Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 306 - 304: Snatching the Bag but Not the Money? An Excuse!

Chapter 306: Chapter 304: Snatching the Bag but Not the Money? An Excuse!

In the courtroom.

"That day, I was just walking down the street when suddenly a man rushed in front of me, reaching out to snatch the wallet from my hand!"

"May I ask the witness, is that man in the courtroom?"

"Yes, he is!"

Ms. Zong raised her hand, pointing at Yan Dayuan on the defense’s side, "There, it’s him!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I’d recognize his face even if he turned to ashes!"

Upon hearing this, many on the jury bench showed signs of realization.

OK then!

The perpetrator has been identified; it’s none other than the defendant.

The case can be closed!

In just a few sentences, the nature of the case was determined.

Speedy closure!

On the defense’s side, Zhang Wei naturally saw what the jury was thinking.

All right then, you’re going straight to closing the case with the first question, huh?

Care to go even faster?

But despite his complaints, the prosecution’s statement had to continue.

"So, Ms. Zong, what did this man do next?"

"He tried to snatch my wallet, and of course, I wouldn’t let him, so I struggled with him. But I’m a frail woman and getting on in years, how could I be his match? Needless to say, he managed to snatch my wallet."

Ms. Zong said, showing the back of her hand, "Look, these are the scrapes I got from struggling with him. This man is truly wicked!"

The jury understood, and many nodded their heads in agreement.

"What happened after that?" Chai Ping continued to ask.

"After he snatched the wallet, he opened it right in front of me, trying to find the money. Of course, I stared fiercely at him, trying to remember his face."

"However, just for a moment, he suddenly held up my wallet and began to charge at me, shouting something as he charged. I was really scared at that moment, so I ran away quickly."

"Then, while running, I screamed ’Murder!’, hoping to draw the attention of others, and afterward, I heard noises from behind, so I stopped."

Ms. Zong said, patting her chest, a look of relief on her face, "Luckily, there were a few young men nearby. They heard me crying for help and helped me take down that man!"

"I see!"

Chai Ping nodded his head immediately, and said, "So, if it hadn’t been for those helpful citizens, Ms. Zong, what do you think might have happened to you?"

"I think..."

"Cough cough!"

Just as Chai Ping was leading the witness to make an assumption, Zhang Wei suddenly coughed.

Lin Yumeng finally reacted – this was her master’s signal.

"Objection, the prosecution is leading the witness to speculate!"

"Hm, the objection is sustained!" the judge also nodded.

This unexpected interruption left Chai Ping astonished.

So, you, Zhang Wei, said you wouldn’t participate in the trial, is this what you call non-participation?

Zhang Wei just scoffed back at Chai Ping’s gaze.

What’s the matter?

I have a sore throat, what’s wrong with coughing?

You think you can catch me slipping?

Dream on!

This brief exchange naturally gave the defense the upper hand.

However, Chai Ping was not annoyed, merely somewhat displeased with Zhang Wei.

He questioned again: "Ms. Zong, when the defendant was subdued, what was his expression when he looked at you?"

"Him? He looked at me with fierce eyes, of course. I felt like he wanted to kill someone!"

"Objection, leading the witness to speculate!"

Chai Ping’s questioning once again faced an objection from Lin Yumeng.

"Prosecutor?"

This time, even the judge had a problem.

How could you make the same mistake twice?

Chai Ping immediately showed an apologetic expression, as if admitting his fault.

He then looked towards the defense side, towards Yan Dayuan, and asked with a cold smile, "Ms. Zong, could you please describe the wallet that is key to this case?"

"Of course! The wallet was a gift from my daughter. She bought a pink one with a cartoon pattern on it. My daughter’s thoughtfulness, I’ve just been using it," said Ms. Zong without hesitation.

Having heard this, Chai Ping immediately summarized, "Ms. Zong’s wallet has a pink Hello Kitty cartoon pattern on it, a gift from her daughter. Such a wallet, why would the defendant target it?"

"I remember the defendant was arrested and gave this explanation, claiming that the wallet looked very similar to his own, so he suspected that Ms. Zong had stolen his wallet."

