Chapter 485: A Battle Outside the Court (Part One)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Prosecutor Reese, this is the data you asked me to collect. It includes media commentary and investigation.” An intern passed a thick document to Reese.

Reese took the document and flipped through a few pages before a bright smile appeared on his face.

“The direction of public opinion is very advantageous to us. Our chances of winning in the next court appearance have increased significantly,” Reese said proudly.

“Prosecutor Reese, I don’t fully understand. What’s the relationship between these things and the case? Will it really help us a lot?” the intern asked with a puzzled face.

“That is a given,” Reese said with a boastful expression. He then continued, “The direction of public opinion will convey a message to the jury; harming others while trying to defend one’s own life is wrong as well as immoral. At the beginning of the court session, the members of the jury will assume that the action of the accused, which was to open fire and harm bystanders, was wrong. Even if he only did it to get the bystanders to help him call the cops. In court, I only have to emphasize that the accused took the initiative to act, and thus, it was an intentional behavior of the accused. Harming others while trying to protect one’s self-interest, does it not sound like intentional assault? I hope that I can define the actions of the accused as intentional assault by this method.

“Then, will the members of the jury accept such an idea? What I want to ask is if the jury members aren’t influenced by public opinion, then what should we do?” the intern continued asking.

“Relax, they will definitely be influenced by public opinion. It is directly related to the structure of the jury.” Reese gestured for the intern to have a seat. He then continued explaining, “The law stipulates that citizens who are above 18 years old, live in the country, are fluent in English, do not have hearing and mental impairments, and have no criminal records, are eligible to sit on a jury. However, in the actual screening process, the prosecutors and defenders will screen out some people.”

“For example, someone whose education level or living standards were lower would have a higher chance of being removed by both parties during the screening process. The reason is that these people are limited by their education and living environment. It is hard for them to come to a reasonable judgment based on the evidence. You can’t count on a high school dropout to think and analyze problems like a scholar. So regardless of whether it was the prosecuting or defending party, the lawyers would feel that letting someone like that become a jury member was a risk. Unless the accused comes from a particular group; if not, when it comes to screening for the jury, both sides will definitely remove these people.”

“Apart from that, we also don’t want people who have a very high educational level or experts within industries to become members of the jury. These people have gone through higher-level education and have achieved certain success. They are also more confident. They have better independent thinking ability and excellent judgment, and they are not easily affected by external factors. If someone like this were to appear in a jury, even if an excellent argument were made in court, they would not follow our thought process. They would use their independent thinking and come out with their own insight. The efforts of the prosecutor and the lawyer would be pointless in front of them. They would follow their own judgment and wouldn’t be easily dissuaded.”

“That is why, when it comes to the selection of the jury members, we usually pick the ones who don’t stand out in their lives, the ones who aren’t good at multi-layered thinking, who are pliable and easily influenced by external factors. Normal people who go with the flow. These people are the perfect jury members for both the prosecutor and defense lawyers. They will come out with a conclusion based on the most basic evidence as well as the words of the lawyers, never producing any unexpected factors.”

“I guess you should understand now that I’ve said this much, right? The members of the jury are people who are easily affected by external factors. Guided by public opinion, they will make assumptions. And in this case, I’ve used exactly this point to make them side with us. Or it might be better to say that we have used public opinion and moral coercion to affect their judgment!”

The intern nodded with a distorted expression. It wasn’t hard to see that he didn’t entirely agree with such behavior.

Instead, Reese advised him, “I know. You probably can’t comprehend this sort of behavior, but believe me, you will get used to it. From one perspective, it is indeed moral coercion, but you have to understand, the one who makes the final call isn’t us, so we don’t have to worry about mental or moral pressure. We have only one objective, and that is to convict the suspect!”

…

Dai Li arrived at Wilfrid’s law firm.

“Mr. Li, the direction of recent public opinion, I’m sure you’ve noticed it, right?” Wilfrid asked.

Dai Li nodded and said with a smile, “I’ve noticed it. I’ve already become a negative example; I never knew that there were so many moral and noble people in the world.”

Wilfrid felt the sarcasm in Dai Li’s tone, he smiled without paying it any heed, and said, “Mr. Li, this sort of situation is very unfavorable to us in the next court session. The jury will easily be affected by the direction of public opinion, which will lead them to make an unfavorable judgment against us.”

“They sure know how to pick their time. We’re about to start a court session, and something like this happens,” Dai Li said in resignation.

“If I’m not wrong, this is a trick of that prosecutor. The reason Nick Reese is able to maintain a 100% conviction rate is that he does things unscrupulously,” Wilfrid stated.

“Mr. Wilfrid, you’ve brought me here. I’m guessing you have already thought up a method of dealing with this,” Dai Li said. He knew that a lawyer of Wilfrid’s caliber would have already thought of a solution a long time ago.

“I have indeed thought of a solution, but it will require some money. This expenditure is not included in the lawyer fees, so I need to get your consent,” Wilfrid said.

“I understand.” Dai Li pulled out his checkbook and signed it. However, he didn’t fill in the number. He then handed the blank check to Wilfrid.

Wilfrid took the check and continued, “Later, I will send a detailed receipt of this expenditure to you by mail. I suggest you show the receipt to your accountant, as there might be parts that can be used to deduct tax.”

The reason Wilfrid requested this extra money from Dai Li was also because of tax. If the money were included in Wilfrid’s lawyer fees, then Wilfrid would have to pay personal income tax for it, whereas if it were funds provided by the client, then Wilfrid would not be required to pay extra tax.

“Mr. Wilfrid, I’m now very curious. What exactly is the coping method you thought up? Can you reveal it to me first?” Dai Li asked.

“Of course, you are my client, and you have the right to know everything.” Wilfrid smiled craftily. He pointed towards the blank check and said, “With this, there’s nothing that cannot be solved! Do you still remember the bystander you injured?”

“Yeah, I remember. I heard that the guy doesn’t have a real job. He usually works part-time at a gas station,” Dai Li answered.

“He’s now living quite comfortably, isn’t he!” Wilfrid said as if referring to something. He clasped his hands together and asked, “I guess you won’t mind letting him live even better, right?”

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