First-Class Lawyer

On the day of the court session, Joshua Dale stayed awake all night, and got up at 5 o'clock in the morning with dark circles under his eyes.The younger sister, Luo Xi, was curled up on another bed, wrapped up like a shrimp in the wide quilt.

The environment of the hotel is many times better than their old house, and there is even aromatherapy for sleeping and calming the mind.The little girl in his family slept soundly.To be precise, she has slept soundly for the past few days. She has not been frozen in the middle of the night, has not been frightened by the movement of rats and cockroaches, and has not been woken up by drunks who scold her. She is more at ease than ever.

How much he wished that she could live such a stable life all the time, but he couldn't give any guarantee.

Because today, he will accept a trial.

He was very anxious, very resistant, and extremely negative...

The air in the hotel room was very good, at least much fresher than the street, but he felt that he couldn't stay in such a closed and quiet space, and was so depressed that he was about to throw up.

So he tucked the quilt up for Luo Xi, wrapped his coat tightly and went out.

At 5 o'clock in the morning, the sky was still dark, it was gloomy and black, and the clouds were thick, like a cloudy day.

Joshua stood downstairs in the hotel, sniffing the cold air, the cold wind poured from his nose into his heart.He is not a completely free person now, and it will be even harder to say in the future.Under many restrictions, he cannot see many people and go to many places.

And his lawyer reminded him not to run around.

So he walked aimlessly back and forth in the dark alleys, like a dying person, trying to grasp the last bit of life in a disorganized manner.

He has been in various construction sites all year round, taking over various jobs, and unknowingly developed two legs with super endurance.To him, the distance from Silver Tea Hotel to Shuangyue Street is only half an hour's running.

So when he came back to his senses, he was already standing in front of his house.

Long ago, when my grandmother was still around, there would always be a portable lamp in the house that would stay on all night, dimmed to save energy.If anyone wakes up at night, their eyes will not be blackened and bumped.

At that time, no matter how rough he was outside, when he came back, he could always see the light ball of the lantern quietly reflected on the window pane in a certain room, waiting for him to come home with his grandmother in the armchair.

Joshua Dale stared at the dark window for a moment, then grabbed it with his hand in his pocket, but it was in vain.

He didn't bring the house key, and it was still in the hotel, pressed next to Luo Xi's pillow.

He stared at the door for a while, and for some unknown reason, he suddenly raised his hand and patted the door three times hesitantly.

He lowered his head and waited outside the door for a long, long time, but he never heard the familiar rustling footsteps of his grandmother.

No one in this world will open the door for him anymore, dragging him and babbling, "Is it cold, is something unpleasant happening, why don't you smile"...

He leaned against the door of his house and sat on the ground, like a homeless man, in a daze for a long time.

The sign clock on Shuangyue Street rings once in the morning and evening, at 8:7 in the morning and 8:[-] in the evening, exactly.The bell rang eight times, and Joshua stood up as if awakened, rubbed his numb hands, and then slowly ran towards the hotel.

……

"Where did you go?" Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan were talking in the corridor of the hotel, and asked when they saw him come back.

Joshua said sullenly, "Run in the morning."

Can running in the morning get rid of the effect of going to a funeral?

Yan Suizhi didn't expose him, but he didn't ask any more questions, and just nodded.

"Today's weather is terrible, cloudy, it looks like it will rain anytime." Joshua said with drooping eyelids, "I don't think this is a good sign."

Yan Suizhi: "Your words got us both involved."

Joshua twitched the corners of his mouth, but didn't smile. He really couldn't cheer up a little bit today, "I don't know, I'm just... sad, it seems that no one will believe me..."

Generally speaking, at such a time, someone should answer him: "I believe in you." Whether it is true or false.

But Yan Suizhi didn't say anything.He has experienced many things, and he does not think he is a good person. He may be soft-hearted at times, but his heart is surprisingly hard most of the time.It's a pity that he couldn't say these comforting words to Joshua. In his case, the relationship between lawyers and clients is like this——

He needs the client to trust him as much as possible, to tell him all the truth.In fact, in many cases, he is indeed the only life-saving straw that the parties can trust.But he couldn't fully trust the client.

He always took what they said with a grain of salt.

In the end, Yan Suizhi just patted Joshua on the shoulder, but Gu Yan asked, "Before the trial, let me confirm with you again, did you do it?"

Yan Suizhi glanced at him.

His question was very flat, and his tone was as cold as usual, as if it was a routine.

But at this time, Joshua felt that even if he just asked him a question and was willing to listen carefully to his answer, it would make him feel better.So he looked into Gu Yan's eyes, shook his head and said seriously: "No."

After saying these words, his heart filled with cold wind suddenly found a little relief.

