Are You Crazy? He's only an Intern Lawyer?-Chapter 63 - 62 The Second Witness, The Congressman’s Brother

In the face of Zhang Wei’s objection, Huang Fang also had something to say, “Your Honor, I believe Team Leader Lin’s testimony can fully be accepted as that of an expert witness.

She is the deputy team leader of the Martial Association Serious Crime Team with over ten years of criminal investigation experience, which is more than enough to qualify as an expert witness!”

Zhang Wei immediately countered, “Your Honor, while no one disputes the witness’s criminal investigation experience, there are individuals within the Martial Association Investigation Department who are more qualified than Team Leader Lin.

Moreover, the prosecution seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the term ‘expert witness,’ which, to me, seems highly unprofessional!”

“You’re saying I’m unprofessional!?” Huang Fang burst into anger upon hearing Zhang Wei’s rebuttal.

“Exactly!” Zhang Wei fired back immediately.

He turned to the bench, “Your Honor, an expert witness is someone with expert qualifications, who is permitted to help the jury or court understand complex technical issues that are beyond the grasp of the average person.”

“Although witness Lin Ruonan is a talent in the field of criminal investigation, a fact I trust no one will deny, the Martial Association Investigation Department has never conferred the so-called title of ‘expert in solving cases,’ and Deputy Team Leader Lin has never publicly claimed to be an expert in solving cases.

This clearly does not meet the definition of ‘expert qualifications’ expected of an expert witness!”

Calm Bro looked at the debate unfolding in the court, simply pushed his glasses up, and did not express any opinion.

But internally, he was muttering: This is only the first witness, and you two are already arguing like this.

If this continues with the following witnesses, are you going to tear the courtroom apart?

However, he still agreed with Zhang Wei’s argument and thus nodded, “Exactly, concerning criminal case-solving, indeed, there is no such thing as an expert title or ranking.

The witness cannot be accepted as an expert witness!”

He looked toward the jury bench and announced, “The jury must not accept the witness’s speculative statements.

In the upcoming verdict, the witness’s last testimony cannot be used as a basis for judgment!”

This brief skirmish appeared to be a win for Zhang Wei.

But he knew that jurors don’t always heed the judge’s words.

Lin Ruonan’s testimony, which essentially pinpointed Wang Yuqing, had already been firmly etched in the minds of the twelve jurors.

Huang Fang also got her first taste of how tough Zhang Wei could be.

This rookie lawyer, who hadn’t even received his practicing certificate, managed to confront her in court without changing his composure, even gaining the upper hand.

It looks like Tan Yingying and Wang Can didn’t lose unjustly.

“Your Honor, I have no further questions for Captain Lin at this time!”

Having finished her questioning, Huang Fang gave Calm Bro a nod, indicating it was now his time for cross-examination.

But as Zhang Wei approached the stand, the corners of Huang Fang’s mouth curled slightly into a smile.

“Lin Ruonan is the deputy team leader of the Serious Crime First Team, experienced and composed; whatever question you ask, she will be able to answer coolly.

You won’t find any loopholes!”

It seemed that Huang Fang had a lot of confidence in Lin Ruonan, believing she could counter Zhang Wei.

“Deputy Team Leader Lin, hello!”

Zhang Wei arrived in front of the witness stand and greeted Lin Ruonan.

“Hello,” she responded politely.

“I would like to ask about the mailbox and envelope you mentioned just now.

Let’s start with the mailbox.

Could you tell me how long of a recording the Serious Crime First Team watched during its investigation?”

“I haven’t estimated exactly, but it was probably over 2000 hours!”

“So, during the process of the team leader reviewing the footage, did anyone discover who actually dropped off the mail containing the fungi?”

“This is very difficult to judge!”

“Why is it difficult to judge?”

“Because the fungal bodies were hidden inside the envelopes, and each letter only appears as a tiny blip on the surveillance footage.

Even for an analyst with excellent vision, it would be very difficult to discern the differences among these letters with the naked eye.

Hence, we can’t determine the exact time the letters were sent out.”

After saying this, Lin Ruonan noticed that Zhang Wei might have another question and quickly added, “However, the letter that the councilor couple received had the defendant’s fingerprints on it, which I believe is enough to prove a lot.”

“Oh, since you mentioned the letter, let’s talk about that!”

Zhang Wei paused, then pointed to the defense bench, “According to what my client, Wang Yuqing, told me, many people from the Medical University would use that mailbox to send correspondence, such as submitting papers, mailing articles to scientific journals, or even writing to their families, which means envelopes with my client’s fingerprints could’ve been contaminated in the process of handling them, right?”

“Objection!” Standing up from the prosecution bench, Huang Fang spoke out, “The lawyer is testifying on his own, and the question is unclear!”

“Your Honor, I am asking the witness whether such a possibility exists, hence the detailed explanation.

Please understand.”

Calm Bro, watching the exchange between the two, nodded to Zhang Wei, “I understand your question.

The objection is overruled, the witness needs to answer!”

Huang Fang sat down, feeling helpless, and Zhang Wei asked again, “Deputy Team Leader Lin, is there a possibility of what I just described?”

