Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 620 - 613: A Sneaky Move, The Drunk Witness

Chapter 620: Chapter 613: A Sneaky Move, The Drunk Witness

Traffic accidents, even hit-and-runs.

And also attempting to deceive the court, deceive the investigative bureau, using their companion’s diplomatic immunity to evade punishment.

All these responsibilities add up, and that’s quite a burden!

Hit-and-run, intentional homicide, obstructing a judicial investigation, fabricating evidence...

In short, if these charges stick, Wu Renjie is definitely going in, and it might even cost him half of his lifetime.

So, Wu Renjie panicked.

"Lawyer Ren, what should we do? It seems the witness, my uncle hasn’t dealt with him!"

"Master Wu, don’t panic!"

Compared to the panicked Wu Renjie, Ren Xingzhou was much calmer, and immediately offered reassurance.

As he spoke, he looked towards the witness stand.

"This witness, he seems to be an eyewitness from that night, his testimony probably holds no issues, however..."

Ren Xingzhou said, his gaze turning to the trio beside him, specifically Lawyer Han who had not yet been to court.

"Boss Ren, I get it, it’s my turn!"

Lawyer Han knew it was his chance to perform and volunteered enthusiastically.

However, at this moment, Lawyer Zhang Wei had not finished questioning.

"Witness, you clearly saw it was him who came down from the driver’s seat, right?"

Zhang Wei pointed at Wu Renjie, and asked again.

"Yes, it was him, this guy is ruthless. He clearly hit someone but only glanced at the woman before leaving without looking back."

"Then he pulled the other person down from the passenger seat and stuffed him into the driver’s seat, while he took the passenger seat, right?"

"Yes, I saw the two of them switch places."

The witness spoke, revealing his yellow teeth, and pointed at Xiao Mo Moji, "But this kid, when he got out of the car, his legs were wobbly. He couldn’t even stand straight, probably drank too much!"

"Indeed, he drank quite a lot, about 15 glasses!"

Zhang Wei glanced at Xiao Mo Moji, as if deep in thought.

"Heh-heh-heh, don’t drink and drive, don’t drive and drink, that’s common sense I know. Of course, it’s okay when I drink too much because I don’t have a car, hahaha..."

The witness laughed heartily. However, his words made Lawyer Han, sitting at the defense table, pause for a moment, then his eyes slightly brightened.

"Judge Ni, that concludes my questioning of this witness for the time being."

Having received a satisfactory answer, Zhang naturally concluded the questioning.

Although the jury did not particularly like the identity of the witness, after hearing his testimony, they too realized one thing.

The driver was definitely Wu Renjie since this was a testimony from an eyewitness at the scene.

He witnessed the accident and saw with his own eyes Wu Renjie getting out of the car, trying to switch seats to use his companion’s diplomatic immunity to evade the law.

Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Among the jury, many looked disdainful, obviously very displeased with Wu Renjie’s actions.

In the gallery, many were whispering and murmuring to each other.

At the defense table, Ren Xingzhou, sensing the change in the jury’s attitude, felt an immediate sense of unease.

Naturally, he made a gesture to Lawyer Han, urging him to act quickly.

"Boss Ren, I have a plan for this witness."

But Lawyer Han leaned in close to Ren Xingzhou and began whispering in his ear.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Boss Ren, this move is the best solution we have at the moment!"

"Alright, I understand!"

Ren Xingzhou spoke, then stood up and looked towards the bench.

"Judge Ni, the defense requests a temporary recess!"

"On what grounds?"

"Our client, Master Wu, is feeling the pressure of the courtroom and needs a moment to adjust, and Mr. Xiao Mo Moji is also feeling stressed and needs some relief."

"Hmm, I understand."

Judge Ni thought for a moment, then nodded, "It just so happens that I’m a bit thirsty as well, so let’s take a 20-minute recess. I’ll go make myself a cup of tea!"

With the gavel’s strike, Judge Ni was the first to stand up and leave, and everyone else also took their leave to regroup.

But before the jury left, Lawyer Zhang Wei winked at Cui Xi, who sat among the foreign jurors.