"That made me wonder, what kind of man would use such a wallet?"

Having said that, he looked towards the jury.

Many people laughed, regardless of gender, their eyes filled with disbelief as they looked at the defendant Yan Dayuan.

A grown man actually using a pink Hello Kitty wallet, isn’t that a bit too...

As Chai Ping led the jury, Zhang Wei nudged his young apprentice’s arm.

"Objection!" she reflexively stood up.

"The grounds for the objection?" the judge also seemed taken aback for a moment.

"Master, what are the grounds for objection?" Lin Yumeng hurriedly sought help.

Zhang Wei quickly moved his mouth, forming the words silently.

"Oh, the grounds for objection are personal attack!"

Lin Yumeng said, hastily adding, "There isn’t a rule stating that a grown man can’t use a pink Hello Kitty wallet, is there?"

"Uh..."

Although the judge also felt that such a thing was somewhat bizarre, he couldn’t help but bang the gavel and announce, "Objection sustained!"

"Jurors, please disregard the last remark from the prosecution, as it was a personal attack!"

Within the jury, a couple of members made a show of nodding in agreement, but many others showed no reaction.

Clearly, the judge’s words didn’t have much effect.

Seeing his "remarkable victory," Chai Ping was satisfied.

"Your Honor, the prosecution has no further questions for this witness!"

Smiling, he walked back to the prosecutor’s bench, ending his statement.

The next moment, all eyes in the courtroom focused on the defense table, or more precisely, on Lin Yumeng.

Her hands trembling slightly, she still managed to suppress the unease in her heart and walked up to the front of the courtroom.

"Hello, Ms. Zong."

"Hello, young lady."

Witness Ms. Zong, upon seeing Lin Yumeng approaching the stand, didn’t display much hostility.

"Um... I’d like to ask, my client Mr. Yan Dayuan, he took your wallet, right?"

"Yes, he’s the one who took it. I know what you’re going to ask. I didn’t see incorrectly, my vision is fine, and I couldn’t possibly have mistaken the person. And you know, besides me, there were several young men present, they couldn’t have mistaken him either. If you don’t believe it, call them up to the court, we can confront this together!"

Ms. Zong seemed to have anticipated some questions, preemptively answering them.

Needless to say, these questions must have been anticipated by Chai Ping, a common tactic used by defense attorneys.

Once an eyewitness makes an accusation, the defense attorney will undoubtedly try to cast doubt with questions like "Is the witness mistaken?" or "Did the witness not see clearly?"

If the witness is elderly, then naturally there are even more reasons to challenge their testimony.

Therefore, to deal with the defense’s tactics, Chai Ping had naturally also prepared a counter-strategy.

"Um... I wasn’t going to ask that..."

But Lin Yumeng shook her head, denying that point.

"I just want to ask, when my client Mr. Yan took your wallet, did he take the money inside?"

"This..." Ms. Zong was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Hmm?" Lin Yumeng blinked and stared at her.

"Witness, please think carefully and then answer the question!" the judge immediately interjected, issuing a warning.

"He, I remember he seemed to rummage through the money..."

"He took the money, right?"

"It seems... actually, no..."

Ms. Zong’s complexion became somewhat unnatural as she answered.

Because the man sitting in the defendant’s seat, although he had snatched her wallet, seemed to have really not taken any money from it.

"Oh, so can I assume that my client indeed didn’t intend to rob your wallet, but merely thought it resembled his own and wanted to have a look?"

"This..."

"Objection!"

Ms. Zong had not yet responded when Chai Ping already raised an objection.

Seeing this, the judge was also about to speak.

"Your Honor, my questioning is finished!"

But Lin Yumeng cut in before the judge, ending her questioning and returning directly to the defense table.

This scene left many in the courtroom puzzled.

You only asked such a simple question and then finished?

Isn’t that a bit too brief?

"Master, is it really okay to just ask one question? Isn’t that a bit too short?"

Fortunately, Lin Yumeng voiced everyone’s question.

