Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 492 - 488 Sun Kongwen’s Sophistry, Sister Li Admits Guilt?

Chapter 492: Chapter 488 Sun Kongwen’s Sophistry, Sister Li Admits Guilt?

Zhang Wei had finished the cross-examination.

Sun Kongwen decisively stood up.

"Judge Jiang, my side wishes to ask additional questions!"

This was inevitable, if he did not ask, then he would lose the chance to salvage the situation with the jury.

Although in everyone’s eyes, the plaintiff’s side had almost certainly lost.

But Sun Kongwen himself had different ideas.

Judge Jiang thought for a moment and then tacitly allowed it.

Sun Kongwen quickly walked up to the courtroom and approached the witness stand.

"Sister Li, do you have any knowledge of what happened to the girls in the photos?"

"I have no knowledge!" Sister Li quickly denied.

Unfortunately, this exchange really did not engage much of the jury’s attention.

"If you have no knowledge, then the evidence presented by Lawyer Zhang is clearly provocative!"

Sun Kongwen quickly took advantage of the situation, pointing at the defendant’s seat, and loudly exclaimed, "These girls in the photos may have had dealings with my client’s company, but they were unilaterally released from their contracts and are no longer the broadcasters of my client’s company."

"Now, although they have been injured and are living miserably, it remains to be questioned whether they were indeed injured upon the orders of my client’s company!"

He said this and looked at the judge’s bench with a serious face, "Judge Jiang, my side believes the defendant’s attorney has made provocative statements, presenting some unverified evidence as submissions to the court, and is attempting to use photographs of injured girls to disturb the jury and gain sympathy!"

As soon as he had spoken, some people in the courtroom indeed began to reconsider.

And some looked at the defendant’s seat with confusion.

This argument, although somewhat cold-blooded, was not without rationale.

They had all seen the injuries on these girls.

But how these girls got injured, they completely had no idea.

Now they only saw that these girls were injured and collectively blamed the defendant’s company, which seemed somewhat reckless.

The seeds of doubt had been quietly sown.

Sun Kongwen decided to push harder.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you know that within Dongfang Capital, the defendant’s lawyer has a title? That is the notorious ’Homicide Lawyer’."

Sun Kongwen pointed at Zhang Wei and said coldly, "Lawyer Zhang is a big shot in our profession, notorious for achieving his goals by any means necessary. Is it possible that he threatened these girls to make false testimony, collectively accusing my client’s company?"

With those words, that seed of doubt began to take root and grow.

Indeed!

The uniformity of the testimony among these girls was cause for concern.

But is there a possibility that the defendant’s lawyer actually secretly contacted these girls and used some means to get them to make a joint false testimony?

Lawyers, after all, are simply a bunch of people who use and manipulate the law for their own ends. How low their moral standards can go, who can know.

Besides, the defendant’s lawyer’s reputation is not good. Is it possible for such a person to control a witness for a purpose?

This is really hard to say.

"Holy shit, does Zhang Wei actually have this kind of nickname?"

Upon hearing his opponent’s revelation, Luo Xiaobu was also shocked.

Although he had heard of the nickname ’Homicide Lawyer,’ he could not connect it with his "good dorm mate" Zhang Wei.

This guy was mostly a well-behaved kid during the early years of school, silent and reserved, with no trace of scheming or capability.

It wasn’t until the final year that he seemed to explode for some unknown reason, and became completely different from before.

But it’s only been a year since he graduated, and he’s already made such a name for himself in the legal circles of Dongfang Capital?

The ’Homicide Lawyer,’ what a terrifying moniker.

Equally surprised was Junior Judge Jiang on the judicial bench.

Holy crap!

What the hell!

That Zhang Wei in the defendant’s seat, is he really the notorious ’Homicide Lawyer’?

Could it be a mere coincidence of name?

Judge Jiang had never imagined that a minor civil litigation case would involve someone so formidable.

No wonder!

He looked towards the "senior seats," and his expression revealed a sudden realization.

No wonder Ni Qiuping and Xu Suyun came to observe.

They were not interested in the case; rather, they were keeping an eye on me, a junior judge. They were clearly here to watch the trial involving Zhang Wei!