Cui Xi caught Zhang’s glance, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, but she didn’t say anything more.

Contact between the competing parties and the jury is forbidden in court, but exchanging glances across more than ten meters doesn’t count.

"Let’s go, have a cup of tea in the lounge!"

Zhang Wei took Zhang Xinwu and the rest of his party to the lounge prepared by the court.

Since the defense had proposed a recess, it was a good opportunity for them to take a break.

After Zhang Wei and his group left, Ren Xingzhou’s side remained in place.

"Alright, now that everyone is gone, let’s start planning!"

"Don’t worry, Boss Ren, it’s my turn to perform this time!"

Lawyer Han showed a hint of a cold smile, then stepped out of the courtroom and quietly blended into the crowd.

...

Inside the courthouse.

Jury lounge.

"The trial today was really exhausting!"

"Yeah, watching the two sides argue back and forth, all we could do was watch."

"Right, and the jury seats always feel a bit cramped. I initially thought that for a civil case, 6 people would be enough."

The ones discussing this were the local jurors, a few people gathered together chatting, occasionally glancing at the foreign jurors seated not far away.

"You know, these foreigners understand our Dragon Country language pretty well, and the court says we should communicate with them. Should we press their buttons a little?"

"Forget it, they are not on the same page as us. The foreigners who can come to Dongfang Capital to make a living must be pretty wealthy."

"Heh, if they’re wealthy, they must be as wealthy as you, with four or five resettled houses in your family, right? The money these foreigners work so hard to earn might not even cover a down payment."

"That’s true, but I just got lucky with our village getting resettled."

The locals of Dongfang Capital naturally loved to boast, just like this person affected by relocation, who casually waved his hand saying it was all luck while hardly being able to wait to tell the whole world about the number of apartments his family owned.

The local jury chatted and gossiped, but there was almost no discussion of the case itself.

In contrast, the 6 foreign jurors had gathered together and were discussing the case details.

"The way I see it, based on the current testimonies, it’s obvious that the culprit is that Wu Renjie."

"Indeed, the first witness stated that both parties had been drinking, and the young man from Ancient Elephant Country was already drunk; however, it’s not quite certain why Wu Renjie wasn’t drunk."

"The second witness seemed to have some resentment towards the wealthy, but what he said might be true. Wu Renjie really did drive away from the scene with Xiao Mo Moji."

As this person spoke, he also shrugged helplessly, "Anyway, if it were me, I definitely wouldn’t hand my car over to someone who was completely drunk. That’s just asking for trouble!"

"You’re right, so the testimony of the third witness is also very important. He witnessed them switching places, indicating that after Wu Renjie hit someone, he chose to have someone else take the blame. And Mr. Xiao Mo Moji, being a junior staff member, has diplomatic immunity, which means even if he committed a crime, the investigative department couldn’t do anything to him."

The third person analyzed calmly and felt that this was the true nature of the case.

"No, no, you’re missing a crucial point!" The fourth amongst the foreign jurors, however, shook his head.

"Which point?" the first three hurriedly asked.

"That would be the identity of the plaintiff’s lawyer, and his motives!"

As he spoke, he looked wary, "This Lawyer Zhang Wei, I’ve heard about him many times. They say he’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals, even daring to kill!"

The word "murder" immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Even the neighboring local jurors, upon seeing such dedication from the foreign jurors, gathered around as well.

Of course, this was also because these foreigners could speak the language of Dragon Country. If they had communicated in another language, the local jurors probably wouldn’t have been interested at all.

"Have any of you considered that this might all be a play directed by the plaintiff’s lawyer? That he instructed the witnesses to speak as they did, trying to pin all the blame on the party that can’t escape responsibility, in order to gain massive benefits, such as exorbitant compensation, high settlement fees, and so on..."

The fifth person couldn’t help but nod in agreement at these words.

"Yes, I also heard that Lawyer Zhang Wei was fired by Jincheng, and now without a strong backer, he has to face his former employer. Clearly, he has an agenda; he wants to use his former law firm as a stepping stone to gain honor for himself!"

The assent from the fifth person seemed to shake the convictions of the first three.