"Not too long, not too long, on the contrary, it was just right, you asked unnecessarily, the jury only needs to remember one thing, and that is Yan Dayuan had no intention of stealing money!"

Zhang Wei pointed at the jury box, explaining this way.

In the jury box, many people showed a puzzled look.

To steal a wallet but not the money, why was that?

Could the defendant’s explanation be true, that a grown man really used a wallet with pink cartoon patterns?

Zhang Wei nodded to himself upon seeing this effect.

He was very satisfied with the outcome of the question, even if it was just one question, it was enough.

To steal a wallet = to steal money, that’s what many people subconsciously think, so to many people, it amounted to a serious crime of robbery.

But if the person only stole a wallet and did not take the money inside, then in the eyes of the jury, the nature of the act was completely different.

They would then doubt the veracity of the defendant’s testimony, and that shadow of doubt was Zhang Wei’s goal.

"Damn it!"

Chai Ping also noticed the shift in the jury’s attitude and immediately showed a look of annoyance.

In the audience, all the newcomers showed looks of admiration and began to take notes frantically.

They too had discerned the change in the courtroom atmosphere, which was developing in a direction favorable to the defense.

"The prosecution?"

From the bench, the judge spoke again.

Chai Ping’s look of annoyance quickly disappeared, and at last, he directed a cold smile at Zhang Wei at the defense’s table.

I still have moves to make, even if you got by the first witness, let’s see how you handle the second.

"Your Honor, the prosecution requests that Officer Cai, who was in charge of investigating this case, be summoned to testify in court!"

"The court grants permission!"

Following the summons, a woman in her thirties walked to the stand.

She was dressed in the uniform of the investigation department, her face stern, quite serious.

"Hello, Officer Cai!" Chai Ping also approached the witness stand, greeted her with a serious face.

"Hello, prosecutor!"

After hearing Officer Cai’s response, he immediately asked, "Officer Cai, when you arrested the defendant, what did you hear him say?"

"He said he had no intention of robbing, then concocted a very far-fetched excuse."

"Did he not say that the victim’s wallet looked very much like his own?"

"Yes, but I find this excuse too superficial!"

"Superficial?"

Chai Ping feigned a look of great surprise and immediately asked, "How was this reason superficial?"

Officer Cai looked toward the defense and then showed a disdainful smile, "I’ve heard this kind of excuse many times, it’s nothing more than the suspect thinking the wallet’s contents were too little and trying to gloss over it with this excuse!"

"In cases like this, facing some victims who are timid, if they see nothing missing in their wallet, they might opt not to pursue charges for the sake of avoiding trouble, allowing the culprit to continue until caught or until they find a wallet with a lot of money to stop!"

"Oh, so that’s how it is!"

Upon hearing this explanation, Chai Ping finally showed an expression as if he finally understood.

Similarly, the jury, after hearing these words, also all showed the same expression.

Great, it seemed the defendant was a habitual offender who came up with such an idea.

He must have seen that Ms. Zong’s wallet had no money, so he thought of using that excuse to wriggle out of the charges, but little did he expect to be tackled by three or four burly men before he could return the wallet.

"Officer Cai, may I ask one more question, is this the defendant’s first crime?"

"Certainly not, he is a habitual offender!"

Officer Cai continued, as she recollected, "According to our criminal record investigation, the defendant’s first offense was at the age of 16, for theft. Since then, his criminal record started to grow, including theft, robbery, assault, gang gambling, illegal stopping, and more..."

As Officer Cai listed the lengthy record, the courtroom atmosphere once again shifted.

This time, the jury looked at the defendant’s dock with intense disdain.

You really are a habitual offender with numerous criminal offenses!

Although many of them are not serious crimes, you must be skilled at petty thievery, we misjudged you!

So the previous explanation by the witness makes sense now, you are a habitual offender, you must have thought to get away with that excuse.

Guilty!

You are definitely guilty!

It could be said that, at this moment, the jury almost displayed their thoughts through their expressions.

If voting were to start now, it would surely be a guilty verdict, and moreover, a unanimous one.

Seeing the reaction from the jury, Chai Ping’s lips curled up in a smirk once more.

