Are You Crazy? He's only an Intern Lawyer?-Chapter 36 - What is Justice

Indeed, not just him, including Guo Wufeng, the minor offense division prosecutors all recognized it.

They had no choice, they saw this thing hanging on the wall of their office every day, it was too familiar.

In the courtroom.

“This… this is…” Tan Yingying struggled to speak, such that she couldn’t utter a complete sentence for quite some time.

“Prosecutor Tan Yingying, what’s the matter, don’t you all discuss it every day, how come you can’t call out its name?”

Zhang Wei didn’t care how embarrassed the other party was and continued to ask, “I remember, you guys seem to refer to this thing as a ‘scorecard’, right?

Is that correct?”

“Actually, it’s called a score board…” Tan Yingying answered in a weak voice.

Only then did Zhang Wei slap his forehead: “Oh, so it’s called a score board~”

He pointed to a spot on the score board and asked again, “Then please tell me, why is my client’s name here?”

“Because it was written there.”

“Written there, why was it written there?”

“Uh…” Tan Yingying didn’t know how to answer.

Zhang Wei then showed the score board to the jury bench: “Ladies and gentlemen, please look, there are many names written here, and behind them are some marks, there are √, ×, and ★, you see.”

The jurors all leaned forward, many of them starting to whisper among themselves.

Zhang Wei once again returned to the witness stand: “Prosecutor Tan Yingying, now please tell me, what do these marks represent, and what exactly is the purpose of this score board?”

“I… this… it’s some sort of performance incentive chart…”

“Chart?”

Zhang Wei emphasized the last word and winked at Tan Yingying.

“Fine, let’s assume what you said is true, so may I ask, did your minor offense division turn my client into some sort of performance metric?”

“Objection!” Prosecutor Xiao Baihe stood up from the prosecution bench.

“Objection to what, is there a problem with the question I asked?” But Zhang Wei didn’t care at all and retorted Prosecutor Xiao.

“Prosecutor Xiao, I believe I warned you; if you continue this way, I might have to charge you with contempt of court!”

On the judge’s bench, Judge Wang couldn’t sit still any longer and gave Prosecutor Xiao a verbal warning.

Xiao Baihe could only sit down with a look of reluctance, but her eyes towards Zhang Wei were filled with a desire to tear him apart.

“Witness, please answer the question!”

After being called out by the judge, Tan Yingying looked towards the hearing bench, but Zhang Wei stood in front of her first, blocking her attempt to seek Guo Wufeng’s guidance with her eyes.

“Witness, His Honor the Judge has spoken, please answer the question!”

“Do I need to ask again, did your minor offense division turn my client into some sort of performance metric?”

Facing Zhang Wei’s pressing questions, Tan Yingying could only answer in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, “No, it’s not like that…”

“Not like that, then how is it, is this chart merely for decoration?”

Zhang Wei laughed, then his tone turned cold: “Witness, the seat under your butt isn’t for just anyone; it’s the sacred witness stand, and I shouldn’t need to remind you of the consequences of perjury, right?”

“If you say it’s not, then let me ask you, has your supervisor Guo Wufeng ever said this…”

Zhang Wei strived to make himself look serious, his face taut as he pretended to roar, “Who are we, we are the Procuratorate Headquarters of Dongfang Capital, we are absolutely undefeated!”

“If the petty crime department is defeated by a rookie lawyer, where would that leave me, Guo Wufeng?

How am I supposed to carry on at the Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters?”

Upon hearing this, Guo Wufeng in the audience could no longer sit still.

My goodness, this kid surnamed Zhang had been eavesdropping outside the door that day.

In fact, it wasn’t Zhang Wei eavesdropping, but rather Guo Wufeng’s voice was so loud that he heard it standing at the stairwell.

After imitating Guo Wufeng, Zhang Wei continued to ask, “Did your supervisor ever say these words?”

“Probably…

probably yes…”

“Then why do I feel like this scorecard and my client have become some sort of quantifiable performance evaluation figures?”