At 9:15 in the morning, Joshua Dale and his defense lawyer Gu Yan arrived at the courtroom, together with Yan Suizhi, who dragged his injured leg and refused to show his physical disability.

The pre-trial meeting on the Wine City side was very informal, hastily and chaotically organized.It was not the first time for Gu Yan and Yan Suizhi to appear in court in such a place, and they were no strangers to it.Many rules that prevail elsewhere are not well enforced here, so they will always collect as much evidence as possible and find as many loopholes as possible to ensure a foothold in this chaotic place.

Gu Yan and the prosecutor's lawyer showed each other their evidence and quickly completed the process.

At 10 a.m., Court No. 1, the judges are in place.

Gu Yan and the prosecutor's lawyer nodded to the judge, and Yan Suizhi sat on the seat behind Gu Yan, crossing Erlang's legs under the cover of the table to avoid landing on the still swollen injured leg.He looked at the judge's drooping eyes and pursed mouth, and the electronic pen between his fingers clicked lightly on the table.

"It seems that Joshua's premonition is not inaccurate today." Yan Suizhi whispered to the back of Gu Yan's head after he sat down, "Such a cloudy day is indeed not a good omen. Judge Ray Lau..."

Gu Yan didn't look back, just coughed lowly, signaling him not to be so presumptuous just because his voice was low.

Anyone who has dealt with this droopy-eyed judge knows that he is a tendentious judge who often fails to treat the defendant completely fairly. If he wants to plead not guilty in his hands, the success rate is frighteningly low .

The prosecution and the defense were seated, and the defendant, Joshua Daller, was taken to his place by two bailiffs.

After he sat down, he took a deep breath, and then stared at an entrance on the right side.The jury members are entering the court one after another from there, standing in the jury box one by one.

Those were the people who could decide his fate—a group of strangers picked from everywhere.

Everyone confirmed that they were in court. Judge Murray Liu lowered his eyes, and there was a thick book in his hand, which listed some standard sentences that a judge should use in court.

In fact, the judge has used those sentences countless times, and he can blurt them out long ago, but he still has to take a look at the open book as a routine, which represents the rigor and meticulousness of the court.

The first thing a jury does when they arrive is to take an oath.

Murray Liu looked at the jury and said in a calm voice: "The solemn court needs your formal oath. For this case that is about to be heard, can you give the most fair verdict with a faithful and responsible attitude?"

"I swear by my reputation that I will uphold justice. If someone is wronged, I will be happy for him. If someone suffers injustice, I will be ashamed for the rest of my life. I will use the most rational attitude and let the law exercise its power."

Joshua Dale let out a breath slowly, pressed slightly trembling fingers on his knees, and slowly clenched them tightly.

He was so nervous that when the judge pronounced his name and identified him, he couldn't even understand the meaning of those simple words.He stared at the judge for nearly five seconds before slowly digesting it. He nodded and said sleepwalkingly: "It's me."

It took him a long time to remember that he could sit down.

When he sat down and looked towards the center of the courtroom, he realized that the prosecution lawyer had already started to give his opening statement, and the voice of the other party seemed to reach his ears across two mountains.

"——Joshua Dale, the defendant of the defense, used a decorative bronze sculpture placed in the closet in the southwest corner of Kitty Bell's house and a coarse cloth pillow on the sofa outside, and under the premise of covering up the sound, knocked Kitty Bell in the back of her head, knocked Bell unconscious to prevent her from ringing the alarm, and took one of Bell's jewelry boxes, which contained some jewelry and an unbound bond. Joshua Dale on Kitty Bell and her great-nephew Chester Bell are very familiar with the schedule of a day, so they can accurately leave the room when Chester Bell comes home, hide in the courtyard, and use Chester Bell to enter the house Due to the time difference, he climbed over the wall and returned to his residence. All the above facts are supported by physical and personal evidence, as well as the testimony of Joshua Dale himself..."

……

The prosecution lawyer eloquently and clearly listed the evidence, and finally looked at Judge Murray Liu, and nodded at him.

"I'm sorry for what Ms. Kitty Bell has suffered." Murray Liu nodded, then turned to look at Gu Yan, the corners of his mouth were tense, and his face instantly became mean, " Defense lawyer, Gu? You can start your opening statement."

Generally speaking, the opening statement is to have the prosecution briefly describe the alleged crime, the course of the case and the evidence they have obtained, and then the defense lawyer will state the main defense points and emphasize their own position.

Joshua Dale stared at Gu Yan with his fingers clenched, and Yan Suizhi also raised his eyes to look at the back of Gu's...handsome head.

While everyone in the court was quietly waiting for him to speak, he raised his hand and made a gesture to judge Murray Liu.

That gesture means - the defense abandons its opening statement.

Murray Liu's tense expression relaxed, a little stunned, but Yan Suizhi leaned back, with the corners of his mouth curled up.