The hearing room is much smaller than the trial room, with few seats for spectators and no seats for the jury. The prosecution and defense stand on the left and right with the parties involved respectively.
Judge Feng Xuefan was well-dressed, looked to be less than 50 years old, had shiny black hair, and was very graceful.
When he entered the courtroom from the inner door, the clerk shouted "Stand up" in a crisp voice, and everyone stood up, including the few people in the gallery.
Cheng Ye and Liu Hanliang both had smiles on their faces, and even Feng Xuefan glanced at them and nodded slightly.
Imperial judges are appointed for life. Unless the judges are impeached by the local (federal) parliament, or resign and retire on their own, or die of illness in office, no one can remove them.
In Donghai, the power to impeach judges at all levels belongs to the Donghai City Council.
Therefore, judges are usually very individualistic and fearless. For example, Feng Xuefan knows both Cheng Ye and Cheng Ye, so he does not avoid suspicion.
Feng Xuefan walked up to the judge's seat and just sat down when Lu Ming raised his hand.
"Your Honor, I request that you be replaced!"
The courtroom immediately fell silent. The clerk who was about to read out the case summary was also stunned. She was a pretty girl, wearing a black professional suit, and looked graceful.
Liu Hanliang and Cheng Ye looked at each other, with gloating smiles on their faces.
In fact, Judge Feng Xuefan was not their strong backing. This guy was seeking fame and had ambitions to enter the Donghai High Court. In court, he was fair most of the time.
But if anyone provokes him, he will be very petty. He is narrow-minded and has a strong sense of revenge. This rookie lawyer will not be able to survive in Beiguan in the future.
"Hmm..." Feng Xuefan stared at Lu Ming, and the pretty female clerk below hurriedly said, "The defendant's attorney, Lu Qianxing, a junior defense lawyer."
"Lu Qianxing, do you think I'm not fair enough? Do you think I have a vested interest in the plaintiff?" Feng Xuefan looked calm.
"No, Your Honor. Although I have only been in Beiguan for a few days, I have heard of your reputation for fairness."
Feng Xuefan frowned, "Then tell me why you want to change the judge."
Lu Ming nodded, "Because it is unconstitutional for you to hear this case. The defendant is an Erefenni girl. According to Appendix 5 of the Old Testament of the Imperial Code, all criminal and civil lawsuits and disputes of the Erefenni people should be heard by Erefenni judges, and this appendix has never been explicitly abolished by the Imperial Supreme Court or the Federal Parliament! Therefore, the Old Testament has always been part of the Constitution!"
Feng Xuefan was stunned. It seemed that there was such an old treaty in the early days of the empire, which gave Westerners great privileges.
It is normal that this ancient law has not been abolished, because gradually it is no longer used.
Within the empire, including the nearly independent federation of the four northern provinces, the chief judges of courts at all levels are Westerners.
Although there are cases of Westerners being tried by Central Asian judges in Central Asian communities, who could wrongly accuse a Westerner
This ancient clause was gradually forgotten.
But he really didn't know whether there was a clear clause or whether it had been abolished.
After a brief pause, Feng Xuefan nodded and said, "Adjourn the court for twenty minutes." He would go and consult the chief judge for his opinion.
Liu Hanliang and Cheng were also stunned.
Wang Daan, who was sitting in the audience, clenched his fist and said "good" inwardly.
…
In the corridor leading to the lounge, both sides walked on their own sides.
Cheng Ye looked at Wang Daan and smiled: "Lawyer Wang, is your firm going to compete with us?"
Wang Da'an was stunned, stammering, and no one knew what he was saying. He flew away excitedly.
What do you mean by "opposing" a small temple of yours? When someone coughs, it's blown away.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "I am just competing with you today. You can't represent the twelve lawyers in your law firm as a whole, right?"
Cheng Ye looked at him and smiled contemptuously, "Lawyer Lu, you have successfully angered me! Originally, I wanted to save your face." He took out a piece of paper from the folder and turned to Pamela and said, "Madam Pamela, this is an apology letter with the fingerprints of Jin Taohua and your daughter. You may not know what it means, and the rookie lawyer you hired may not be able to explain it to you clearly, so you can ask Lawyer Wang Da'an to explain it to you in detail later!"
After saying that, he smiled at Lu Ming, turned around, pushed the door with Liu Hanliang, and entered the plaintiff's lounge.
…
The defendant's lounge was just across from the plaintiff's lounge. As soon as he entered the room, Wang Daan became anxious and shouted at Jin Taohua: "What's wrong with you? How could you write this?! If you don't understand, ask someone who knows?! Do you know? This will not only harm you, but also Bisi!"
