Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 348 - 346: Key Witness Not Present? Trick!

Chapter 348: Chapter 346: Key Witness Not Present? Trick!

Wednesday, afternoon.

Dongfang Capital’s courthouse, a small courtroom.

Because the case’s impact was indeed too minimal, the court had arranged for a small courtroom to hear the case.

Inside the small courtroom, it was so empty one could roll a log through, with hardly a few people present.

This was also the client’s request, to keep the entire affair as low-profile as possible, preferably without a single colleague showing up.

Thus, Bai Meiqi had also utilized her resources to keep the case as discreet as possible, not letting too much information leak out.

Therefore, the cold and empty atmosphere of the courtroom was inevitable.

Moreover, not just the atmosphere was dull, many of the people in the courtroom felt bored as well.

The 12-person jury, more than half of them were idly yawning.

In the gallery, the sparse audience was mostly distracted, with only a few paying attention to the proceedings.

Even the judge at the bench was yawning out of boredom.

In the courtroom, only Xu Suyun was delivering her opening statement.

After all, it was a minor case, and both the pre-trial and the hearing were scheduled for today.

The court did not have so many judicial resources to squander; for minor cases like these, it was good enough that a hearing could take place at all.

"This is a criminal act that we cannot overlook. Perhaps you feel this is a minor offense, but we must not condone the defendant’s theft," Xu Suyun said, raising her hand to point at the defendant’s seat.

"Once we set this precedent, business professionals like the defendant who work in large companies will believe that as long as they have money, any allegation can be smoothed over; this would be a significant affront to the meticulous nature of justice!"

"Therefore, as the public prosecutor, I formally charge the defendant on behalf of justice!"

The defendant was a middle-aged woman in her forties, dressed in a professional suit, wearing glasses, with clearly visible crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes.

She remained silent, occasionally turning her head to look at Bai Meiqi in the gallery, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

The defendant clearly did not understand why, after seeking help from Bai Meiqi, the lawyer sitting by her side was a novice.

As for Zhang Wei, he also sat in the gallery, tucked into the corner of the front row, deep in thought with his eyes closed.

"The prosecution calls the first witness to the stand to testify!"

The first witness was a security guard from the shopping mall, a man of average build and ordinary appearance.

"Hello, witness!" Xu Suyun approached the witness stand and asked, "Last weekend, you took the defendant to the external affairs substation. Could you tell us why you sent her there?"

"She took away a handwoven towel worth 200 yuan from our mall’s first-floor exhibition hall!" the male security guard pointed at the defendant’s seat and after making his accusation, added, "Most importantly, she didn’t pay for it!"

"Hmm, a handmade towel worth 200 yuan must have required a lot of effort from the merchant!" Xu Suyun said, walking toward the jury.

The few people in the jury glanced at the defendant.

They noticed that the defendant’s face looked somewhat off.

It seemed like a mix of indignation and shame; clearly, the defendant was hiding something in her heart.

They had their suspicions.

"Witness, are you sure the defendant did not pay?"

The male security guard nodded affirmatively, "Yes, I asked the towel merchant, and they didn’t remember her, nor did they recall her paying."

"Thank you for your response," Xu Suyun thanked the witness and then addressed the bench, "The prosecution rests its case."

As she walked away from the stand, Su Xiaoqian from the defense slowly stood up.

It had to be said, she was somewhat nervous, to the extent that she was taking deep breaths even as she walked.

"Come on, you can do it. Today Zhang is playing his ace, and with Lawyer Bai’s support, you’ve got this..." she murmured to herself as if whispering words of encouragement.

When she got to the witness stand, Su Xiaoqian took another deep breath and asked, "Could you please tell us, witness, how you discovered that my client took that handmade towel?"

"I searched her bag and found it inside!"

"I know you searched her bag, but even as a mall security guard, you can’t just search someone’s personal belongings without any evidence, right?"

"I know, but someone saw her stealing!"

"Does that someone include you?"

"Uh..." the male security guard hesitated for a moment.

"Isn’t it true that you didn’t actually see my client take the towel?"