"You all haven’t also watched ’Lisa’s Interview’, have you?"

At that moment, a local juror, a woman, came over with a smile, looking at the few foreign jurors.

"Sister, let it go. The judge said we aren’t allowed to talk about that. You better be careful!"

But the woman’s words made the man behind her jump, and he quickly reminded her.

"Oh oh oh, right, right, you can’t talk about that, almost forgot!" The woman quickly covered her mouth, but then still smiled at the others.

The influence of the "Lisa’s Talk" show was evident.

Although the woman’s interjection was a small diversion, the topic of discussion changed.

Because of the interruption and guidance by the fourth and the fifth person, everyone started to ponder if there was a conspiracy afoot.

"By the way, madam, why haven’t you said anything?"

One of the men in the foreign jurors looked at the last person who hadn’t spoken yet, and it was Cui Xi.

"I’m not fond of discussing, especially before all evidence comes out. I won’t jump to conclusions."

Cui Xi explained, "I work with doctors, and when a doctor decides to operate, it means they have everything under control!"

"So you mean, we should keep watching and wait for both sides to provide new evidence?" the man asked.

"Isn’t that the court procedure? To make a judgment before all evidence appears can easily conflict with later evidence,"

"Indeed," the man nodded in agreement.

The other two also felt this made sense, so they lost the urge to speak.

Seeing this, the fourth and fifth persons frowned simultaneously, clearly very displeased with Cui Xi’s comment.

...

Elsewhere.

In a restroom at the city courthouse.

The third witness, a homeless man, was now relieving himself in the restroom.

"I’ve used nearly all the public restrooms in Dongfang Capital, but it’s my first time in the courthouse’s bathroom!"

"Ah, so refreshing~"

After flushing like a civilized person, he hoisted up his pants, ready to leave.

But when he tried to push the door, he found it was locked tight.

"What’s going on?"

The homeless man felt frustrated; he was actually locked in the restroom.

Afterward, he realized that no matter how hard he pushed, the door wouldn’t open.

He lowered his head to look outside and saw no one’s footprints.

"Shit, am I not..."

Clang—

At that moment, he heard something fall to the ground and roll towards him.

Soon, the object came to a halt in front of him.

It was a bottle of liquor, white, and with a high proof.

"Who’s there? Who left alcohol in the restroom?"

The homeless man swallowed subconsciously. He was, to tell the truth, quite tempted.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had a drink. It seemed it was just the last time, wasn’t it?

But now, locked in a restroom, there didn’t seem to be much else to do.

No one was in the bathroom, and this bottle of liquor appeared just at the right time; it was as if it was meant for him to drink.

Plus, he was due in court shortly, and surely they would send someone to look for him; all he had to do was wait.

Having thought this through, he lost any sense of guilt, unscrewed the bottle cap, and began to guzzle down the alcohol.

Glug glug glug...

For a moment, the homeless man’s spirits soared.

The word ’refreshing’ couldn’t even begin to describe it!

...

The 20-minute recess came to an end.

The civil court was now full of people.

Zhang Wei sat in the plaintiff’s seat, looking around.

"Eh, where’s the witness?"

He noticed the homeless witness hadn’t shown up.

Could such a key witness just disappear in court?

Judge Ni Qiuping surveyed the courtroom and also noticed the absence of the witness.

"Lawyer Zhang, where is your witness?"

"Judge Ni, if you ask me, I have no idea," Lawyer Zhang Wei said, shrugging.

Seeing Lawyer Zhang’s gesture, Ni Qiuping shook her head.

She gestured to a court guard beside her, and understanding the cue, he promptly exited the courtroom to search for the person.

Soon, the courtroom doors swung wide open, and two court guards, each grabbing an arm, dragged the homeless man into the courtroom.

"Good lord, how much did he drink?"

Zhang Wei immediately recognized that the man was intoxicated.

"Reporting to the judge, we found him in the restroom. He drank an entire bottle!"

The court guard reported, presenting the empty bottle that had been found.

"I didn’t drink any alcohol, I’m not drunk..."

And the vagrant, at this moment, was lying on the floor of the courtroom, babbling drunkenly and still denying.