Pamela bit her red lips and said to Lu Ming, "Go talk to them now and try to reach a settlement. See how much we need to pay."
She knew a little about law and knew that having an apology letter like this was equivalent to losing half the case.
Jin Taohua's face was already covered with tears. "I, I don't know. At that time, they said that as long as we wrote an apology letter, they would forgive us. I, Bisi and I wrote it, but who knew that they would still sue us..."
Lu Ming nodded. "That is, your apology letter did not receive the other party's understanding, which also means that the settlement agreement was not reached."
"It's nothing!" Wang Daan looked at this fool with a face full of disappointment and said loudly: "If you really want to help, go and apologize and ask for reconciliation now, don't hurt Madam Pamela and Miss Bis!"
Lu Ming waved his hand and looked at Bisi: "I want to help you fight on. Don't be afraid. Even if we lose, the jury will at most order us to pay compensation. If it comes to that, I will sell the car and compensate you, okay? Now, let's continue the fight."
"Liu Hanliang, it's so easy to fake injuries. Can you afford the compensation? Who knows where you rented that car? Does the money belong to you after you sell it? Don't you live across the street from me? Only truly rich people can live there?!" Wang Da'an was so angry that he was about to lose his temper.
Lu Ming looked at him and nodded in his heart. Originally, his impression of him was just okay, but now, his impression of him has improved a little more. Although he is timid and cautious, he is a kind-hearted person.
Pamela sighed softly at this time: "Thank you, Lawyer Lu, but let's reconcile. If you don't want to apologize, I will go..."
Bisi looked at Lu Ming with tears in her eyes and said, "Uncle, I did nothing wrong..." She bit her lip and tried not to cry, "Uncle, I hope you can tell the judge and everyone that I did nothing wrong and I am not a bad kid..."
Everyone was stunned and silent for a moment, only Bisi's tender childish voice with a crying tone echoed.
"I'm not wrong, I'm not a bad kid..."
For some reason, it makes one's nose feel a little sour.
Wang Daan also sighed deeply.
Pamela's pretty face had a complicated expression, and she finally said, "Fight, fight. If you lose, appeal. If you still lose in the end, I can just borrow money."
"Thank you, Mom..." Bis turned around and threw herself into Pamela's arms, sobbing softly.
Pamela caressed her doll-like smooth golden hair lovingly and kissed her face gently.
Wang Da'an wanted to say something, but he couldn't say it at this moment. He sighed in his heart and could only take things one step at a time.
…
The bailiff came to inform them that the court session would begin about ten minutes later.
Everyone entered the courtroom. When Liu Hanliang passed by Lu Ming, he snorted coldly, "From now on, if you want to reconcile, kneel down and kowtow to me!"
Lu Ming pretended not to hear. In court, every word he said had its value, and it would be a waste to use it on him.
Surprisingly, when everyone stood up, the person who walked from the inner door of the hearing room to the judge's seat was a little old lady, and she was obviously from Central Asia, not the Western chief judge.
The little old lady looked to be over seventy years old. She was shrunken and thin, wrapped in a loose black judge's robe, but she walked like the wind and looked very energetic.
Lu Ming caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye and saw that Liu Hanliang and Cheng Ye had expressions as if a fly had been eaten.
"Don't raise any more objections. This is Deputy Judge Li Wenhua, Li Guan. She can..."
Wang Da'an, who was sitting in the first row of the audience, leaned forward to remind Lu Ming, but when the old lady looked at him with a sharp gaze, he was immediately frightened and quickly shrank back.
Li Guan sat down and cleared his throat: "Chief Judge Christine has entrusted me to conduct the hearing of this case."
Looking at Lu Ming, "Lawyer Lu Qianxing, do you think it's okay?"
Lu Ming stood up and said, "Your Highness, I have no objection, because according to the third note of Appendix 5 of the Old Testament, when the judge hearing the case of the Erephani people is entrusted by Judge Griffinni, the hearing and trial of the case are legally binding."
The old lady's sharp eyes showed some surprise. She stared at Lu Ming and nodded slightly.
She originally thought that this rookie defense lawyer had only heard of the legends in the Old Testament and was just trying his luck and making random statements, but she didn't expect that this little guy seemed to be extremely familiar with the details of the Old Testament.
Even for her, it took her a long time to look up the information.
"Let's start!" She waved her hand.
"Your Honor, I represent the victim, Mr. Liu Hanliang..." Cheng Ye had just stood up and hadn't finished speaking.
Lu Ming interrupted immediately, "Objection, the plaintiff's lawsuit has not yet been formally filed, so I object to the plaintiff's attorney calling the plaintiff "the victim". In court, this is a legal term, and right now, there is no victim!"