This was in the bag!

"Thank you for Officer Cai’s answers, the prosecution has no further questions!"

He believed he had delivered the coup de grâce.

Not only had he refuted the defense’s counterargument, but he had also enlightened the jury on the defendant’s extensive criminal past.

Moreover, Officer Cai is a rather stern witness, and he believed that the defense stood absolutely no chance against her.

Therefore, Chai Ping was very reassured and ended his questioning directly.

"Defense, it’s your turn!"

The judge quickly spoke up, reminding the defense to come up for cross-examination.

The apprentice had intended to stand up in court, but upon seeing Officer Cai’s icy glare, she immediately lowered her head, cowed.

"Master, what should I do? I’m a bit scared..."

"What are you afraid of? Ask whatever you should ask. Haven’t I trained you in vain for so long?"

Zhang Wei once again encouraged Lin Yumeng, and then pushed her out.

The apprentice took small steps, one at a time, and walked up to the witness stand.

"Hello, witness..."

"Hello, lawyer!"

Officer Cai did not have a good attitude towards Lin Yumeng.

Her answers were succinct, or rather, devoid of any emotion, cold as a machine.

"May I ask, witness, when you caught my client, did you not believe his words..."

"Of course, my job is to deal with criminals, and when a criminal is captured, no one ever confesses voluntarily unless there’s something wrong with their brain!"

"But my client, he doesn’t have a problem with his brain..."

"So he made up an excuse, but I saw through it!"

Officer Cai let out a cold laugh, thinking, what a low-level question this defense lawyer is asking.

At the same time, Chai Ping on the prosecution’s side also smiled.

It seemed absolutely certain, oh no, it was definitely certain!

The questions Lin Yumeng asked were easily answered by Officer Cai.

What other tricks do you have? Hurry up and bring them out!

"Um, I wanted to ask, you mentioned a lot about my client’s criminal record just now, right?"

"Yes!"

"Then may I know when was the last time my client committed a crime?"

"Last time?"

Officer Cai showed a hint of confusion, but quickly searched her mind for the data.

"Yan Dayuan’s last crime was five years ago, fighting in public, for which he served two years in prison, and he behaved well in prison..."

"Then may I ask, before my client’s last crime, what was the average interval between his crimes?"

"There were crimes every year, but as for the average cycle, it has not been calculated."

"Witness, does that mean before the last crime, my client was caught every year for committing crimes, but after experiencing the last one, isn’t it possible that he might have reformed?"

"This..."

Finally, Officer Cai’s expression changed.

Because this was something she couldn’t judge.

"My client hasn’t done anything bad for 5 whole years, he’s been honest for 5 full years, how could he suddenly develop an urge and steal someone else’s wallet?"

"This question, I can’t really answer, because I’m not the defendant and I don’t know his thoughts!"

Lin Yumeng nodded, but still asked, "But is there a possibility?"

"Objection, leading the witness to speculate!"

Seeing Officer Cai hesitating, Chai Ping quickly stood up.

He had not expected this solemn Officer Cai to be influenced by the questions of a young girl.

"Your Honor, I have a reason for asking this question, as the witness is an experienced officer who must have dealt with many suspects, so she must have encountered people with experiences similar to my client’s, right?"

"This... does seem to have some merit..."

The judge also hesitated.

On one hand, Chai Ping made sense, but Lin Yumeng’s point was also valid.

In the end, he decided to leave the matter to the witness to determine.

"Officer Cai, can you answer this question?"

"I think I can!"

"Then go ahead, you may answer!"

The judge agreed, and Chai Ping could only sit down, resigned.

After thinking for a while, Officer Cai answered, "I cannot rule out that possibility. Although many people don’t always stay honest, there is a possibility of someone reforming after being honest for as long as five years like the defendant!"

"Thank you, witness, I have no more questions!"

Lin Yumeng expressed her gratitude upon hearing the answer and finally bowed 90 degrees to the witness stand.

And with that question, the direction of the wind in the courtroom changed once again.

But this time, the wind blew slightly towards the defense.