Much of the case had rested on a debate about what did and did not constitute free will. The ability to make choices for oneself without any outside or undue influence. As Robards had warned Harry, coercion didn't always spell "Imperius Curse" – children could still be just as impressionable without one, especially when trapped in a power dynamic with an adult whose sense of ethics could be clearly called into suspect question. Depending on how the jury ruled now, Daphne Greengrass vs. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry could act as a bellwether for many of the prosecutions against former Slytherin students for months and even years to come.