Including Wang Da'an, everyone in the courtroom was stunned. Even though there were only a few people in the gallery, some of them just liked to listen to the fun, but as time goes by, one becomes a doctor and over time, he or she has some understanding of legal knowledge.
This is the first time I met such a serious lawyer.
Cheng Ye's face was filled with anger. "I object to the defendant's attorney interrupting my statement of the case."
The old lady blinked her eyes, pondered for a while, and pointed at Lu Ming: "Your objection is valid." She looked at Cheng Ye, "Your objection is invalid."
Cheng Ye gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, Your Honor." After thinking for a while, he continued, "On behalf of Mr. Liu Hanliang, I sue Ms. Bis Stewart for not cleaning up the water in the restaurant in time, causing my client to fall accidentally and suffer huge losses."
The little old lady looked through the various evidence submitted by the plaintiff in the file, frowned, and looked at Lu Ming.
"Ms. Bisi, I didn't mean it..." Before Lu Ming could finish his words, the old lady had already shaken her head and picked up the gavel to rule the case guilty and set a date for the trial to form a jury.
"This kind of reason should be heard by the jury!"
She seemed a little disappointed with Lu Ming. Originally, Lu Ming knew the Old Testament like the back of his hand, and was very picky with his words towards the plaintiff. This was quite fresh and eye-opening. This young man was quite interesting.
But I didn't expect that for such a simple case, this kid named Lu didn't immediately blame the restaurant for the responsibility. Among the rookies, he is considered relatively soft.
And whether the defendant did it intentionally or unintentionally, it has nothing to do with the hearing court.
The hearing is mainly to review the plaintiff's evidence to see whether it is sufficient. If it is sufficient, it will enter the trial stage.
The real division of responsibility is determined by the jury during the trial.
I don’t know how this rookie lawyer got his lawyer’s license.
Her original expectation immediately turned into disappointment.
Seeing her pick up the gavel, Liu Hanliang and Cheng Ye's faces were immediately filled with joy.
"Your Honor, please give me two minutes..." Lu Ming said hurriedly.
"One minute!" She put down the gavel.
"Your Honor, the restaurant was very busy at the time. My client, Bis, did not clean up the water or put up a warning sign in front of the water as required. However, she had blocked the water with a broom. Moreover, the location of the water was very remote. Please see my diagram."
He picked up a drawing, a hastily sketched one, and a court clerk came up and delivered his sketch to the judge's bench.
Lu Ming continued, "In fact, normal people will take a detour. It's not the only way to the bathroom. It's in the corner. Normal people don't walk sideways like crabs when they go to the bathroom."
"Objection!" Cheng also stood up, "I object to the defendant's lawyer's insult to my client."
The old lady made a gesture and Cheng sat down helplessly.
Lu Ming continued, "Moreover, Your Honor, the water stains there were originally the drink that the plaintiff spilled to vent his dissatisfaction. I believe that the restaurant and Miss Biss are not at fault. Although the plaintiff and the restaurant have formed a certain contractual relationship, in the contract, the restaurant and Miss Biss only need to provide a safe and comfortable dining environment and value-for-money meals. The plaintiff should bear all the consequences of the unsafe factors created due to his own reasons, not to mention that my client has tried his best to help the plaintiff eliminate the dangerous factors..."
"One minute..." The old lady looked at her watch and thought, "This is still a bit far-fetched. When a guest accidentally spills water while dining in a restaurant, does that mean the restaurant has no obligation to clean up?"
The old lady paused and said, "Moreover, these reasons should be heard by the jury, and then they should decide whether you are right or wrong, instead of being decided by the hearing court."
Lu Ming said: "That's not what I meant. What I meant is that many of our current cases focus too much on uniformity, without conducting in-depth analysis and differentiation of cases. The division of legal obligations still depends on the specific interaction between the two parties. In this case, Mr. Liu Hanliang obviously deliberately caused trouble. If this still needs a trial, it would only be a waste of court resources. The hearing court should have excluded these unreasonable and even malicious lawsuits!"
"Your Honor..." Cheng Ye stood up and took out the apology letter from Jin Taohua and Bisi.
Lu Ming said very quickly: "Your Honor, now is my time to speak."
The little old lady made a gesture and Cheng had no choice but to sit down.
Lu Ming held up a piece of paper and said, "Your Honor, this is the settlement agreement proposed by the plaintiff. Of course, given Mr. Liu Hanliang's reputation, my client immediately rejected it."
The legal clerk brought the paper to the judge's bench, which was the agreement requiring Bisi to work as a maid to take care of Liu Hanliang until he recovered from his leg injury.
