61: Chapter 60: Zhang Wei’s Questions, Witness List Obtained 61: Chapter 60: Zhang Wei’s Questions, Witness List Obtained The Grand Courtroom.
The pretrial scene.
Both the prosecution and defense are in place.
Lead prosecutor Huang Fang, deputy Zhao Jing.
Lead defense attorney, Zhang Wei, with no deputy.
The defendant, Wang Yuqing.
Outside the Grand Courtroom, the dia sward, but the Court Guard tily closed the doors, cutting off nearly half of the journalists.
There was no helping it, the Grand Courtroom, though large, could only accommodate hundreds of people; all the seats in the hearing section were now full.
If you want to grab a seat, better co early next ti.
“All rise, please welco the Honorable Judge!”
As everyone stood up, the judge entered the scene.
“Hmm, it’s Calm Bro…”
Seeing who the judge was, Zhang Wei was slightly taken aback.
The judge, wearing a pair of black-frad glasses and an indifferent expression with a touch of seriousness, wasn’t it the presiding judge from the previous Tang Chunfeng case?
Zhang Wei wasn’t interested in the judge’s na; he only knew him as Calm Bro.
Calm Bro walked to the bench, glanced at the defense seats, and also felt a slight surprise in his heart.
Quite the lad, this one!
He rembered Zhang Wei could cause quite a stir.
Last ti, not only had he won against Procuratorate Headquarters, but Calm Bro himself had to apologize to the defendant for the sake of judiciary’s reputation.
He hoped that this ti there wouldn’t be any funny business!
“Please be seated!”
Calm Bro pushed up his glasses, suppressing a slight unease in his heart, and then gestured towards the defense seats.
“Defense, please state your trial proposition!”
“Your Honor, the defense requests an acquittal!”
Calm Bro glanced at Zhang Wei with a bit of surprise; he had thought the defense would ask for a discretionary sentence reduction.
But it made sense too, the potential sentence in this case was too severe, the bare minimum being life imprisonnt, and possibly even the death penalty; sentence reduction would not apply to such a case.
“So, the defense’s proposition is clear.
Now please welco the grand jury to enter and begin the pretrial!”
Calm Bro declared with a knock of the gavel, and the jury began to enter.
From the prosecution’s seats, Huang Fang’s eyes narrowed slightly, while Zhao Jing flipped through the files in her hands.
In the hearing section, Zhao Chunming’s eyes also narrowed, while Xiao Baihe and Tan Yingying looked incredibly grave.
In the sa hearing section, Professor Luo clenched his fists tightly, and his feet shifted restlessly.
Even though it was January, sweat had ford on his forehead.
He was too nervous, and even at this preliminary stage, he could barely sit still.
They all wanted to know what questions Zhang Wei would pose today and how he would select the jury.
Zhang Wei walked up to the jury, shook his inexpensive suit jacket and asked with a smile, “Dear jurors, first question, what historical figures do you like?”
Calm Bro on the bench raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, as expected.
This lad always liked to ask so odd questions.
Last ti it was about aliens, and this ti about ancient people.
Zhao Chunming in the hearing section also changed his expression because, with his experience, he could not deduce the reason behind Zhang Wei’s questions.
“Kid, I’ve got to say, you always co up with sothing new!”
“But this ti, no matter how much you jump around, it’s useless, you’re going to lose!”
He sneered inwardly, continuing to watch the show from his stable position.
Xiao Baihe and Tan Yingying beside him were also perplexed by Zhang Wei’s question; the two won opened their mouths but didn’t know how to comnt.
“Ah, this…”
Luo Feixiang, though a professor with insufficient courtroom experience but rich theoretical knowledge, had his brain freeze for a mont when Zhang Wei asked an over-the-top question.
If Zhang Wei had been in front of him, he would have been compelled to stand up and demand: Why are you coming up with such fanciful questions, can’t you be more normal?
Unfortunately, that was beyond him; Zhang Wei stood inside the courtroom, while he was in the hearing section.
In contrast, the jurors seed relaxed upon hearing this question.
Because this question isn’t hard, it’s even very down-to-earth.
“, I admire the Ancestor Dragon Emperor of Dragon Country.
He was a once-in-a-millennium emperor!”
A middle-aged man wearing glasses answered the question with a smile.