The entire courtroom erupted into chaos.

On the judge’s bench, Ni Qiuping’s face looked even worse.

"Lawyer Zhang, what’s going on here, can’t you control your witness?"

Just then, Lawyer Han stood up from the defense’s table.

"And who might you be?" Zhang Wei saw this and understood, while throwing back a retort.

"You..."

Seeing that Zhang Wei couldn’t even remember his own name, Lawyer Han was immediately irritated.

"I’m Lawyer Han, from the project department!"

"Oh, from the department where that waste Lin Yufeng is. I heard he was promoted to the department head. That really is..."

Zhang Wei clicked his tongue, a look of disappointment and boredom on his face.

"Damn it!" Seeing Zhang Wei’s expression, Lawyer Han’s face turned sour.

But after taking a deep breath, he smiled again.

"Lawyer Zhang, the matter of the law firm has nothing to do with you anymore. What we should be discussing now is the case!"

Lawyer Han said, pointing at the witness in the courtroom, "Look at him, has he any self-awareness as a witness? At such an important occasion, he dares to be drunk!"

"Since he’s drunk, then there’s no way for him to testify. We should end the questioning..."

"Who says? I want to ask the witness a few questions!"

Lawyer Han spoke and, without giving Zhang Wei an opportunity to respond, went straight up to the courtroom, approaching the vagrant.

"Witness, I ask you, on the day of the car accident, did you drink any alcohol?"

"Not... not much..."

The vagrant replied subconsciously, though his tone was a bit odd.

"Not much, so you’re admitting you did drink on the day of the accident. Are you sure you saw what happened?"

"That’s not true," he said. "I saw everything clearly. It was the white-faced kid who hit someone and then switched seats with the black-faced kid!"

"White face, black face, such a vague description. Plus, you were obviously drunk. Maybe what you saw was a hallucination?"

"I... I don’t know..."

Seeing that the witness was unsure, Lawyer Han smirked coldly.

"Your Honor, although the witness is drunk, he was also drunk at the scene of the car accident last Saturday evening. I believe his current state matches the conditions of that day more accurately!"

"This..."

Ni Qiuping didn’t know what to say, but she knew that a drunk person couldn’t testify. Yet, there were so many eyes on her in the courtroom.

"Lawyer Han, how do you intend to prove your point?"

"I want to prove that after the witness is drunk, he completely lacks judgment!"

Lawyer Han said this as he grabbed the vagrant by the collar and pulled him up.

"Come on, look carefully, what number is this?"

He held up a finger and waved it in front of the vagrant’s eyes.

"This, this is..." The latter’s eyes fixated on the finger, but he couldn’t seem to focus at all, almost cross-eyed.

"This is six, the six from one two three four five six, six six six!"

"Fine, this is six!"

Lawyer Han declared, lifting the finger high, looking at the jury, "Everyone heard clearly that, in his drunken state, the witness sees six!"

Now, the whole courtroom understood.

Clearly, the vagrant was muddled from drinking.

Lawyer Han, sensing the shift in the mood, quickly took the bottle of alcohol from the court guard’s hand and continued his questioning: "Witness, you say you didn’t drink much that day, so tell me, does this bottle amount to a lot?"

"No... it doesn’t count, how could such a small bottle make me drunk?"

This response also satisfied Lawyer Han.

He tossed the vagrant aside and, holding the bottle of alcohol, approached the jury with a smile, "This much doesn’t seem a lot to the witness, and he just testified that he didn’t drink much that day. Does this mean that he actually drank about as much as this bottle of alcohol?"

"So please, consider the witness’s current state. Assuming that the situation on the day of the incident was similar to today, how credible do you think his testimony is?"

After throwing this question to the jury, Lawyer Han turned and bowed to Ni Qiuping, "Your Honor, I have finished my questioning!"

Ni Qiuping, helpless but with no other choice, waved her hand to signal Lawyer Han to return to his seat.

As for the jury, they were still pondering the credibility of the witness’s testimony.

However, they also knew that if the witness had been drinking that day, the reliability of his testimony would be seriously compromised.