The case was heard by four local judges in Gotham and a Supreme Court Justice. After discussion among several judges, the Supreme Court Justice made the final decision. The Supreme Court Justice was Amy Schiest from Washington, and one of the local judges was Meg Scott, who has now become an emoticon.
Meg once served as a judge in the Penguin Man case, and was completely hated by everyone from the defendant Penguin Man to the other audiences. But his last name is Scott after all, and nothing happened to him except becoming an emoticon.
——Maybe there is something wrong, for example, your self-esteem is hurt.
After that, Meg washed her face and was still convinced that someone was plotting against her. However, when she consulted the doctor, the doctor asked her back, "Did you take stimulants before the trial?" So the matter was left unresolved.
After many days, he once again saw familiar figures in the audience, such as the mayor and Wayne. Meg was staring at them as if searching for the murderer, but unfortunately he was not a qualified hunting dog.
At ten o'clock sharp, the court officially opened.
The judge, lawyers, clerks, and defendants took the oaths one after another, and the atmosphere in the courtroom immediately became more solemn.
However, the atmosphere in the courtroom was indeed solemn at that moment. People in other distant cities who were watching the trial might not think so, because there was no interactive method such as barrage in the live video broadcast. Those who were paying attention to the trial chose to post and reply to posts on the forum for a text broadcast.
During the swearing-in process, other people gradually entered the forum and found the post.
Next, the process has reached the prosecutor's opening statement, which is a comprehensive account of the evidence provided by both parties in the case, describing the process and impact of the crime in a more fair third-party tone. However, as the numbers and charges were listed one by one, the atmosphere in the post also changed.
[To be honest, after hearing this statement, I feel that the men standing there are scumbags! ] Someone was filled with indignation.
[This makes me want to hear more nonsense from the defense lawyer.] But some people are indifferent.
"I swear to God that everything I said was from my heart, and there is no lie," the lawyer stepped forward and said with a smile, "After reviewing the case files and talking to the defendant face to face, the defense has a clearer understanding of this case. The defense believes that the defendant, Mr. Corey Hans, is not guilty."
"The defendant was accused of participating in drug trafficking and human trafficking, but considering the voluntary participation of the victims, the defendant did not participate subjectively and did not carry out the crimes objectively..."
A trial is actually a very boring thing. There is no exciting verbal debate. It is just listening to the lawyers on both sides arguing back and forth. In the United States, a country that attaches great importance to human rights, the trial adopts an adversarial system. The judge is high above and only serves as a referee. If the defendant's lawyer can use inducement, ask questions skillfully, and successfully seize the loopholes in the opponent's language, there is a certain chance of winning.
——When standing in court, they must abandon their personal stance and instead stand on the side of their own defense and fight for the interests of their clients.
When the defendant's lawyer was defending the owner of the card club, Corey Hans, he chose to shirk the charges because the evidence was too much and too detailed, and it was undeniable that "drug trafficking" and "human trafficking" had indeed occurred in the nightclub, and there was even an account book. However, this incident must not have been done by Black Mask's trusted henchman "Corey Hans", but was a crime committed privately by Corey's men who concealed it from him!
In Gotan, human trafficking is nothing. It is not moral to sell organs without cutting a person open. And what about drug trafficking? They have factions in the drug trade, and it has been a decades-old business. There is no nightclub without drugs, but those people are unwilling to go there!
In Gotan, although drug use is illegal, as long as you pay a little money and hide from the officials and stay in the countryside for a while, nothing will happen to you. Ten years ago, Corey would never have thought that he would be standing in the dock.
...because this is ridiculous.
He stared at the camera, wondering how many people were pointing at him on the other side of the camera, then looked at the jury, at Mayor Anna Ellecki. The blonde woman's eyes were a mechanical lead-gray, and the way she looked at him was like looking at some large, breathing garbage. Corey had good vision, and he noticed that she placed her right hand on her left and tapped the back of her hand with her fingers. It seemed that she also found the trial too boring.
The lawyer's defense for him included the argument that it was not his own behavior and that it was the victim's own will.
In this regard, Corey can actually produce evidence: after those women give birth to children, all girls and beautiful boys will be taken away by the club to be raised. In some industries, girls do have more advantages than boys, so they will not let any girl go. As for children, it is difficult to teach them well, but it is very easy to teach them badly.
However, the judge rejected the children's testimony - testimony in defense of Corey Hans - on the grounds that they were not old enough to make the choice.
Then, the defendant's defense attorney's statement time ended, and it was the prosecutor's turn to present evidence.
[I almost choked when I heard this lawyer talk... Is he really religious? ]
Just as Corey thought, there were indeed many people watching the trial and pointing fingers at them, especially at the defendants.