Zhang Wei looked at Tan Yingying, and seeing that she remained silent, he pointed to the listening bench, “Don’t deny it, as it happens, your supervisor Guo Wufeng is also in court.

If you think you can lie, do you believe I can get him to come up here too?”

That was a ruthless move!

Guo Wufeng was about to erupt, but upon hearing this sentence, his face completely collapsed, twisting into the shape of a chrysanthemum.

The prosecutors behind him exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, the lawyers sitting next to them all began whispering to each other, murmuring among themselves.

In the court, Zhang Wei didn’t care what others thought and continued to press, “Now answer my question.

Prosecutor Tan Yingying, has my client become your performance quantification figure?”

Zhang Wei inched closer, his tone growing colder, “Please answer yes or no, and a reminder, this is the third time I’m asking!”

Faced with his aggressive questioning, Tan Yingying finally couldn’t hold back any longer, tears welling up in her eyes, and after a long struggle, she managed to say, “Yes, it is!”

“Oh~ so it is, you actually consider my client as a performance evaluation figure.

Is it that only by convicting him can you achieve a good performance evaluation, and failing to convict means a poor one?”

“No wonder there are check marks and crosses on this, and my client is marked with a star.

I was wondering what that meant.

So, it turns out to be a big jackpot!”

“Your petty crime department normally handles minor offenses.

Suddenly, there’s a major crime, and you feel like you’ve hit the jackpot, don’t you?”

After finishing his performance, Zhang Wei looked at Tan Yingying.

She didn’t speak, but Zhang Wei continued to question, “Please tell me, are you insisting on convicting my client because of performance evaluation, or to save face for your supervisor?”

“Don’t deny it just yet, I want to remind you, in light of the testimony confirmed earlier and you admitting what your supervisor said, ask yourself if you dare make false testimony in court!”

Tan Yingying immediately shut her mouth, too frightened to speak.

“Now, please think carefully and then answer my question seriously.

Are you convicting my client because of performance evaluation?

Is it to save your supervisor’s face?”

This question also drew the attention of the entire audience, whether in the jury box or the listening bench, even Judge Wang on the judge’s bench turned to look at Tan Yingying, waiting for an answer.

“Yes, it is…” Under the scrutiny of so many people, Tan Yingying finally responded.

“You, you actually, you actually do this, I’m so heartbroken…” Zhang Wei’s mouth twitched, his demeanor somewhat grief-stricken.

“But this is how our office has always operated, and the headquarters has always been like this, hasn’t it?” Tan Yingying almost cried out in her own defense.

“But are you not supposed to convict suspects for the sake of justice?”

Zhang Wei’s next remark, however, made the entire courtroom fall silent!

As if he didn’t understand, he asked again, “Isn’t the exercise of prosecutorial power supposed to be for justice, to adjudicate the guilty and pardon the innocent?”

This time, it was a soul-searching question.

Tan Yingying couldn’t speak, as tears began to streak her eyes; she was on the verge of collapsing.

But Zhang Wei had no intention of letting her go and once again posed the soul-searching question, even raising his voice:

“What has your petty crime department turned my client into, a stepping stone for performance evaluation, instead of a citizen deserving justice?”

“Prosecutor Tan Yingying, look at me, look at the Martial Association, look at the man sitting in the defendant’s seat!”

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“Tell us, the reason you prosecuted him, is it based on the law, for justice, for the glory of fairness and faith, to find the guilty party, and not for so-called performance or to save face for your supervisor?”

“Come on, dare to tell everyone, dare to declare that you pursue justice like this, dare to speak out!!!”

Faced with Zhang Wei’s roar, Tan Yingying couldn’t hold back any longer, breaking down and crying in court.

“Wuu wuu wuu…

I, I, wuu wuu wuu…

I don’t know, I don’t know, wuu wuu wuu…”

She lifted her head and the scene before her was that of Zhang Wei, with his eyes wide, staring intently at her.

Tan Yingying lowered her head again, tears uncontrollably streaming down.

Zhang Wei, on the other hand, was completely relaxed, all the pent-up pressure finally being released at that moment.