The old lady frowned as she saw this, and raised her head to look at Bisi, who used to be as cute as a little doll but now looked so timid and pitiful.
Looking at Liu Hanliang, who had a lewd look on his face, the old lady's eyes were filled with anger.
Lu Ming said: "Of course, personally, I think that any unresolved settlement agreement should not be brought to court."
The old lady said "oh" and looked at Lu Ming with interest: "What do you mean?"
"Because a settlement agreement is never evidence, for example, if my client hopes to settle the matter peacefully after an apology, in order to avoid causing more trouble, he may ask for a settlement by apologizing."
"But if the judge and jury see this kind of apology settlement agreement, they will usually have a preconceived idea that my client is at fault, which will affect the judge and jury's judgment."
"For a fair trial of a case, the judge and jury cannot have a preconceived position. During the trial, they should follow the evidence. Only in this way can they be impartial."
The old lady listened, a strange look flashed in her eyes, and she thought for a while, "That's the truth."
Cheng Ye, who was holding the apology letter, was so angry that his nose was almost crooked. Are you a human being? You are not even a human being!
Oh, you showed the judge the settlement terms I offered, and then you started talking a lot, saying that a settlement agreement that has not been reached should not be presented in court, and that this will affect the judge's judgment
Now that you have influenced me, you won’t influence me anymore
The old lady looked at the settlement agreement again, her face full of disgust, and raised her head and said, "I agree with the defendant's lawyer's point of view. In this case, the plaintiff bears the greatest responsibility. Moreover, since the plaintiff can attend the hearing, it seems that he has not suffered too much damage. There is no need to waste public money on the trial!
"However, the defendant needs to apologize to the plaintiff and the case is dismissed!"
"Peng" knocked the gavel down.
"Your Honor, here are the apology letters from the defendant, the restaurant owner Jin Taohua, and the defendant Bisi..."
"I also agree with the defendant's lawyer's point of view. If an agreement is not reached in court, it will affect the judge and the jury's preset position. From today on, this behavior will be abolished in my court!" Peng, another gavel sounded.
Cheng was also stunned, "Your Honor..."
"Dismissed!" The little old lady banged the gavel again and stood up.
"Stand up!" the clerk said in a clear voice.
The little old lady walked down the steps towards the inner door. When she reached the door, she turned around and saw the restaurant owner thanking the rookie lawyer with tears in her eyes. She understood in her heart that the reason why she did not put the blame on the restaurant at the beginning was, firstly, that the rookie lawyer was kind-hearted and did not want the restaurant to become a defendant and go bankrupt; secondly, the other party had an apology letter, so even if she put the blame on the restaurant, she would not dismiss the case directly, but would file it. The right and wrong of the case would depend on both parties presenting various evidences for the jury to judge.
Well, this court should not see an out-of-court agreement that did not result in a settlement, and the jury should not see it.
Otherwise, the judge and the jury will have some preset positions.
A very novel idea, but it makes sense.
It was as if I had this thought a long time ago, but never knew the trick, and this little rookie revealed it to me.
She suddenly stopped and shouted, "Lu Qianxing, accompany me to the bar for a drink tonight."
Over there, Lu Ming was smiling and saying to Cheng Ye: "You have our official apology letter in your hand. It seems that my client doesn't need to express his apology verbally!"
Cheng was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.
At this moment, Li Guan, who had walked to the inner door, suddenly shouted this.
Everyone in the court was stunned, but it was not surprising that Li Guan invited people to drink.
Because Li Guan has always been independent and has a high prestige in the legal community, no one can do anything to her.
What is surprising is that Mr. Li actually favors a rookie lawyer.
Cheng also gritted his teeth, it is not right that a judge can work for a lifetime, that is why there are so many freaks! But, he can't afford to offend.
Liu Hanliang stared at Lu Ming with a gloomy expression.
Cheng was also shocked when he saw his expression. There was almost nothing this good young man couldn't do if he wanted to. Now, he had ruined his plans and was afraid that he would suffer the consequences.
My heart was immediately filled with great fear, and for a moment, I forgot to curse Old Mrs. Li.
Over there, looking at the dumbfounded Lu Ming, Li Guan playfully blinked his eyes and said, "Don't worry, I'm old and not interested in young men. Don't be afraid that I will eat you!"
Lu Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Li Guan, it's my honor to taste wine with you."
"Seven o'clock in the evening, Fiona Bar!" After saying that, the little old lady pushed the door and entered the inner courtyard.
Lu Ming was speechless for a moment. The bar of Aofei was the prototype of a disco. It was too noisy even if he went there alone. After all, a disco should be the world of teenagers. But he didn't expect that this old lady was very trendy.
