Part IV, Book Twelve, Chapter 1-3 , Part IV, Book Twelve, Chapter 6-9 Summary

The trial begins to a packed courthouse. When Mitya is asked if he is guilty of killing his father, he admits to being guilty of being a drunkard and a scoundrel, but not a murderer or thief. In Chapter 2, the defense attorney proceeds to examine each of the witnesses presented by the prosecution in a very effective way, damaging each testimony enough to create questions about what they say. In Chapter 3, the medical experts are called in, three of them, and their opinions are so different they are useless. The town doctor begins telling stories about Mitya as a young man, and remembers buying Mitya a pound of nuts when he was a little boy.

In Chapter 4, Alyosha is called to...