Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 169 - 167: The Problem with the Expert at the Trial?

Chapter 169: Chapter 167: The Problem with the Expert at the Trial?

(The last Chapter finally came out, so frustrating!)

...

A silent night.

The next day, morning.

Jessica’s delicate eyelashes fluttered slightly, her tender, fair arms gently lifted, and her slender fingers scratched.

"Hmm, Zhang Wei is already up?"

She opened her eyes, feeling the emptiness on her arm, and knew the person beside her was already gone.

Downstairs in the kitchen, the sound of the stove could be heard, someone was making breakfast.

By the time Jessica got dressed and came downstairs, she saw Zhang Wei busily working in the kitchen.

"Breakfast is ready, I made bacon and eggs, and I’ve also warmed the milk for you!"

Looking at the breakfast on the table, Jessica felt a touch moved inside.

In her eyes, the man with an apron around his waist possessed a different kind of appealing charm.

The next-door room also opened its door.

"You guys got up so early~"

Susan yawned and came out.

She too had heard the noise in the kitchen and sighed to herself that Zhang Wei got up early, really unlike a young person.

A pleasant breakfast time.

Su Mei and Susan could clearly sense that Zhang Wei’s attitude was completely different from yesterday.

"Zhang, the bacon and eggs are very tasty, can I have another serving?"

"Of course, as you wish."

They even saw that Zhang Wei would happily accept Jessica’s whimsical requests.

Indeed, the power of a woman is great.

Just one night’s time could tame a certain man.

In the eyes of Susan and Su Mei, Zhang Wei’s change was naturally credited to Jessica.

The way to manage a husband!

"Aunt Mei, Susan, why are you guys looking at me that way?"

"Hmm, nothing, Su Mei and I are just a bit envious of you for finding someone as outstanding as Lawyer Zhang!"

"Aunt Mei, don’t talk nonsense..."

Seeing Jessica’s slightly shy demeanor, Su Mei and Susan exchanged a glance, a smile on their lips.

And so ended a pleasant breakfast.

The four set out for the Taoyuan District Court.

Today was precisely the day of the court session, the first day of battle for this case.

...

Taoyuan District, District Court.

In the first-floor courtroom, Zhang Wei and his group arrived first.

"Qiangzi and the others should be here soon!"

After ending a phone call, Susan and Su Mei had just contacted Wang Qiang and a few others, all of whom were already on their way.

As the session was set for 9:30 AM, there was still plenty of time.

Zhang Wei could wait, but his brow remained furrowed.

After pondering all night, he began to feel the problematic person might not be... Su Mei.

"Although I’ve investigated Su Mei, and she definitely has issues, I found out about these issues by relying on the international relations of Chengyi Insurance!"

"Su Bancheng and Haofangzi Group aren’t in the insurance industry, their business is local home product manufacturing and processing, so they definitely don’t have Chengyi Insurance’s channels, they shouldn’t be able to investigate Su Mei’s issues, right?"

It was at this moment that Wang Qiang and the others arrived.

"Humph, it’s finally time, we have to make those people pay!"

Wang Qiang’s voice interrupted Zhang Wei’s thoughts, and he looked towards the entrance of the courtroom.

It wasn’t just Wang Qiang and the five families, the entrance was bustling with people, many media reporters had arrived.

Zhang Wei keenly noticed that among the media there were some familiar faces.

"They’re Su Bancheng’s subordinates, people under Su Bancheng’s command!"

Zhang Wei recognized these people; they were the ones who had followed Su Bancheng during yesterday’s pretrial conference.

Su Bancheng had his subordinates arrange media reporters. What did this imply?

It implied that the other party was brimming with confidence, convinced that victory was assured!

Otherwise, who would be interested in having the media broadcast their own defeat?

Right after the media arrived, President Wu from Haofangzi Group and Su Bancheng also made their appearance.

Today, Su Bancheng was dressed in a blue plaid suit, a bright red tie, and he was carrying a silver cane, exuding a formidable aura.

"Lawyer Su is serious this time!"