Lu Ming scratched his head and was about to leave when the pretty female clerk came over quickly, "Lawyer Lu, Lawyer Cheng, please follow me to monitor the changes in your assessment scores!"
Cheng Ye's face changed immediately, but he forgot about it.
If a case is directly dismissed, it is worse than losing the lawsuit. It is the most severe punishment and the score is twice that of losing the lawsuit.
If you lose a lawsuit normally, you will lose 10% of your points, or 10 points, whichever is greater.
However, if the case is not filed directly, 20% of the assessment points will be deducted.
His original score was 156.75 points, which was considered relatively high among ordinary lawyers in Beiguan. Now, more than 31 points would be deducted in one go.
Looking at Lu Ming with a bewildered look on his face, and Wang Da'an who was so excited that he hugged Lu Ming to celebrate, his eyes were about to spit fire, but he had no choice but to follow the young clerk to register. He watched her record the new score into her file, and then issue him a certificate of new points and stamp it. He felt that today was simply the most unlucky day of his life.
…
After leaving the court, Wang Da'an's excitement gradually faded. Looking at the calm Lu Ming, he was speechless for a moment.
What happened? Because of a lawsuit, my assessment score exceeded my previous highest score record. For more than 30 years, my assessment score has fluctuated between -90 and +50, barely maintaining it below -100. Otherwise, my lawyer license would be revoked.
My score is now just one step away from having my lawyer license revoked, which is very dangerous.
This guy had just become a registered lawyer for a few days, but he had already denied his decades of hard work.
With the goddess of luck looking after you, no one can stop you.
However, this guy is really amazing. I don’t know who he heard those arguments from, but from a legal perspective, they are simply eye-opening. This guy’s teacher must be a great lawyer.
However, Wang Daan did not bother Lu Ming as he was coaxing Ruth, who was crying in his arms. "Manager Jin, let me take you there!"
Wang Daan walked up to Jin Taohua. He drove his second-hand car which he bought for more than 100 yuan.
"I, I want to thank Mr. Lu." Seeing Lu Ming and Pamela talking, Jin Taohua didn't dare to go over to disturb them.
"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future!" Wang Da'an said with a smile.
Jin Taohua thought about it and said, "Okay, thank you, Lawyer Wang." She followed Wang Daan and walked towards the direction where he parked his car.
"Okay, okay, you won't be beautiful if you keep crying!" Lu Ming scratched the straight nose of the beautiful loli who was hugging him.
Bisi gradually stopped crying, but she held Lu Ming's arm and refused to let go.
She had never had a father, and for the first time she encountered a big tree that could shelter her from the wind and rain.
Although Pamela frowned at Bisi's behavior, she couldn't bear to scold her at this time. She looked at Lu Ming again and said sincerely: "Mr. Lu, thank you!"
Lu Ming smiled: "Okay, I'll take you home."
Pamela nodded slightly, and walked with Lu Ming in the direction where he parked the car. Bis still held Lu Ming's arm and refused to let go.
"How much does it cost for the lawyer's fee? I'll write you a check later...." Pamela said as she walked.
Lu Ming was looking at Bisi with amusement, thinking it was a pity that his health was not good enough, otherwise it would be fun to hang her by one arm.
My own father also hanged himself like this when he was a child.
Father, mother...
Lu Ming suddenly felt extremely depressed.
I never thought about these things, but Bisi's behavior today reminded me of my relatives who I was afraid I would never see again in my life.
Just as I was feeling sad, a fragrant breeze blew gently, and Pamela's gentle voice floated into my ears.
"Lawyer Lu? How much is the attorney's fee?"
Lu Ming came back to his senses and said with a smile: "This is my first lawsuit in Donghai, so it's free."
"How can that be? Wait a few days and I'll write you a check."
Lu Ming knew what was going on, but he certainly didn't want to embarrass this Western lady. He smiled and said, "Whatever. I'm not in a hurry."
Just then, he arrived in front of the snow dragon phantom with smooth and shiny black lines.
"It's a nice car!" Pamela looked at Lu Ming suspiciously, "Is Mr. Lu rich?"
Lu Ming rubbed his nose. It had been a whole day since he noticed his car. Apparently, she was just indifferent on the surface. In fact, she loved her daughter very much. So she had never paid much attention to other things. She was absent-minded until the case was over.
"Get in the car!" Lu Ming was not at all gentlemanly and opened his door and got in first.
Pamela hesitated for a moment and said, "Lawyer Lu, can you come to my laundry? I have some legal questions I want to consult you about."
Lu Ming nodded: "Sure, I'm going home and will live above your laundry shop."