Zhang Wei nodded but then said, “The Ancestor Dragon Emperor was indeed formidable, but in his later years, his obsession with seeking immortality and achieving eternal life led to oppressive governance and abuse of the people, stifling their intelligence and shaking the foundations of unity, which indirectly led to the downfall of the nation.
Do you still like him?”
“Uh…” The man hesitated for a mont but still nodded, “Of course, I still admire him!”
Zhang Wei took note.
“Your Honor, the defense appreciates the response of Juror No.
4 but requests that he be excused from the panel!”
Calm Bro wasn’t surprised at all; after all, the nature of the questions from this youngster was just so outlandish.
He just made a note and then gestured for the man with glasses to vacate his seat.
Zhang Wei continued to inquire, “The gentleman just now ntioned the Ancestor Dragon Emperor.
Is there anyone else here who admires him?
Could you please raise your hand?”
In the juror’s box, several people looked at each other, but still slowly raised their hands.
Zhang Wei approached a woman and asked, “Ma’am, do you admire him too?”
“I wouldn’t say admire, but I know he accomplished many great things, very significant things.”
“Thank you for your response, ma’am, but the defense still wishes to ask you to leave the panel!”
Zhang Wei nodded with a smile, yet he rejected another juror.
“Sir, do you also admire the Ancestor Dragon Emperor?”
“Hehe, not really admire, I guess!”
“Then why did you raise your hand?”
“Because I don’t admire anyone else.
When I heard you ntion him, I figured I had so understanding of him, so I raised my hand.”
The attitude of this gentleman in his response was slightly different from the previous ones.
Or rather, when speaking of the Ancestor Dragon Emperor, he didn’t show the admiration seen in the eyes of the earlier two but raised his hand because he had slightly more understanding of this figure compared to other historical figures.
“Thank you for your response!”
Zhang Wei nodded and looked at the jury box, “Your Honor, the defense accepts this juror.”
Calm Bro couldn’t follow Zhang Wei’s line of thought but nodded anyway, taking it in stride.
The audience in the gallery, including Luo Feixiang, were all in a confused state.
What did that answer have to do with anything, and how did it lead to the acceptance of the juror?
On the prosecution side, Huang Fang leaned over to Zhao Jing with a subtle movent and asked quietly, “Do you see anything in these questions?”
“Not at all.
I have no clue!”
“Isn’t it strange?
What is the point of such questions?”
“I don’t know either, but last ti he was questioning, he even ntioned aliens…”
As Zhao Jing spoke, she opened a file that recorded the court proceedings of Tang Chunfeng’s case, which docunted the questions Zhang Wei asked when screening the jury.
“So he’s just a foolish kid, maybe I thought too highly of him!” Seeing this, Huang Fang scoffed.
Her guard against Zhang Wei was slightly lowered.
anwhile, Zhang Wei’s questioning continued.
However, inquiries regarding historical figures had co to an end.
Zhang Wei walked up to a slightly plump girl, holding several papers in his hand, and asked with a smile, “Ma’am, based on the juror intention survey, you’re a nurse, aren’t you?”
“Mm-hmm, but we’re from a costic surgery hospital,” said the plump girl, nodding.
“Is that so?
Then I’d like to ask you, what is your hospital boss like?
If you’re afraid your boss will find out, you can tell the answer secretly.
I won’t tell anyone.”
The plump girl thought for a mont, leaned in close to Zhang Wei and whispered, “Our boss is so stingy.
We work hard every day, and our monthly salary is only a few thousand yuan without any additional benefits.
I’m considering changing jobs after the New Year!”
“Haha, many bosses have this problem!”
Zhang Wei laughed, looking towards the judge’s bench, “Your Honor, the defense accepts this juror!”
The judge continued to make a record and nodded to signal Zhang Wei to proceed.
“Sir, according to the feedback form, you are an accountant?”
“Yes, I specialize in auditing accounts.”
“What’s your boss like?”
“My boss is pretty good.
He treats the employees like his own people and even calls us brothers!”
“Fine, thank you for your answer, but the defense requests that you step down!”
The man in the suit left his seat.
“Madam, it says on your form that you are married, a housewife, and that you stay at ho to take care of your children?”
“Yes, two sons, they’re not so young anymore but still quite rambunctious.
It breaks my heart to see them every day.
Thankfully, trials are on weekdays when they’re at school.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have the ti to co to court.”