"Nonsense, he’s even brought out that silver cane, it’s clear he means business!"

"Who’s the opponent, to actually make Lawyer Su bring out this ’instrument of victory’?"

"I heard it’s a foreign lawyer named Susan, her colleagues say she works as a neighborhood attorney in a small town."

"No way, a neighborhood attorney, and she got Lawyer Su to bring his ’weapon’ to court?"

Those in the media who knew Su Bancheng were aware that he hardly ever appeared in court; trivial cases almost never drew his attention.

Even when he did go to court, Su Bancheng mostly served as a consultant or strategist, rarely acting as the lead attorney.

And even when he did serve as the lead attorney, he generally arrived at the courtroom empty-handed; the cane was seldom utilized.

But once he employed that cane, a symbol of power, it meant he was determined to crush his opponent with all his might.

Rumors said that over a decade ago, he had used that cane to strike an opposing attorney, drawing blood right there in the courtroom.

Although it was just a rumor without any specific reports, local lawyers from Jinying City would get nervous at the sight of Su Bancheng holding a cane.

Luckily, Susan didn’t count as a local lawyer in Jinying City; she rarely left Tonghu Town.

Zhang Wei was an outsider, unaware of these customs.

He had no idea whether Su Bancheng would use the cane to attack him; his only concern was something else entirely.

Where did the problem lie?

Su Bancheng, accompanying President Wu, took a seat in the defendant’s area and looked toward Zhang Wei.

"Little devil from Dongfang Capital, today I’ll show you that Jinying City is not a place where you can run wild!"

The corners of his mouth turned up uncontrollably, with a mixture of sneer, sarcasm, and undisguised contempt.

This time, he was determined to severely dampen Zhang Wei’s sharpness, teaching him how foolish it was to provoke Su Bancheng.

He hadn’t used that cane for many years, but today he intended to let it "taste blood"!

Su Bancheng, triumphant, naturally made Susan feel tense.

She looked to the front row of the spectator seats and saw Su Mei and Jessica nodding at her, which reassured her.

She took a deep breath and sat next to Zhang Wei.

The plaintiff’s side was seated.

Su Bancheng and the representatives of Haofangzi Group were also in place in the defendant’s area.

At 9:30, the trial began on time.

"All rise!"

With the court guard’s announcement, the judge entered.

The six-member jury began to take their seats.

Zhang Wei’s gaze locked onto one of them, a woman who was a project manager at a real estate company.

"Susan, your task is to observe her. Designate this woman as juror number one; her attitude will be key in this trial!"

Zhang Wei whispered instructions into Susan’s ear.

Although there were six jurors in a civil trial, for either side to confidently win the case, the support of at least five was needed.

But experienced attorneys could identify, right from the start, who among them would sway the jury.

Like this woman, for instance, whose dominant personality, coupled with the nature of her job, gave her significant influence in the jury. She could practically determine the direction of the jury by herself.

That was why, rather than convincing the other five, it was more crucial to focus on this one person—key to winning this trial.

Susan may not have seen it, but both Zhang Wei and Su Bancheng had captured this detail swiftly.

However, after giving his instructions, Zhang Wei’s brows were still knotted, while Su Bancheng simply sneered from his seat.

On the judge’s bench.

The judge tapped the gavel and announced:

"The trial will now commence. The plaintiff may now make their opening statement."

Seeing the judge beckon the plaintiff’s side, Susan adjusted her appearance and promptly stood up, walking to the center of the courtroom.

All eyes were on her as everyone looked on, bewildered.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Wei slightly shook his head.

"Susan, summon the witness..."

He couldn’t help but whisper a reminder.

You want to proceed to the courtroom and make an opening statement without even summoning a witness?

How are you going to present your case, when you haven’t prepared any materials?

It was only then that Susan snapped back to reality, and hastily said, "Your Honor, I would like to call my first witness!"

As she summoned, a middle-aged woman stood up from the witness seating area and approached the witness stand.

She was one of the six residents of Tonghu Town and one of the victims of the environmental pollution in this case.

"Auntie Chu, hello!"

