Did VFD want the Baudelaires on trial from the beginning?

[Foxy]

I don't think you can count on Mr. Helquist's illustrates, no matter how fantastic they are, to add additional clues to the story. From what I have been led to believe, there is very little actual contact from the author to the illustrator.

Maybe the bad side of the schism would want the children on trial, because they know they have the court packed with justices who are on their side.

I don't think V.F.D. was bad and wanted bad things to happen to the children. I think the plan is as innocent, if not misguided, as it seems in TPP.

[Dante]

It is true that part of the plan was for the Baudelaires' names to be cleared, so it's possible they were intended to be on trial in some respect; but I don't think the plan was for them to be the main event alongside Olaf.

[Dante]

I've addressed this specific example in your other thread on the subject, but Foxy is correct to say that the illustrations diverge from the textual descriptions with considerable frequency. With that said, your interpretation of the cover is not wrong. Helquist understood the atmosphere of the book very well, at least, when he depicted the Baudelaires in the centre of a crowd of unknown and suspicious figures, potentially sinister and hostile.