After waiting for a long time in the tea restaurant on the first floor of Jincheng Building, Xiao Cui finally arrived. Just like the last time we met, she was wearing flowered clothes, but she looked more haggard.
"Xiao Cui, on the day Mrs. Li Er was murdered, he asked you to give something to Li Si, but you didn't give it to Li Si, right?"
As soon as Xiao Cui sat down, she turned pale after hearing the first words she heard when they met.
Lu Ming nodded. It seemed that he had guessed right.
"Mrs. Li Er, what is the thing I asked you to give to Li Si?" Lu Ming's eyes became stern. "If you don't tell me, it might kill Li Si, do you know that?"
"Yes, it's the Second Concubine's, the Second Concubine's underwear..." Xiao Cui's eyes were full of tears. After she finished speaking, she covered her face and sobbed softly, "I, I don't know why this happened. I, I didn't want to give this thing to Brother Li Si, so I threw it into the trash can and said that the Second Concubine was looking for him, but she didn't give him anything, didn't give him anything..."
Lu Ming slowly leaned back in his chair. That was right. Li Xiaoyan had given Li Mingxuan psychological preparation in advance. When she saw that he saw her underwear and came to see her again, she naturally agreed to have sex with her. Therefore, she did not expect that she was forcing Li Mingxuan and he was not willing at all.
However, Lu Ming looked at Xiao Cui who was sobbing with her head down, and it seemed that he didn't need to ask this question himself. Xiao Cui probably liked Li Mingxuan a little bit in her heart. After all, Li Mingxuan had not been disfigured at that time. Although he was lame, he was still very handsome. So, Xiao Cui lost the underwear for some unknown reason.
"Can you still find that pair of underwear?" Lu Ming asked.
Xiao Cui shook her head. "I, I don't know. It's been more than half a month. The garbage dump in the back alley has been cleared..."
Lu Ming looked at his watch. The court session would begin in more than half an hour, and he had no time to look for it.
"Xiao Cui, are you willing to testify in court and tell the truth?" Lu Ming asked.
Xiao Cui was stunned, with fear in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I can't give you money or do anything now, but I can promise you that I will ensure your safety during the trial of this case. You can move to the Husky Hotel, and when the lawsuit is over, I will send you to a safe place to live."
"I, I don't know..." Xiao Cui shook her head, and it was obvious that she was very confused.
"Come on, follow me!" Lu Ming knew that if he didn't strike while the iron was hot and send her to the witness stand, then later, when she calmed down, she might not tell the truth that she knew.
Fortunately, as the waiter who notified Li Mingxuan to go upstairs, she had already been included in the list of witnesses.
Both the prosecution and the defense have dozens of witnesses on their lists, but not all of them will be required to testify in court. Some witnesses may not even know that they are on the witness list, and they may refuse to testify when summoned by the court.
For both the prosecution and the defense, having a thick list of witnesses is also a tactic to make the other side unaware of what the key points they have grasped and what their strategies are.
Also, if you don't know what your witness will say in court, never send her to the stand.
This is the golden rule for lawyers.
And Xiao Cui, at the very least, would not give any testimony that was unfavorable to Li Mingxuan.
Even if she regretted it in court and did not mention the underwear incident, she would only say that she followed the Second Concubine's instructions and went downstairs to call Li Mingxuan upstairs.
This is nothing, as this was the prosecution's initial judgment on this case.
He had originally planned to summon Xiao Cui to create some favorable conditions for Li Mingxuan, and now, he was more confident that he could do it, even if the underwear incident had never happened.
…
The judge sitting in the court was Cao Dahua, one of the most important judges of the Ninth Circuit Court. In terms of status, he was second only to Li Guan.
He is in his fifties, with a square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a righteous look on his face.
The face reflects the heart. In fact, this old saying is sometimes quite true.
In terms of reputation, Cao Dahua is even better than Li Guan. After all, the old lady Li Guan has a weird temper and often does shocking things.
Under the chairmanship of Cao Guan.
First, the prosecution made its opening statement. Liu Hanming spoke eloquently and described the entire process of the prosecution's judgment of the case and the relevant chain of evidence.
He directly described Li Mingxuan as a "fugitive from other place, a rapist and murderer who repays kindness with enmity."