The male security guard hesitated for a moment before hastily replying, "I didn’t see it myself, but I received reports from others!"

"So you’re saying that you searched my client’s bag while you were not sure of the situation?"

As Su Xiaoqian spoke, her expression became somewhat strange.

"But someone did see it, they saw your client take a towel!" the male security guard argued stubbornly.

"Was it the store owner?"

"No!"

"Then who was it?"

"This..."

Su Xiaoqian’s words made the male security guard hesitate.

"Witness, is this question difficult to answer?" Su Xiaoqian asked, puzzled.

"Witness, please answer the question, on whose testimony did you search the defendant’s personal bag!"

From the bench, the judge also spoke up.

This was a crucial question that would directly affect the court’s judgment; it couldn’t go unanswered.

The male security guard immediately looked toward Xu Suyun, but the latter remained expressionless.

"That is, Your Honor, the person who provided the testimony is another stall owner who, due to some personal reasons, finds it inconvenient to come to court..." the male security guard said, his complexion turning somewhat unnatural.

Upon hearing these words, Zhang Wei, who sat in the spectator’s gallery, suddenly looked up, his eyes gleaming.

A breakthrough!

He had finally found a breakthrough in the case.

Similarly, Su Xiaoqian in the courtroom seemed to have caught on to something as well.

She swiftly returned to her seat and then picked up a list.

"You’re saying that the most crucial eyewitness in this case is not only absent from the witness list but also hasn’t come to court. And all your actions of searching my client were based on this mysterious person’s testimony?"

The male security guard fell silent at once.

"I’d like to ask another question, was it crowded at the mall that day?"

"It was the weekend, and our mall focuses on affordable goods; there were promotions and discounts that day too..."

The rest of what he said was understood, without needing to be spoken aloud.

That day was more than just crowded; it must have been packed with people.

Pointing at herself, Su Xiaoqian speculated, "So you’re saying, if I had also gone to the first-floor exhibition hall in your mall that day, and then bought a towel, even if I paid for it, the store owner definitely wouldn’t be able to remember me, right?"

"That’s because that day, the store owner might have seen thousands of faces and interacted with hundreds of customers, correct?"

"What you’re saying, that should be right..." the male security guard hesitated again, but still responded to the question.

"Your Honor, my questions are concluded," said Su Xiaoqian.

Su Xiaoqian finally breathed a sigh of relief, having finished her cross-examination.

In the jury box, many people whispered among themselves. The jurors, who had been somewhat bored earlier, were no longer sleepy.

They had all sensed an oddity in the case, or perhaps the credibility of the testimony and the witness had dropped a notch.

Especially since this male security guard had searched the defendant’s bag solely based on another store owner’s testimony, which obviously was quite improper.

With so many people having been there that day, perhaps the defendant did pay?

It would be quite normal for the towel vendor not to remember; with so many customers that day, anyone might not remember.

As for the other store owner, without even appearing in person, their testimony held no weight.

Over at the prosecution’s table, Xu Suyun’s face also turned slightly unnatural.

There was no helping it, this case actually had a difficulty, which the defense had just pinpointed.

It was that the prosecution’s only eyewitness was somewhat timid.

So shy that he didn’t even dare appear in court to testify, which indeed significantly diminished the effectiveness of his testimony.

The current situation was exactly this.

"Ahem, considering the particular circumstances of the eyewitness in this case, plus the fact that I need to rush to another trial later and it’s getting late, let’s adjourn now!"

The judge banged the gavel and announced the courtroom would begin to disperse.

People gradually exited the courtroom.

"Zhang, the ace player, this case..."

"Xiao Su, you’re really lucky, the most crucial eyewitness didn’t show up, you have a big chance!"

"Really?"

"Let’s talk more when we get back, it’s too noisy here with all these people!"

Zhang Wei, accompanied by Su Xiaoqian and Bai Meiqi, returned to Jincheng Law Firm together.

Before long, he printed out a page of information, among which the first page was a photo.

The man in the photo looked slightly overweight, wore glasses, and appeared to be around thirty years old, but he seemed honest and straightforward.