Lin Ruonan glanced at Huang Fang, saw that she had no response, and then nodded, “Since you’ve said it, then naturally, there is a possibility!”

“So, is there also a possibility that the murderer could be someone from the research institute who randomly took a letter, inserted the fungus, and sent it through that mailbox to the councilor couple and the other four targets?

And that letter’s envelope just happened to have my client’s fingerprints on it?”

Lin Ruonan showed no expression but nodded slightly, “Hmm, there is such a possibility.”

“Fingerprints don’t represent absolute guilt, especially on public items like envelopes!”

Zhang Wei addressed this statement to the jury box.

Among the 12 members of the jury, a few showed a thoughtful expression, obviously considering this possibility.

“Your Honor, I have no further questions for the witness!”

Zhang Wei concluded his cross-examination and returned to the defense bench.

Wang Yuqing glanced at Luo Feixiang in the hearing seat then approached to ask, “Lawyer Zhang, how is it going?”

“Although I’ve garnered some doubt from the jury members, the overall situation is not good, and this is only the first witness.

The prosecution’s list of witnesses still has many names on it!”

Zhang Wei said this while looking at the jury box.

More than half of the jurors were looking at Wang Yuqing with hostility, indicating that they still believed her to be the murderer in their hearts.

Huang Fang stood up and declared, “The prosecution calls the second witness, Yang Qingshan, to testify!”

Wang Yuqing leaned in again, “Who is he?

The name sounds familiar.”

“Of course, it’s familiar.

He’s the younger brother of Councilor Yang and a staff member in the councilor’s office.”

On the witness stand, a man who bore close to a 50% resemblance to the deceased Councilor Yang took a seat, and he was indeed Yang Qingshan.

“Witness, can you tell everyone your identity?”

“My name is Yang Qingshan, but I think not many people here know me.

However, many know my brother, because my brother’s name is Yang Qingrui, and my sister-in-law’s name is Jiang Xiaoling.

They are both victims in this case!”

As he spoke, the courtroom’s attention turned towards the witness stand.

While Yang Qingshan worked as a staff member in the office, and often operated behind the scenes, he certainly didn’t have his brother’s high profile as a councilor.

But at that moment, being a family member of the victims, all the focus in the courtroom shifted onto him.

“Indeed, bringing in a family member to evoke tears is both an old trick and an effective one.”

Zhang Wei perceived Huang Fang’s intent, suspecting that she felt the first witness didn’t make a strong enough impact, so she played the “trump card” in the trial by having a victim’s family member testify and elicit sympathy.

This tactic is employed by many lawyers; although clichéd, it’s very effective.

Now, whether in the jury box or the public gallery, everyone knew one thing: this was a relative of the victim, his brother and sister-in-law had both been murdered.

“Witness, please tell us, what happened on the day of the incident?”

“My brother and I, as usual, drove from home to the office.

The office’s mailroom clerk told us that this week’s mail had arrived, consisting of letters from supporters and many fans, as well as some work correspondence and complaint letters.

My brother took letters very seriously because he was quite traditional, he didn’t use email much, preferring letters instead.”

“He opened one letter after another, as usual, and during this time, my sister-in-law also arrived at the office.

She brought snacks for my brother; in fact, she brought snacks for everyone in the office.

They were her specialty…”

“Cough, cough!”

Zhang Wei coughed, then stood up apologetically saying, “Your Honor, to be honest, I’d rather not object, but the witness’s statement is somewhat off-topic.

Regarding the part about the snacks, perhaps he could skip that?”

Calm Bro nodded and said towards the witness stand, “The defense attorney has a point.

Witness, please confine your statements to issues related to this case.

Although I am quite interested in the snacks, let’s not discuss that in court!”

“Sorry, just thinking of my brother and sister-in-law makes me a bit uncontrollable…”

Yang Qingshan quickly apologized and then continued: “My brother had many emails to read, but he insisted on reading them all, until that one letter arrived.”

“At that time, we thought it was just a fan’s prank and didn’t pay much attention; we just knew that a bunch of green powder flew out of the mail, and it got all over my brother and sister-in-law.

The rest of us were very lucky, because we wanted to leave some private space for them, so that damn fungus didn’t infect us.”

“But a few minutes later, things changed.

My brother had always been in good health; he ran every day, and his medical checkups never showed any major issues.

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However, just minutes after he came into contact with the powder, he started experiencing breathing difficulties, and my sister-in-law felt nauseous and began to vomit.

When both of them had problems one after the other, I had no choice but to call for emergency services…”

“As for what happened next, I think you all saw it on the news; they were hospitalized, and the attending physician discovered that the infection was caused by a certain type of fungus.

Unfortunately, there were no treatments for this type of fungal infection, so we could only watch helplessly as my brother and sister-in-law died in agony, they… they…”

At this point, Yang Qingshan on the witness stand silently wept, his expression filled with immense grief.

“Thank you for your testimony, you may stop here.

We’ve learned about the rest from the news; this is truly a tragedy,” Huang Fang hastily consoled the witness.

After waiting for Yang Qingshan to collect himself, she then continued, “Mr.