"Judge Jiang, may I object?" Zhang Wei was already on his feet, spreading his hands toward the bench. "The plaintiff’s attorney is attempting to use provocative speech to attack my use of provocative evidence. My side believes that it is his behavior that is truly provocative. Please, Judge Jiang, could you examine this provocative speech?"

At this moment, Judge Jiang had been thoroughly confused by Zhang Wei’s words.

Just three words echoed in his mind, "provocative speech."

And... stop calling me Judge Jiang, just call me Xiao Jiang!

Judge Jiang was feeling panicked inside, but he still forced himself to maintain a composed demeanor.

"Ahem, Lawyer Zhang is correct!"

He nodded and then involuntarily glanced at Sun Kongwen, "Lawyer Sun, your behavior is highly unethical. You actually attempt to slander an excellent lawyer in court with unverified information; your actions are the truly incendiary ones!"

"Judge Jiang, isn’t what I’m doing essentially the same as what Lawyer Zhang does on a regular basis?" Sun Kongwen pointed at Zhang Wei and responded with a smile.

"The same my ass!"

Zhang Wei quickly cut in and retorted, "At least I have witnesses here. The accusations from those four ladies against your company are real and substantiated!"

"Yeah, the accusations against my client exist, but accusations against you never will, because everyone who opposes you ends up dead!"

Sun Kongwen immediately followed up and pointed at Zhang Wei with an accusing look on his face.

"Lawyer Sun, this is my final warning to you!"

Judge Jiang immediately sounded the gavel and issued a stern warning, "If I see you slandering Lawyer Zhang again in the upcoming hearing, I’ll directly judge you for contempt of court and strip you of your qualification to appear!"

"I apologize, Judge Jiang!"

Sun Kongwen quickly apologized, signaling his stance and also to show the court his "sincerity."

Yet in his lifted eyes, a sly triumphant smirk flickered.

Because of his statement, the seeds of doubt in the courtroom were quickly growing into a towering tree.

Doubt what?

Naturally, it’s the suspicion that this was the defendant’s tactic to have those girls collectively accuse the plaintiff’s company in order to smear the plaintiff’s side.

This was clearly an action a lawyer with no moral baseline might take.

And Sun Kongwen’s words just now suggested that Zhang Wei was indeed such a morally weak lawyer.

"Ahem, the court would like to clarify that Lawyer Zhang is an excellent lawyer. Please, jury, disregard Lawyer Sun’s last remark!"

Judge Jiang naturally needed to give some explanation.

But would the jury listen to his explanation?

Every seasoned courtroom attendee knew that the thing juries liked least was being told what to disregard.

Sun Kongwen felt like he had scored a point.

But he also knew something else...

"Sister Li, I have another question for you!"

As he spoke, he walked over to the witness stand, pointing at the image on the projector screen behind him.

"Regarding your behavior toward that female anchor in the video, do you have anything to explain?"

"This..."

Sister Li hesitated for a moment, as the video was very explicit; what more could she explain?

"Sister Li, you wouldn’t just hit someone for no reason, right?" Sun Kongwen was quick to speak up.

"Objection, leading the question!"

But Zhang Wei was fast to respond, interrupting immediately.

"Objection is..."

"I’ll rephrase the question!"

Just as Judge Jiang was about to validate the objection, Sun Kongwen preempted him.

"Sister Li, what exactly did that female anchor do before you hit her?"

"Oh, she ended her stream early that day, and before ending it she quarreled with the audience in the chat, breaking the broadcasting and platform’s speech regulations!"

"You mean to say, this female anchor didn’t comply with the platform’s rules and regulations?"

"Yes, all these female anchors look like children to me. They never strictly follow the rules. If they feel upset one day, they bring negative energy into their work. It’s quite common for them to curse in the live stream and even decide to end the stream abruptly, which is very childish."

"So you did what?"

"So I had to teach them a lesson. I had to use some much stronger methods to knock some sense into them!"

Sister Li said, looking towards the jury, "What I did was for their own good. If I don’t manage them properly, they might fail to restrain themselves one day and possibly make a bigger mistake!"

"So, you consider yourself as a strict elder?"

"Yes!"

"Even if the methods you use to manage your ’little sisters’ are seen as somewhat extreme by outsiders?"

"Yes!"

"I understand!"

Sun Kongwen nodded, signifying the end of the questioning.

However, he didn’t rush to leave the courtroom; instead, he looked towards the judge’s bench.