[Just looking at his disgusting face, I can't believe that he really knows nothing. He is the owner of the club! ]
[Yes, he opened a club in Gotam. How could there not be gangsters behind him? That’s Gotam, the notorious Gotam!]
[Upstairs! After Batman appeared, the crime rate and death rate in Gotham City have dropped! Please stop your rude behavior of regional discrimination! ]
[In fact, it may not be really reduced. Just like South Hinckley, the evil has not disappeared, it has just been hidden. It's like cockroaches. You think there are no cockroaches in your home, but in fact they secretly breed a nest under your bed. Even if I clean up this nest, I will still feel that this room has become disgusting! I will never travel to Gotham in my life because I hate cockroaches! (This post has been reported and is being processed)]
[But I heard that Gotham City is getting better recently...]
【Do you really believe this? 】
Netizens' trust in "Cole Hans" is useless; the court is the one that will make the final decision.
The prosecution's lawyer refuted the other side's statement and submitted video evidence. The video showed how Corey beat and admonished the bought young girls, and how he handed over drugs to the people sent by South Hinckley. It did not seem like he was "completely unaware" at all. The defendant's lawyer had an ugly expression on his face. Obviously, the prosecution had already confirmed that these video evidences were real and not synthesized.
After the lawyer used sophistry to delay the case for a while, he still lost the battle. During the recess, the lawyer muttered viciously: "Didn't they say that the video evidence has been cleared?"
Sitting in the jury box, Gordon and his daughter Barbara looked at each other with a smile, while President Tim Drake rested his forehead with one hand, trying to catch up on some sleep during the recess.
Tal stood up and handed Bella Bettivan a glass of water, Mayor Anna talked quietly with Bruce Wayne, and reporters stood up and walked around. The situation seemed to be developing in a positive direction.
Next up was the case of the boss of the dock gang, Durr. He was involved in a case of abducting women and buying and selling large numbers of people. His lawyers' main evidence was that the women abducted by his gang had admitted on videotapes that they had voluntarily boarded his pirate ship.
The women repeated those words in broken English or their native language, and said shyly and uneasily in front of the camera that they wanted to come to Gotan to work and wanted to leave their own city. What he charged was not a "transaction fee" but an "introduction fee". His people introduced jobs for them, and their supervisors advanced part of their salary as an introduction fee. Both parties knew and recognized this.
Therefore, the other party's behavior is not "trafficking" and is not illegal. It only needs to make a certain degree of financial compensation for the losses of these women, with the compensation for each person ranging from US$2,000 to US$4,000.
【……】
Staring at the innocent faces of the women in the video and then looking at Durr's shameless expression, even the people watching the live broadcast were speechless.
The case of Doerr has been at a stalemate for a long time. The biggest contradiction is whether the gang members know what consequences their actions will have and whether they admit that they are fraudulent.
Fortunately, the plaintiff produced the audio recording of Durr's conversation with his subordinates.
"Now that they're on the boat, there's no chance these bitches will ever get out of South Hinckley..."
Take away the lewd language and vile put-downs, and with the victim's testimony, Durr's guilt was sealed.
He was suspected of rape, trafficking women, and throwing sick women directly into the sea. After several comparisons, several cold cases of corpses found on the coast were solved.
Next up was the evil ruler of South Hinckley, Chief Robert of the Smith family, and Mayor Hal. The trial lasted from ten in the morning to four in the afternoon, with three breaks, including a lunch break.
But there are still a lot of people who are willing to continue to watch the live broadcast. The lawyers on the litigating side are like warriors charging forward, and the posters are like wandering poets, recording their heroic deeds.
However, Fries confirmed that what was coming next was not going to be a happy story. He would not let himself lose the case, because losing the case would mean that his life would begin the countdown - those behind the Smith family, those involved in international drug trafficking, would not let him go.
He straightened his tie and took the defense stand.
After the plaintiff's lawyer submitted the defendant's testimony, Fries calmly said, "Your Honor, I would like to ask the defense lawyer, are you willing to swear to God that all the testimony you submitted is true and reliable?"
"I'm not a Catholic," the female lawyer said coldly, "I swear to the justice in my heart."
Fries nodded and looked at the jury: "Here, I raise an objection. All the testimonies of our defendant were made under malicious torture, beatings, and coercion by the police. I request to overturn the testimony of the witnesses in the previous two cases, and please--"
"Batman," he said, "and the juror, Warden Bella Betiven, appear before the court. Madam Warden, are you willing to admit that you used violence to induce my defendant to give false testimony?"
Jeff, the reporter from the New York Times, had almost dozed off during the long interrogation. At this moment he suddenly woke up and paused for a moment before raising his camera.
To his disappointment, the reporters in the front row had a keener sense of smell than he did and had already pointed their cameras at "Warden Bettywin".