“That must be tough, but I have to ask, what’s your view on your in-laws?
Are they good to you?”
“Uh…
do you want to hear the truth or a lie?”
“I’d prefer to hear a lie because I know lies are often more pleasing, right?”
“Yes, then I’ll tell you a lie.
My in-laws are quite nice, they’ve been very good to .
They’ve never put on airs as locals from Dongfang Capital, never treated like a servant in the household, and never maligned in front of the neighbors or complained about behind my back.
They’ve certainly never looked down on my family, always complaining about this and that…
”
“Thank you for your answer!”
Lawyer Zhang Wei smiled his thanks, then nodded toward the judge’s bench, “Your Honor, the defense accepts this juror!”
“Very good, now we have a jury.
Today is Friday, and we will officially start the trial on Monday!”
Calm Bro struck the gavel and declared the court adjourned.
People in the gallery began to leave, but the dia side hesitated to depart.
They had witnessed Lawyer Zhang Wei’s questioning, and they had seen the central figure in the case, the suspect Wang Yuqing.
They all waited at the door, ready to unleash a storm of questions the mont they erged.
Even Lawyer Zhang Wei wasn’t spared as the dia accosted him outside.
“Lawyer Zhang, I heard you’re still a law student, a rookie lawyer.
Why did you dare take on this case?”
“Lawyer Zhang Wei, this is not your first encounter with the Procuratorate Headquarters.
After today’s pre-trial, could you share your thoughts?”
“Defense Counsel, I’ve heard that you’ve beaten senior students back in university and won against Procuratorate prosecutors in your first and second trials.
This is your third trial, do you feel as confident as before?”
“Lawyer Zhang…”
Faced with the dia’s questions, Lawyer Zhang Wei naturally didn’t answer any of them.
Because in court, any statent made in haste or without intention could be infinitely interpreted by these dia folks.
For the sake of clicks and headlines, they could twist one’s words into whatever content they desired.
Where there’s a will to condemn, an excuse is never far away!
In his past life, he had learned his lesson when he was young, so he kept his mouth shut the whole ti until he entered the preparation room and finally relaxed.
As expected, he saw Luo Feixiang and Wang Yuqing there.
Wang Yuqing began to change clothes, taking off her formal attire before stepping behind the prepared screen.
The Martial Association had arranged a female staff mber to accompany them, also tasked with overseeing Lawyer Zhang and Luo Feixiang.
At that mont, however, neither of them had the slightest interest in Wang Yuqing changing clothes.
“Zhang Wei, what were all those questions you asked?
I just can’t make sense of them,” Luo Feixiang expressed his bewildernt at Lawyer Zhang Wei’s questioning during the trial.
Not understanding is exactly right.
After all, neither the judge nor anyone from the Procuratorate Headquarters had understood.
“Really, Old Luo, you can’t understand that either?” Lawyer Zhang Wei looked at him with a curious face.
“Understand what?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, to think you’re an intellectual and you can’t even grasp my intentions?”
Lawyer Zhang Wei chuckled and asked:
“What’s the status of the deceased, you know what a councilman is, right?”
“I know…”
“For us ordinary folk, would you say a councilman’s status is high or low?”
“Obviously high.”
“So, when I asked about historical figures and a juror ntioned the Ancestor Dragon Emperor, would you say his status was high or low?”
“High, as high as you can get!”
“Exactly, and that’s the point.
My questions were actually aid at finding out whether they had a sense of reverence for people with high status.
If they did, they might likely side with the victim, which would not be in our favor.
They’re not the jurors we need.
But if they don’t have that sense of reverence, or even hold a different attitude toward important figures, then they might not necessarily side with the victim.
These are the jurors we need.
It’s as simple as that~”
As he spoke, Lawyer Zhang Wei spread his hands out in a gesture suggesting, “If you can’t understand this, how can we even communicate?”
“So your second round of questioning jurors, asking about their views on bosses and their own elders, was that also…”
“Yes, it was for that purpose.
What else did you think?”
Seeing Zhang Wei so frank and his purpose so pure, Luo Feixiang stopped talking this ti.
“I’ve changed!”
It was at this mont that Wang Yuqing erged from behind the screen, dressed in the blue prison garb of the detention center.
He saw Luo Feixiang was silent, while Zhang Wei was looking down at a docunt.