"Judge Jiang, in light of the defendant Lawyer Zhang’s video evidence just now, our side wishes to provide a counterproof!"

"The court grants permission, but how do you plan to present your counterproof?"

"Our side wants to summon the girl who was hit by Sister Li in the video to testify in court!"

Upon hearing Sun Kongwen’s words, Judge Jiang was surprised but still nodded in agreement.

Zhang Wei wasn’t surprised; after all, Dongfang Capital had many people, and calling in a female witness wasn’t difficult.

Just as Sun Kongwen finished speaking, the doors of the courtroom were pushed open, and a girl entered the courtroom escorted by two young men.

The girl seemed timid, her eyes darting about as she entered the courtroom, but still, following the direction of someone behind her, she made her way to the witness stand step by step.

She glanced at Zhu Pitte in the plaintiff’s seat, then quickly lowered her head.

"Witness, is the person in the video you?"

Sun Kongwen pointed to the projection screen behind the witness stand, gesturing for the witness to watch.

"Yes, it’s me..."

The girl cautiously lifted her head, admitting it.

"Then please tell us, why did Sister Li hit you?"

"Because I ended my live stream early the night before, and I hadn’t streamed enough hours for the month, so Sister Li wanted me to stream more diligently that day."

"Is Sister Li usually good to you?"

The girl lifted her head, glanced at Sister Li who was seated in the witness box, and quickly looked down again.

"Yes, Sister Li is usually very good to me... I have a lot of respect for her..."

As soon as she spoke, the courtroom burst into chatter.

Clearly, no one had expected such a situation.

"This, this lie is too... outrageous, isn’t it?"

Luo Xiaobu was the first to lose patience in the defendant’s seat.

This was clearly perjury.

"She’s definitely lying, we’re all as scared of Sister Li as she is!" Bobo also agreed.

But Zhang Wei just waved his hand, he was aware of this tactic; surely, the plaintiff’s side had used some means to threaten the girl into giving false testimony.

But did he have evidence to prove it? That was very difficult!

Becaue Dongfang Capital’s people most likely used verbal threats.

Such threats, unless recorded with a recording device at the scene, how could one verify them?

"Judge Jiang, and members of the jury, I have finished questioning this witness!"

Sun Kongwen stepped down from the stand, looking triumphantly at Zhang Wei.

Let’s see what you can do!

Zhang Wei stood up helplessly and approached the stand.

"Witness, I am very skeptical whether you have been threatened because in the video, you were hit by Sister Li. I suspect that Dongfang Capital’s live streaming company has used the same methods to threaten you."

"No, no, that’s not true. I came here to testify willingly!"

The girl was on the verge of tears but still insisted on her statement.

"Are you sure you weren’t threatened?"

"No, Sister Li is very good to me, I respect her a lot!"

"Where is she good to you? Why don’t you tell us?"

"She comes to check on me every day, communicates with me every day... she every day..."

"Uh-huh, what else?"

Zhang Wei looked at the girl with reddening eyes, a strange expression on his face.

Is this what you call concern? What do you respect about her?

"Objection, harassing the witness. The defense attorney is interfering with the testimony!"

Sun Kongwen immediately interrupted Zhang Wei since he too was aware that this witness’s psychological defenses were actually very fragile.

"The objection is sustained. Lawyer Zhang, please do not dwell on this issue any further."

Though Judge Jiang was inwardly anxious, she still forcefully urged Zhang Wei.

"All right, then I have nothing more to ask this witness."

Zhang Wei could clearly see that the girl’s psychological defenses could easily collapse.

But a collapse wouldn’t be very beneficial for him, as it might leave an impression of bullying the weak on the jury.

And even if the girl did burst out with something, if Dongfang Capital could summon one girl, they could also call a second, a third.

As he had just said, the one thing they weren’t short on was people!

With just a little intimidation, they always have a bunch of witnesses ready to provide false testimony.

The girl hurriedly left the stand and the court, while Sister Li came to the stand once more.

"Judge Jiang, we would also like to ask additional questions!"

Judge Jiang nodded.

Zhang Wei approached Sister Li again.

"Sister Li, it seems I misunderstood you. I didn’t realize you were so caring towards your juniors!"

"Of course, I always consider their welfare!" Sister Li said, lifting her head proudly.

"Using what... you call ’knocking’ is actually ’beating’?"

