ðə sˈoʊmə klˈæn hˈaɪɚd ðə fˈeɪməs lˈɔɪɚ hˈoʊʃi tˈoːɹuː tə dᵻfˈɛnd ðɛɹ kˈeɪs, wˌɪtʃ wɛnt ˌɔn fɔːɹ jˈɪɹz, æz ðə lˈiːɡəl dˌɛfɪnˈɪʃən ʌv ɪnsˈænᵻɾi ænd ðə kwˌɔlɪfɪkˈeɪʃənz nˈɛsᵻsɚɹi fɚɹə dˈɑːktɚ tə dᵻklˈɛɹ ɐ pˈɜːsən mˈɛntəli ɪŋkˈɑːmpɪtənt wɜː nˌɑːt jˈɛt dᵻfˈaɪnd ɪn dʒˌæpənˈiːz dʒˈʊɹɹɪspɹˌuːdəns.
The Sōma clan hired the famous lawyer Hoshi Tōru to defend their case, which went on for years, as the legal definition of insanity and the qualifications necessary for a doctor to declare a person mentally incompetent were not yet defined in Japanese jurisprudence.