"Susan, hello!"

"Auntie Chu, could you please tell us about the impact that the defendant’s home furnishing factory, which caused environmental pollution, has had on you and your family?"

"Of course, I am sitting here today to expose their crimes to everyone!"

The woman glared at Su Bancheng, angrily saying, "Because of their factory’s pollution, I developed breast cancer. To treat it, my family spent a lot of savings, all of which was meant for my son to buy a house and get married, and now it’s all gone!"

After finishing her statement, the woman’s gaze towards Su Bancheng became even more indignant.

"Is that it?"

However, Su Bancheng saw the woman’s testimony as child’s play.

The woman was of an age where the probability of developing breast cancer was not low. If one were to suspect the factory on this basis alone, it wouldn’t hold up.

Su Bancheng wasn’t the only one who realized this. The jury had also thought of this, with the lead juror not even showing a flicker of emotion.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the jury, Auntie Chu’s testimony seemed like a middle-aged woman finding the right occasion to vent her complaints.

"Just as I thought!"

Zhang Wei felt the same way, but he had no expectation that Auntie Chu’s testimony would be of any help to the trial when he let her take the stand first.

The other party’s statement was merely to bring forth their own environmental test report, nothing more.

"I know there may be many in this courtroom who do not believe in the pollution from the factory in Tonghu Town, so I must ask Auntie Chu again!"

After saying this loudly, Susan asked again, "Auntie Chu, what made you conclude that the party responsible for your cancer is the factory owned by Haofangzi Group?"

"It was because of an environmental monitoring report. That expert came all the way from Jinnan City!"

With Auntie Chu’s reply, Susan immediately produced evidence, a photocopy of the environmental monitoring report, and handed copies to both the defense and the bench.

"The document in my hand is an environmental monitoring report provided by experts from Jinnan City. The report clearly identifies a carcinogen, trichloroethylene, with the chemical formula C2HCl3. Trichloroethylene was once used as an anesthetic and metal degreaser, as well as a solvent, disinfectant, refrigerant, and dry-cleaning agent. Long-term exposure can lead to trigeminal nerve paralysis and other conditions."

"The International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed trichloroethylene on its list of Group 1 carcinogens. Moreover, last year, it was included in the list of toxic and harmful water pollutants at the International Environmental Protection Conference!"

As Susan presented these authoritative pieces of evidence, the jury finally became concerned.

The lead juror looked thoughtfully at the report in Susan’s hands, and the other jurors couldn’t help but nod.

Although they were not experts in environmental science, and they might not understand the report, this did not prevent them from trusting international organizations.

These organizations, with names that sound grand, obviously carry authority.

Seeing this, Susan decided to press her advantage.

"Auntie Chu, what exactly did that expert tell you at that time?"

The woman pointed towards Su Bancheng’s direction and exclaimed, "That expert told us back then that the fire retardants used in their factory’s furniture contained trichloroethylene!"

"It’s them who caused me to get cancer, it’s them who made my family suffer so much!"

Faced with the woman’s accusation, the mood in the courtroom immediately shifted.

The jury looked at Su Bancheng’s side with a hint of doubt and hostility.

A large corporation’s home furnishing factory, using toxic pollutants as fire retardants for the sake of production efficiency, ignoring environmental protection – all of this seemed to be the fault of Haofangzi Group.

Even the media in the audience began to stir.

Although they were all called by Su Bancheng, it didn’t prevent them from reporting on the matter.

While there was a slight commotion among the audience, Su Bancheng remained composed.

His demeanor surprised even Zhang Wei on the plaintiff’s side.

Was the other party pretending?

Or did they truly hold the winning cards?

Zhang Wei made a judgment in less than half a second: Su Bancheng was indeed confident!

"What’s going on, why do I feel that something’s not quite right?"

He looked towards the center of the courtroom, where Susan was engaging with Auntie Chu.

"The opening statement for this trial seemed alright to me. The only flaw might be that the expert witness can’t appear in person, and we have to bring in the report through other witnesses... Wait, the expert!"