“Lawyer Zhang, what is that in your hand…”
“Oh, this?
It’s the latest witness list that Prosecutor Zhao Jing from the opposing side handed to just now!”
While saying this, Zhang Wei suddenly looked towards Luo Feixiang: “There’s a very tricky na on this list!”
“What na?” Both of them asked subconsciously.
But soon, they realized.
“It’s !” Professor Luo pointed at himself, eyes wide open.
“That’s right, it’s you!” Zhang Wei said with a slight smile, patting the other’s shoulder: “Actually, this is a good thing because you have the opportunity to explain to the jury what kind of person Wang Yuqing is.”
“Actually, from the start, I had planned to ask soone to be this character witness.
My original goal was a colleague from dical University, but thinking that I’m not close with them, I felt it was unreliable.
With you, Professor Luo, wouldn’t it be much better!”
“But I’ve been summoned by the prosecution; they must have prepared so questions.
Can you guess what they might be?”
“How could I guess what they have in mind?
I’m not a worm in their belly, am I?”
Zhang Wei shook his head, but soon continued: “I might not be able to guess, but you two could give a rough idea, couldn’t you?
When it cos to understanding yourselves, who could surpass you?”
Luo Feixiang and Wang Yuqing exchanged glances, both a little lost in following Zhang Wei’s train of thought.
“Don’t rush, we still have a weekend to prepare…”
Zhang Wei’s gaze was directed towards the door; he heard footsteps.
“Wang Yuqing, you need to go back to the detention center!”
Outside, there were personnel from the Martial Association for the transfer.
“Let’s stop here for today!” Zhang Wei also nodded, suggesting they break up the eting for the day.
Wang Yuqing was taken away by the people from the Martial Association; Luo Feixiang watched her leave and could only sigh where he stood.
“Zhang Wei, do you need to drive you back?”
“No need, I’m going to the Martial Association to get a copy of the publicly disclosed evidence.
Professor, you go back first!”
“Alright then…”
After so thought, Luo Feixiang felt Zhang Wei really didn’t need to leave with him, or else the dia would block them.
Once Luo Feixiang had left, only Zhang Wei remained in the preparation room.
“The Procuratorate Headquarters is really playing for keeps with this case!” Looking at the witness list in his hand, that’s what Zhang Wei thought.
He didn’t delay; since Professor Luo had drawn the fire at the main entrance, he took the fire escape at the back, avoiding all dia.
After showing the case paperwork at the Martial Association, he also obtained all the publicly disclosed evidence regarding Wang Yuqing’s case.
But Zhang Wei knew all too well that if it was a formidable prosecutor, they could use certain thods to “hide” part of the evidence, releasing it when necessary to catch the opponent off guard.
This tactic, while foul play, could be excused by the prosecution with claims such as “I only happened to find out about this piece of evidence,” or “The evidence only ca into our hands last night, so there wasn’t enough ti to submit it,” and the like.
As long as the excuses were good and didn’t give the opponent any leverage, it would beco a trump card in the courtroom.
Carrying the file with the publicly disclosed evidence, Zhang Wei left the Martial Association and returned to Lin Mansion.
He went straight to the second floor upon arriving at his residence.
Knock, knock, knock!
After knocking on the door, Zhang Wei asked, “Xiao Zhao, how did things go today?”
“Today I just went to the scene and cracked the firewall; the data has not been fully decoded yet.
Let’s talk about it tomorrow!”
Hearing this response, Zhang Wei understood.
But he imdiately took a record out of his docunt bag.
“By the way, this is a summary of the surveillance footage related to the email from the publicly disclosed evidence.
Could you check out the videos from other street caras nearby during these ti periods?
Collect as many videos as possible and just send them all to !”
The door opened a crack, and a pale arm reached out, grabbing the docunts from Zhang Wei’s hand, and then swiftly withdrew.
“That’s a lot!” Zhao Xiaoxiao complained, and then asked, “Adding up these streets, along with the surveillance from a few adjacent streets, that must be several thousand caras, right?
How long will it take you to watch?”
“Don’t worry about that; ti is what I have the most of!”
Zhang Wei replied with a confident smile, not at all concerned about the issue.
Zhao Xiaoxiao thought Zhang Wei would have to pull an all-nighter for a couple of days but didn’t object; after all, staying up all night was routine for her.
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