After shouting out loud, he felt so exhilarated~

He looked towards the observers’ seats, only to see Guo Wufeng snort coldly and quickly leave the courtroom.

This was a place he could no longer stay, as watching Zhang Wei show off in court, unable to stop him, was truly agonizing.

In the plaintiff’s seats, Xiao Baihe saw Tan Yingying’s pain and couldn’t bear it, but was powerless to stop it.

If she acted, she would be charged with contempt of court and would have to leave the courtroom in resentment.

But she had not anticipated that Zhang Wei’s questioning could break Tan Yingying’s defense; this was not something a junior lawyer could achieve.

The other people in the courtroom, witnessing Tan Yingying’s breakdown and tears, naturally had varying expressions.

How could they have imagined that a court hearing could break a prosecutor’s composure, and even cause her to cry on the spot!

Of course, this was also related to Tan Yingying’s soft temperament, something that could not have been achieved with someone of strong willpower.

Now that Tan Yingying had cried and Zhang Wei had his moment, it was naturally time to wrap things up.

“Prosecutor Tan Yingying, I am very sorry, the previous question touched upon some matters in your heart, making you feel guilt, that was my mistake, and I apologize to you once again!”

“However, this is court time, please restrain your tears, do not delay everyone’s valuable time.”

“How about this, I retract the previous question, and now it’s your turn to ask questions, if you wish to question yourself, please feel free…”

Zhang Wei said, returning to his seat.

As for Tan Yingying, she finally managed to hold back her tears, but clearly, questioning herself was not possible.

This is the advantage of summoning an opponent, it prevents them from cross-examining!

This move, ah, is called prawn brains and pig hearts!

After Tan Yingying finally made her way back to her seat, Zhang Wei then stood up again.

“Your Honor, the defense does not have any more witnesses to call!”

From beginning to end, Zhang Wei had not intended to let the defendant Lin Xiao take the stand for questioning, completely denying the plaintiff any opportunity.

“Alright, since that’s the case, the closing arguments will start in 30 minutes; both sides of the hearing prepare accordingly, and the court will take a brief recess!”

Judge Wang took off his glasses and began wiping them.

Zhang Wei then entered the conference room with the defendant Lin Xiao, his wife Chen Lan, and Zhang Hui.

On the other side, Tan Yingying was also led away by Xiao Baihe, but before leaving, Xiao Baihe glared fiercely at Zhang Wei, who in return smiled at her.

“This damn guy, making Ying Ying cry in front of so many people, and he even dares to smile at me!”

Xiao Baihe was itching with anger but had no way to deal with it.

…

30 minutes later, the hearing resumed.

After Tan Yingying finished her closing argument first, it was finally Zhang Wei’s turn.

He immediately stood up, walked into the well of the court, and then said with utmost solemnity:

“I want to ask everyone, what is justice?”

Upon these words, the eyes of all present flickered with memories of the soul-searching questions posed earlier.

Because even the prosecutor had been reduced to tears by the questioning, the scene was deeply etched in everyone’s memory, to the extent that upon hearing this question, they all subconsciously thought of that scene.

“Justice is actually very simple, doing the right thing is justice, but sometimes it is hard to achieve because what is right and what is wrong require a clear demarcation.”

“I want to ask one more question, what was the cause of the deceased’s death?

It was brain death!

But there are many reasons that can lead to brain death; a person who engages in constant brawls and heavy drinking, what do you think caused his brain death?

Was it because he fell down on the road by himself, was it because he was drunk to stupor and took a fall, or was it due to quarreling with friends or neighbors, ultimately unable to vent his burning rage?”

“There are many possible causes of brain death, even forensic scientists cannot determine the exact reason for Wei Hong’s death, but…”

Zhang Wei said this, raised a finger, and pointed it towards Tan Yingying:

“But the rookie prosecutor from the department of minor offenses, Tan Yingying, told us all the reason she was convinced of: because my client, Lin Xiao, pushed Wei Hong on Thursday night, leading to the latter’s death on Sunday night three days later, they determined my client to be the murderer.

So this is the justice that the department of minor offenses stands for!”