Zhang Wei suddenly realized he hadn’t met the expert yet.

He was sure there must be a problem with someone on his side.

Take Su Mei, for instance. She claimed she was fine, but Zhang Wei still found a history of cancer in her family.

Among the other five families, there were likely issues as well.

Similarly, this expert he hadn’t yet met might also present a problem.

As an expert witness, did you really just finish analyzing the data and then let it go?

You knew the people of Tonghu Town were going to use your data as evidence to sue Haofangzi Group, and yet you left before the court session. Isn’t that too irresponsible?

"Could there also be a problem with the expert, or was Su Bancheng’s trump card from the start this invisible expert?"

Zhang Wei frowned, looking toward the defendants’ bench and then at the courtroom.

Susan and the lady had finished their questioning.

"Lawyer Su, it’s your turn to cross-examine!"

Susan returned to Zhang Wei’s side, but Su Bancheng stood up.

"Cough cough, ladies and gentlemen, to tell you the truth, I am very disappointed!"

His first sentence captured everyone’s attention.

However, Su Bancheng smiled slightly and addressed everyone in the courtroom, "Why would a report with no authority be presented in this sacred courtroom?"

Zhang Wei quickly nudged Susan beside him.

"Objection!" Susan immediately stood up, interrupting Su Bancheng.

"On what grounds?" The judge looked at Su Bancheng and then turned to Susan.

"Zhang Wei, what’s the reason?" Susan was also panicking and quickly asked for help.

"This is cross-examination time, the defense has to ask questions!"

Zhang Wei felt helpless; this objection didn’t require stating, as the judge could discern it himself.

Yet the judge didn’t act accordingly and even took the trouble to ask Susan, which obviously showed favoritism toward Su Bancheng.

"Your Honor, it is cross-examination time, and the defense needs to ask specific questions!"

Having given the reason, the judge had no choice but to nod, "Objection sustained!"

"Hmph!" Su Bancheng had anticipated this and looked mockingly toward the witness stand.

"What I just said has a basis, one of which is this report!"

He waved the report in his hand, "I naturally can’t find any problem with this report, but the section listing the analysts has a big issue!"

"My client Haofangzi Group has always placed great emphasis on environmental protection. They have equipped a professional testing lab and have many experts in it, including several teams from Jinnan City."

"But the analyst on this report is not any related expert from Jinnan City. Even the personnel from my client’s laboratory pointed out that the expert they hired even had a record of falsifying experimental papers!"

Su Bancheng then held up a document in his hand and sneered, "The fact that the plaintiff’s side had brought in such an expert to produce this experiment report is simply a desecration of this sacred court!"

With that, an uproar spread throughout the hall.

The expert witness for the people of Tonghu Town was a fake?

"The expert indeed has a problem!"

Upon realizing this, Zhang Wei quickly looked at the jury box.

However, what surprised him was that after Su Bancheng revealed this matter, all the other jurors were in uproar, yet Juror Number One didn’t seem to react much.

"Right, she just got divorced and is skeptical of everyone. It’s only natural that she would take Su Bancheng’s words with a grain of salt!"

Juror Number One’s lack of immediate siding with the opposition was naturally good news for Zhang Wei.

"Zhang Wei, what should we do?"

Susan was also anxious and sought help.

"Don’t panic, we can turn this passive situation into an active one. The outcome of this trial depends entirely on the support of that sole juror. As long as she hasn’t defected to the opposition, we still have a chance to remedy things!"

Zhang Wei said, then leaned in close to Susan and asked softly, "Tell me, how good are you at telling stories?"

"Huh?" The question baffled Susan.

What kind of situation was this, and he was asking about her storytelling skills?

"My mom used to tell me stories when I was little, and later, Jessica did too. I think I should be alright..."

"That’s good. Since they’re focusing on the identity of the expert witness, you can reveal his motives through a story since he’s not even here. The credibility of the story will depend entirely on you!"

Zhang Wei whispered a few instructions, Susan nodded repeatedly, and started drafting on her notebook.

At this moment, their ability to respond on the fly would determine if they could avert the crisis.