"This..."

Sister Li’s pride vanished in an instant.

Because it was a fact; although Sun Kongwen explained those actions as knocking, they were essentially beating, a form of violence.

"Oh, right, Sister Li, do you remember that day when I, as the lawyer of the party concerned, was taking my client away, and you appeared and blocked me?"

"I remember... But at that time, I didn’t know it was you, Lawyer Zhang..."

"But I clearly indicated my identity to you, and I also explained that I was taking the party away because I feared they were being threatened by you!"

"This..."

"Oh, right, afterward you even called over a dozen helpers to block the door, forcing me to have three friends come to assist. You remember that, don’t you?"

Sister Li didn’t speak but nodded her head in acknowledgment of the incident.

"I almost forgot to tell you, among my friends there was an officer from the Major Case Unit of the investigative department, so when you and Brother Chen later got physical, it constituted an attack on an investigative officer, a criminal offense!"

"This..."

Sister Li was stunned.

What do you mean by attacking investigative officers? Weren’t we the ones getting beaten at a distance?

She had seen it with her own eyes, including Brother Chen; everyone was taken down by that young girl with a single punch.

This counts as an assault?

"That’s right, before the assault, Brother Chen also hurled a lot of abuse at the investigative officer, and I have audio evidence of all these. I’ll present it now!"

Zhang Wei said this and directly played the recording on his phone.

"Brother Chen, you’ve finally come. It’s them, they are the ones who want to take Bobo away!"

"A couple of small-time lawyers think they can just take someone from our company, as if they owned the place. Have they looked in the mirror to see where they are..."

Immediately, Sister Li’s clamoring voice echoed in the courtroom, along with Brother Chen’s lewd laugh while mocking Xia Qianyue.

"Objection, this matter is irrelevant to the case at hand!"

Sun Kongwen couldn’t hold back any longer and immediately stood up.

But Zhang Wei was prepared and responded, "As the lawyer of the party concerned, taking my client from the company of the plaintiff was to prevent the plaintiff from using company power to carry out oppression and threats. The actions of the company’s members also showed a likelihood of threats, and I believe this is a relevant incident to the case!"

After some deliberation, Judge Jiang nodded, "The objection is invalid, Lawyer Zhang is correct, this indeed pertains to information relevant to the case and can be taken into consideration by the court!"

Sun Kongwen sat down helplessly but then looked towards Sister Li in the witness stand.

He had an idea.

"Sister Li, I’d like to ask you now, who instructed you to obstruct our side and attempt to threaten our client, which could be construed as impeding judicial justice, and even planning to assault an investigative officer?"

"This..."

Sister Li never expected Zhang Wei to suddenly lay so many heavy accusations on her.

Dare she accept them?

Of course, she didn’t dare!

"I..."

Sister Li opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.

On one hand, she didn’t dare speak, and on the other hand...

"Judge Jiang, all these actions were Sister Li’s personal actions, irrelevant to our party!"

It was at that moment that Sun Kongwen suddenly spoke up, interrupting Sister Li’s thoughts.

"What are you saying?" Judge Jiang looked puzzled.

"I’ve communicated with Director Zhu, and he was completely unaware of these things and didn’t know what Sister Li was up to. Sister Li didn’t inform him when the events were taking place!"

As Sun Kongwen spoke, he showed Zhu Pitte’s phone, "The call log can prove that when Lawyer Zhang was about to take the party concerned, our client did not receive any calls from Sister Li, so he is unrelated to this matter, this was all the personal actions of Sister Li!"

"In fact, regarding Sister Li’s actions, Director Zhu himself feels quite remorseful. He did not set a good example nor manage his employees well, which was negligence on his part."

At this explanation, the entire courtroom understood.

While I know this isn’t right, it has nothing to do with me, oh, it’s all Sister Li’s personal behavior.

If you have to find someone to blame, go find her.

At most, our company is guilty of poor management, what can you do to me?

"Director Zhu..." Sister Li opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something.

But the words that had reached her lips were shut down by an intense glare from Zhu Pitte.

She found herself unable to utter those words.

"I plead guilty, it was all my own doing!"

With no other choice, Sister Li could only admit to her actions in court.

"Sacrificing the pawn to save the chariot!"

Seeing this scene, Zhang Wei understood clearly.

This Zhu Pitte was truly ruthless!