“I think you all heard it, they didn’t even confirm the specific cause of death, they didn’t even consider why Wei Hong fell to the ground, how much he drank that day, didn’t he have any idea in his mind?”

“In my view, the department of minor offenses just want to find someone to convict, to fulfill some ambition in their hearts, like drawing a big star ★ on the performance column of the scoreboard, to save face for their supervisor in front of colleagues at headquarters, and the like…”

“So I want to ask, does her action really concern justice?”

At that point, Zhang Wei came in front of the jury, smiled bitterly, and said, “If you call that justice, then I have nothing to say!”

“But please think about it, if my client, Lin Xiao, were to be convicted today, then one day the people from the Martial Association show up at your doorstep, saying they want to take you away for questioning, and the reason is that you were cycling too fast last week, which scared an old lady by the roadside, and then three days later when the old lady died, you would be identified as the murderer, would you accept that outcome?”

“So, ladies and gentlemen, please touch your conscience and ask yourselves, what is justice?”

Zhang Wei touched his own chest, reiterated with emphasis, “Let us feel our heartbeat, let us confirm that we are living beings, and then, after questioning our hearts, ask again, what is justice, what the heck is justice!”

“Cough cough, the lawyer is advised to mind his language!” In the courtroom, Judge Wang coughed.

“Sorry, Your Honor, I got too carried away, but that concludes my closing statement!”

Zhang Wei quickly apologized, but after nodding to the jury, he returned to the defense bench.

“Both sides have presented their closing statements, court is now in recess…”

As the judge and jurors entered the conference room one after another, the whole courtroom became tense.

“Lawyer Zhang, you’ve worked hard…” The defendant Lin Xiao could hardly speak.

“Junior brother, your closing statement was so powerful.” Zhang Hui was equally surprised.

If it were her, she would never have been able to give such a closing statement; this was definitely not something a rookie could come up with.

“Don’t worry, the judge is on our side!” Zhang Wei replied with a confident smile to the two.

“Why do you say that?” Zhang Hui was puzzled.

Zhang Wei raised a finger: “It’s simple.

In a criminal trial, there’s a fundamental principle of human rights protection, and that is ‘Innocent until proven guilty’!”

“Innocent until proven guilty…”

Zhang Hui muttered a few times and then nodded firmly.

Innocent until proven guilty!

At this stage, none of the evidence from all parties could definitely prove that Lin Xiao was the murderer or that it was Lin Xiao’s shove that caused Wei Hong’s death.

Therefore, based on ‘Innocent until proven guilty’, he would not be the murderer.

Although those on the bench may not know this, the judge certainly does, and will bring up this concept during the final deliberations.

Lin Xiao glanced at his wife in the hearing area and couldn’t help but ask, “So, Lawyer Zhang, how long will they deliberate?”

“It should be quick, though I can’t predict it for sure, as jury matters aren’t something any lawyer can guarantee 100 percent!”

That was the truth.

The jury was made up of 12 people with different personalities; even the most skilled lawyer couldn’t possibly guess the thoughts of 12 different minds.

He couldn’t influence the thoughts of 12 people, so in the last moment, he could only leave it to fate.

Luckily, the jury came to a decision in just 30 minutes

As everyone waited anxiously, the foreperson of the jury announced loudly:

“After discussion by our jury, in this case of accidental manslaughter, due to insufficient evidence provided by the prosecution, we determine that the charge of manslaughter against the defendant Lin Xiao…

is not established!”

“Oye!”

As the words “not established” were pronounced, Lin Xiao leaped up.

Zhang Hui showed a relieved expression.

In the hearing area, there were mixed reactions of joy and dismay; lawyers were thrilled, some even clapping and cheering.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors from the department of minor offenses were all deflated, their spirits drained.

On the prosecution’s side, Tan Yingying almost couldn’t stop herself from crying again, while Xiao Baihe’s expression was extremely complicated.

She saw Zhang Wei and Lin Xiao shake hands, then walk towards the hearing area, meet up with Xia Qianyue and embrace on the spot.

“Zhang Wei, I’ll remember you!”