"The store owner’s last name is Fang, and in this case, his shop is on the first floor of the mall selling toys and study supplies, with highlighters as his main product, located right across from the towel shop. It seems that the security guard’s mentioned person is indeed him!"

In the office, Zhang Wei handed the information to Su Xiaoqian and Bai Meiqi.

"This person is the key eyewitness?"

"He should be. He’s 32 years old, unmarried, and if you look at his facial features, his character likely is timid, matching the security guard’s description!"

Zhang Wei pointed at the photo and analyzed in this manner.

Bai Meiqi looked at Zhang Wei, her eyebrows knitting slightly, "So what you mean is..."

"Nail him, and we can nail this case!"

Zhang Wei, pointing at the photo, said with a smile, "That’s why I said Xiao Su is lucky!"

"Ace Zhang, but wouldn’t this be tantamount to intimidating a witness? That’s..."

"Xiao Su, to intimidate a witness, there has to be a witness in the first place, right?"

Zhang Wei smiled faintly, "If someone is unable to testify in court due to personal reasons and has a legitimate excuse, then the prosecution can’t force them to testify. Even in criminal cases, the prosecution has to focus on persuasion."

"This is also why it is generally difficult to get eyewitnesses to testify in criminal cases. On one hand, it’s due to fear of retaliation, and on the other hand, because they are too scared to testify, they have a psychological burden."

"The same applies to this case. The testimony of this key eyewitness is crucial. However, if he is too scared to testify, then there won’t be any problem with this case."

Bai Meiqi nodded, unable to hold back, "So our job is to ensure that this eyewitness can’t testify in court?"

Upon hearing this, an image immediately surfaced in Su Xiaoqian’s mind.

Under the cloak of night, Zhang Wei approached a man looking panicked.

"I’m sorry, but for the sake of the case, I must ensure you can’t make an appearance!"

The knife rose and fell, and blood splattered.

Beneath the "puchi puchi" sounds, the man fell to the ground.

Su Xiaoqian shivered all over and looked at Zhang Wei with a hint of fear in her eyes.

"Xiao Su, something seems off about the way you’re looking at me. You’re not thinking of doing something illegal, are you?"

"No, no, I was just a bit distracted just now. I wasn’t thinking about anything!" Su Xiaoqian quickly denied.

But her expression was obviously not convincing enough, and Zhang Wei could see right through her thoughts at a glance.

"Xiao Su!"

Zhang Wei waved her over.

"Listen, the prosecution is also aware of the situation with the case. If I were Nun Xu, I would definitely list this eyewitness as part of the witness panel, and for the sake of the case, I would use any means necessary to force him to appear in court."

"However, that takes time. It’s almost the end of the workday now, and since this is a minor case, the judge won’t open doors for them overnight. Before the judge starts work tomorrow, they won’t deal with these requests. So, you have one evening and one morning to work with."

Zhang Wei patted Xiao Su’s shoulder, saying earnestly, "There are some things I truly don’t want to teach you all, so you decide. Do you want to use special methods to handle this eyewitness?"

Su Xiaoqian hesitated only for a moment before nodding earnestly.

Compared to Zhang Wei’s righteous warnings, she was more averse to losing the case.

"Alright, I’ll teach this trick only once. How much you grasp is up to you. But remember, use this method sparingly in the future, and you must never let anyone catch on to any flaws. This time you’re lucky because the case is minor, and the circumstances are peculiar, giving you ample time to respond!"

"Understood!"

Seeing that Su Xiaoqian had taken these words to heart, Zhang Wei then changed his lighthearted demeanor to a serious expression and said, "Now listen carefully. Generally, to handle this kind of witness, use your strengths, and the tactics typically are... like this and that..."

Su Xiaoqian listened intently, nodding her head and uttering "Hmm" from time to time as if she was gaining insight.

"That should do. Go on now!"

Finally, Zhang Wei waved his hand to send Xiao Su away.

In the office, only he and Bai Meiqi were left.

"You’re really okay with letting a rookie..."

"Otherwise? You should have gone to the mall and ’negotiated friendly’ with them, right?"