Although Lu Ming raised a serious objection and Cao Dahua ruled that the objection was valid, there was no doubt that in the eyes of the jury, these bad labels had been inserted by Liu Hanming into Li Mingxuan's slightly dry hair.
The prosecution charged Li Mingxuan with "robbery", "rape", and "intentional murder".
So-called premeditated murder, similar to intentional homicide, is murder that is premeditated and planned.
After hearing these three charges, Lu Ming was relieved. Li Mingxuan should have a chance to get away with it.
After Liu Hanming took his seat, Cao Dahua nodded to Lu Ming. Lu Ming slowly stood up and walked to the judge's seat, bowing slightly to the jury and the judge.
"In court, fellow jurors, what happened to Ms. Li Xiaoyan is undoubtedly a tragedy. I also hope that the murderer will be severely punished. However, Mr. Li Haoran is not someone who should be punished. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I will show you this little by little. I will defend my client as not guilty."
"Li Si" makes people feel that he is not a serious person, so Lu Ming gave Li Mingxuan the so-called "rectified name" of "Li Haoran". Li Mingxuan also dressed in a suit and tie, looking very decent.
From the name to the first impression, everything will affect the jurors' judgment of him.
"My client is from the barbaric northern region, but he is definitely not a fugitive, but a persecuted person. When I talked to him, he showed his honest and kind character. He even told me what kind of persecution he had suffered. He also said that he really wanted to tell you what kind of person he is, but for his personal safety, I don't recommend him to do so. In that dark world, he struggled to survive and yearned for light, but he didn't expect that a tragedy would find him again. Originally, he was handsome, but in pursuit of light, he had been tortured and had a lame leg. But when he arrived in the land of light, he was disfigured. Sometimes when I look at him, I always wonder if God has abandoned him... or if God hopes to use your hands to redeem him..."
The jurors were all moved when they looked at Li Mingxuan.
Many of them are new immigrants and were deliberately selected by Liu Hanming because the newer they are, the more xenophobic they are, especially homeless people from other places, who would make them feel offended and lower the reputation of their new immigrant group.
But if they are seeking refuge after having suffered persecution from warlords and rulers of all sizes in the Northern Territory, that is another matter.
In particular, in order to escape to the East China Sea, they became lame, went through hardships, and were disfigured when they arrived in the East China Sea. Many of them recalled some of the bitter experiences they had when they first set foot on this land, and they could empathize with them.
Cao Dahua quietly looked at Lu Ming, who seemed to be extremely sad for the person involved. There was an indescribable meaning in his eyes.
Lu Ming's sadness was for the jurors to see. From Cao Guan's perspective, it was obvious from the way he made faces.
Lu Ming did not deliberately avoid Cao Guan.
Liu Hanming at the prosecution seat, however, gradually frowned. Although he did not look down on this rookie lawyer, he did not expect that this guy was such a dramatic actor at such a young age and had such a thick skin. This was really beyond his imagination.
I had thought that this rookie lawyer would use the torture the suspect suffered in the detention center as a weapon, but that was just the right thing. Generally speaking, in detention centers, prisons, etc., injuries left by fights between prisoners will not attract any sympathy, but will instead increase Li Si's identity label as a "prisoner." All of these little details will affect the jury's final judgment on the case.
However, this rookie lawyer packaged his client as a model of positivity and seeking light. In fact, he was a loser with a tragic fate and luck was never on his side.
This is completely different. Many new immigrants have experienced frustration. At this moment, the most tragic representative appears in front of them, which can easily resonate with them and arouse their sympathy.
Liu Hanming's eyes gradually became serious as he looked at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming sighed at this time, "For every charge, I have to say that my client is innocent, innocent, innocent!"
"My defense strategy is to pursue the truth and show everyone his innocence!"
"Thanks!"
Lu Ming bowed to the judge's seat and the jury seat, then slowly walked back to his seat.
His opening statement was short and seemed to say nothing, but the effect was...
Liu Hanming looked at the jurors' reactions with a frown on his face.
This bastard is really good at creating character settings. My deceased master once said that the most brilliant lawyers will design the most suitable character settings for their clients. I understand this principle, but it seems that only now, when I saw this guy named Lu Qianxing, I understood the true meaning of this sentence.
I'm afraid this case won't go as smoothly as I imagined.