical bound that has previously been deemed neutral for minors by the court - but she began to devote herself to it around the age of 13, when she settled on primarily following Iomedae. Following a god is also typically held to be strongly indicative of alignment - Hell v Fritjof -5192, among many others - and we have a strong array of other acts to support this interpretation. The petitioner in question consistently acted not to misrepresent their commitments, followed bargains, obeyed their sworn oath as a Paladin, the last for Law and Good, plus numerous cases of fighting demons at the worldwound, putting undead to rest, defending the innocent, etc. Dozens to hundreds of counts for each.

"It's a clear ruling for Law and Good - Heaven gets her."

"And Hell's stance?"

"Hell concurs on Good, though we may take some issue with the specific accounting in later proceedings, but objects to Law. Louisa Hoffman is Neutral Good."

What are they playing at? Hell never argues for neutral good, not even on open and shut cases, except to argue against a chaotic ruling. And looking at their file, there really isn't much of a case for chaos. Even the rookie arguers for Hell don't make that kind of mistake, so it's not just about how this isn't someone they've seen before-

Wait, no, they do recognize that kind of Devil. Shit.

"Objection, your honor. Hell's counsil is a Deimavigga, and as per Shelyn v Pharasma -7925 use of mind-effecting supernatural abilities in trial courts is forbidden and grounds for ejection, with particularly egregious cases even allowing for official censure. I move to disbar them from the court, we can take a short recess while Hell secures alternate counsel."

"My own abilities in such regards are strictly voluntary, and I of course gave my Lawful oath not to use them here when I informed our Judge I was taking this case, as Shelyn v Pharasma requires. My sincere apologies if this was not relayed to you in time."

Yeah, by itself that was never going to do more than buy time unless Hell really dropped the ball. They're going to have to be careful with this next bit to limit how much they annoy Axis, though, or else risk granting Hell an unforced victory, but the alternative of them not making it is-

"Objection. I also wasn't informed of this, and I read through all the documentation prior to arrival. Besides, it's not like a Devil's word is worth much even when you have it in writing, do you really think I'm stupid enough to accept a gesture at an oral promise sight unseen?"

"Was anyone else not aware of this?"

Oops, that was in the briefing wasn't it. It hadn't really registered as important prior to Nirvana pointing it out, not with how open and shut this trial seemed.

"Heaven was informed, your honor."

"Axis was likewise informed."

"In that case, per Calistria v Pharasma-"

"The evidence does not rise to the level of evidence for discrimination by alignment that case requires for the measure you want, but I am nevertheless not amused. Deimavigga, I've given you some slack and you've already twisted it up nearly into a noose before the trial began, if you try anything via loopholes in your oath to violate so much as the spirit of the agreement you made to me I will ensure Hell has cause to regret it, do I make myself clear?"

"Of course, Your Honor."

"I think it's still for the best that we all actually hear this oath, if you're not willing to toss them out on the spot. I know my abilities with infernal contracts are limited to knowing they're in enough bad faith not to sign, but at least Axis and Heaven should be able to take steps to figure out what bullshit they're trying to slip past us."

"I concur."

"Very well, let's get this done before the proceedings get too far underway. Please repeat what you swore to me."