An awkward smile appeared on Bai Meiqi’s face.

So-called friendly negotiation, is it really friendly?

"So, what we need to do is trust in Xiao Su. She has a promising future!"

"Promising future?"

Bai Meiqi was speechless. It seemed like it had become a cliché for leaders to speak such words to newcomers, each one labeled a "future warrior."

You may count on their future, but that can only happen once they have grown.

...

On the other side.

Dongfang Capital, a down-to-earth night market street.

This place was famous locally for its snack street; not only did it have many regional specialty shops, but it also featured numerous pushcart stalls.

Affordably priced and quaint, it attracted a lot of young people with low spending power.

A meal could be enjoyed for just a dozen or so yuan, quite a bargain in the high-cost Dongfang Capital.

In front of one of the stalls, the Boss was busy making fried noodles.

A bespectacled man, with a flushed face, hung his head low, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the ingredients flipping up and down in the Boss’s hands.

"Young man, how come you’re here again these days? I remember when you were working you liked to visit my stall, but you seldom came after you resigned!"

The Boss seemed to be quite familiar with the bespectacled man, chatting playfully as he worked with the ingredients.

"Ah, don’t mention it," the man with the glasses waved his hand and sighed.

"What, have you run into another unpleasant boss?"

"No, that’s not it. I’ve started my own business now, selling stationery and markers. I guess you can say I’m working for myself now!"

The bespectacled man said this, yet his laugh carried a hint of self-mockery.

Even in the marketplace, had he really got rid of annoying superiors?

He had merely changed his work environment; although he didn’t have to deal with stingy bosses or power-tripping superiors, he still had to face the fickle moods of market supervisors. Any random manager or director could make you nod and smile in appeasement.

Therefore, being a wage worker was difficult, but starting your own business was even harder.

"Starting your own business, huh? That’s just like me. You should be happy about it!"

The stall owning Boss laughed heartily and served a steaming bowl of fried noodles to the bespectacled man.

"I wish I could be happy, but lately I’ve run into some trouble..."

The bespectacled man said as he bowed his head to eat his fried noodles, but the steam fogged up his glasses, and soon they were misted over.

He took off his glasses, about to start eating, when someone suddenly sat down beside him.

"Boss, a bowl of fried noodles, please!"

The voice was that of a delicate-sounding girl.

He turned and saw a young lady in neat formal attire, placing her handbag down and taking a seat beside him.

The girl looked young and had a high level of attractiveness. Despite appearing inexperienced, she stirred something in the man with glasses.

"Miss, is this your first time here?" the stall owning Boss greeted the girl with a warm smile.

"Yes, I’ve just started at a company recently, I’ve only been working for a few days!"

Said the girl, as she pulled a hair clip from her bag and tied her hair into a ponytail.

"How’s the job, smooth sailing?"

"Oh, don’t even start. The boss’s little uncle struts around the company all high and mighty, bossing everyone around; I can hardly stand it!"

The girl sighed, complaining, "If it wasn’t for the hard-won nature of this job and the need to send money back home, I’d really like to quit!"

Her words slightly stunned the bespectacled man.

The stall owning Boss couldn’t help but chuckle upon hearing this.

"Oh, isn’t that just like the situation of the young man sitting next to you?"

"Really? You also have annoying managers and stingy bosses?"

The girl, acting as though they were already familiar, turned to the bespectacled man and started chatting.

In that moment, the bespectacled man suddenly felt as if the world wasn’t only filled with malice and that there were indeed people who could understand him.

"Yes, that’s how it was for me in the past."

"In the past?"

"The young guy here has started his own business now, he’s even got his own shop in the mall!"

"Really? Starting your own business, I’m so envious. If only I had the capital, I’d really like to work for myself too."

"Forget about it. Running a shop is actually harder. Sometimes I even miss the days when I was an employee."

"Is that so? But to me, working for others feels so tough~"

The girl spoke, blinking at the bespectacled man, "By the way, my last name is Su, nice to meet you!"

"Oh, my last name is Fang!"

The stall owning Boss looked on, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

Could it be that spring had come for this young man?