Yang, we invited you as a witness not only to tell everyone about the councilor’s situation but also to help us confirm another matter.”

She pointed to Wang Yuqing in the defendant’s seat and asked, “About this woman, do you recognize her?”

“Of course, she sent my brother quite a few letters, many of them containing threats!”

Huang Fang quickly went to the prosecutor’s table and took a letter from Zhao Jing, which was sealed in a plastic bag.

“Your Honor, the prosecution presents Exhibit No.

14, a letter sent to Councilor Yang’s office, and the sender is none other than Wang Yuqing!”

“Mr.

Yang, would you please read this letter aloud for us, can you do that?”

Yang Qingshan leaned slightly forward, looking at the letter, and read word by word, “Councilor Yang, please revoke your decision to reduce research funding.

Our research institute at Medical University is working on developing antibodies against a certain fungal infection that could save millions of lives.

Your actions are bringing disaster upon those millions, and you will pay for what you have done!”

After the letter was read, Huang Fang raised an eyebrow and said, “Pay for what you have done, could we consider that some kind of threat?”

“Objection!”

Zhang Wei stood up, looking at Huang Fang.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have made assumptions…”

Despite realizing her own impropriety, Huang Fang couldn’t help but say, “But who can help it when the defendant’s words seem so clearly to be showing Councilor Yang a lesson?

It’s not improper to guess that, is it?”

Zhang Wei, feeling helpless, could only look towards Calm Bro: “Your Honor, isn’t the prosecution going a bit too far?”

“Prosecutor, watch your conduct, and stop acting in my court!”

The judge issued a warning, then addressed the jury, “Please dismiss the prosecutor’s last remark!”

But having said that, would the jury really dismiss it?

The answer is, of course, no.

“Your Honor, I have no further questions for this witness at this time.”

Huang Fang returned to the prosecutor’s table, and Zhang Wei began his cross-examination.

“Mr.

Yang, I am deeply sympathetic towards the situation you have encountered, so I won’t ask you too many questions,”

Yang Qingshan looked at Zhang Wei coldly without responding.

“I would like to ask, you are a staff member in the legislator’s office, correct?

Do you also review correspondence on a regular basis?”

“Of course.

We staffers work behind the scenes, and reviewing correspondence is part of our job!”

“Then I’d like to ask, how many letters has your office received this year in total?”

This question surprised not just Zhao Chunming and others at the hearing, but also the prosecutor Huang Fang and Zhao Jing.

“Uh, it must have been several thousand, or even tens of thousands?

They could receive dozens or hundreds of letters in just a week, right?”

Yang Qingshan thought about it; he had never tallied the exact number, so he could only give an estimate.

“In that case, may I ask how many of these letters contained threats?” Zhang Wei continued to inquire.

“Threatening letters?” Yang Qingshan was puzzled and asked Zhang Wei back, “What counts as a threatening letter?”

“Oh, you don’t understand?

No problem.

Let me borrow the exact words from the prosecutor earlier, ‘The lines imply a need to teach Councilor Yang a lesson.’ I presume that qualifies as a threat!”

As Zhang Wei spoke, he also dissed Huang Fang, causing her to frown and display displeasure.

“Well, there are quite a few letters like that.

I estimate…”

“Let me give you the answer.

There are more than a thousand clear emails, all following such a threatening tone,” Zhang Wei cut in, answering before the other could.

“You must be wondering how I know this.

It’s because I have read all the correspondence from the scene, by myself!”

Having said that, Zhang Wei posed another question, “Among these letters, aren’t there contents more vile than the threats my client allegedly made, such as death threats?”

“This, I cannot deny.

After all, my brother is a legislator, and there are many who are unsatisfied with his work.

Every year we receive quite a number of anonymous death threat letters!”

“What a coincidence then.

I have here an unanonymous letter, and I’d like you to help me read it out loud,”

Zhang Wei said as he took out a letter sealed in a plastic bag from his seat, then walked back in front of the witness stand to display the letter’s content.

Upon seeing the contents of the letter, Yang Qingshan’s face slightly changed color, and he found it somewhat difficult to speak.

“Your Honor, it seems the witness is somewhat uncooperative.

I am puzzled, why can the prosecution’s letter be read, but not the defense’s letter?”

Zhang Wei looked towards Calm Bro as if seeking help.

“Witness, please read the letter aloud!”

Since the judge had spoken, Yang Qingshan could only begin, “Yang Qingrui, you are a [expletive]…[expletive]…what you did back in our place, don’t think you can just walk away from it, you [expletive]…[expletive]…I’m going to kill you, I will surely kill you!”

Under pressure, Yang Qingshan finished reading the contents of the letter.

The central part of the letter contained a lot of foul language, which even with his many years of experience as a staffer, made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

“Mr.

Yang, do you realize that this is just one of over twenty death threat letters you’ve received this year?

And I have many more like it right here,” Zhang Wei said, revealing his pearly white teeth.

But this smile caused a drastic change in Yang Qingshan’s complexion.

This kid, could he be intending to make me read all of these twenty-plus letters out loud in court?

That’s just inhuman!