Chapter 130 Think it over
With the lively Spring Festival over, the new year has officially begun.
Some people are already eager to make great strides in the new year, either to start a brand new life or to take their existing life to the next level.
For example, Zhang Pengfei, and Chen Jingyang.
On the first working day after the Spring Festival holiday, Zhang Pengfei officially resigned from Tanzhi and joined Attorney Zhu's law firm, and soon he encountered his first case in his legal career.
An extremely simple yet extremely tricky legal aid case.
It's simple because it was a minor brawl: the incident started when the defendant, Wang Xiaowei, was riding an electric bike through a traffic light intersection and nearly collided with a vehicle driven by Sun Haodong that was turning right.
They could have just gone their separate ways, but unexpectedly, Sun Haodong cursed at Wang Xiaowei, and Wang Xiaowei got angry and immediately cursed back.
Then Sun Haodong got off his bike and pushed Wang Xiaowei. Wang Xiaowei threw his electric bike to the ground and pushed Sun Haodong back.
And so it went, with each person pushing and shoving, and the shoving soon turned into a "boxing" match.
Wang Xiaowei was young and did manual labor; he was tall and strong. He quickly knocked Sun Haodong to the ground and punched him in the face, causing his nose to bleed.
The entire conflict was broken up by passersby in less than three minutes. Before driving away, Sun Haodong left a threatening message: "You just wait!"
The tricky part is yet to come: Sun Haodong's brother is actually Sun Haonan, the presiding judge of the criminal division of the Intermediate People's Court of the city!
After the fight, Sun Haodong did not call the police immediately, but instead called his brother Sun Haonan.
Sun Haonan immediately instructed him to go to a forensic appraisal institute to examine his injuries, and he quickly obtained an appraisal conclusion of "minor injury level two".
Based on this "minor injury" assessment, Sun Haodong, under his brother's "guidance," filed a private criminal prosecution with the court, accusing Wang Xiaowei of intentional injury.
Because the plaintiff's materials were "complete," especially the crucial evidence of a minor injury assessment, the court quickly accepted the case and issued an arrest warrant for Wang Xiaowei.
Wang Xiaowei was quickly taken away by bailiffs and detained in a detention center.
Wang Xiaowei's sister, Wang Xiaoli, rushed over from her rural hometown, feeling both panicked and desperate. When she arrived at the law firm, she couldn't even speak clearly.
Zhang Pengfei poured her a cup of hot water and comforted her, telling her not to be afraid.
Perhaps it was Zhang Pengfei's gentle and handsome face that made people feel trustworthy, but Wang Xiaoli relaxed and began to cry her heart out.
“The police suggested I seek legal aid, which I did. But when they heard that the other party was the presiding judge’s brother, they all advised me to be realistic, try to reach a settlement with the other party, and then request a lenient sentence.”
Wang Xiaoli raised her red, swollen, and tearful eyes and asked Zhang Pengfei, "He hit me first. Can't my brother fight back? He only punched him once, so why is he being sentenced? And we have to pay 200,000 yuan in compensation? Where would our family get that much money?!"
Zhang Pengfei handed over a few tissues and said gently, "Don't worry, who told you to pay 200,000?"
Wang Xiaoli sobbed and wiped away her tears: "A policeman told me this when I went to the detention center to deliver clothes to my brother."
At this point, Wang Xiaoli suddenly remembered something and asked Zhang Pengfei with a mixture of trepidation and hope, "Is your lawsuit... expensive?"
That cautious look in his eyes, mixed with despair and expectation, pierced Zhang Pengfei's heart!
That look was so familiar; it was exactly how his father looked at him ten years ago in front of the police station in their hometown.
That's how my father's eyes were back then!
Despite his face being full of stubbornness and pleading that "I didn't do it," he seemed timid even when arguing because he didn't understand the law.
In the end, he could only put his fingerprint on the mediation agreement and leave with a false reputation. From then on, he bowed his head to everyone he met and never had the confidence to laugh loudly while carrying a hoe in the fields again.
That same day, he stood in the cold corridor of the police station and heard the voice of a lawyer coming from the next office, clearly pointing out the loopholes in the evidence, and in the end, he actually helped a young man who had been wrongly arrested to clear his name.
From that day on, he developed a strong liking and curiosity for the legal profession, and he wanted to become the person who could "meet other people's expectations"!
It's not about resisting legal sanctions, but about ensuring that everyone who has been wronged and misunderstood like my father can hold their head high in court and clearly and proudly say, "I am innocent!"
He hoped to be the one who was willing and able to use the weapon of law to help them protect their innocence, so that they wouldn't have to live with their heads bowed in helplessness and despair.
"Please wait a moment." Zhang Pengfei stood up and knocked on the door of Attorney Zhu's office.
After listening to his explanation, Attorney Zhu was not in favor of him taking the case: "There's not much point in it. You can only start with the minor injury assessment. If you win, you'll offend Sun Haonan; if you lose, the family will be disappointed. You'll end up losing on both sides."
Zhang Pengfei's voice was soft but firm: "I know, but I really want to take this case."
Attorney Zhu frowned, took off his glasses, wiped them, put them back on, and his gaze was very sharp: "Have you thought this through? This is the first case you've taken since you entered the profession. As criminal defense lawyers, you're offending a presiding judge of a criminal court right off the bat. Have you considered the consequences?"
Zhang Pengfei lowered his head and pursed his lips.
Even though he is pure of heart, he is not a hot-blooded young man who knows nothing and only knows how to do things his own way!
Public order and good customs, human relationships and social etiquette.
The presiding judge of the criminal court holds key power in the trial of cases. If you offend him, the defense opinions he submits to the court may be scrutinized more rigorously in the future, and some rights that should be fought for may even have to go through many detours because of this "grudge".
When senior colleagues at the institute talked about it in private, they mentioned the unspoken rule of "not going head-to-head with core positions in the judicial system." They said it wasn't a compromise, but rather a way to ensure long-term success and help more people.
Attorney Zhu said earnestly, "Don't rush to answer. Go back and think it over carefully today, and tell me again tomorrow whether you want to take this case."
Zhang Pengfei understood perfectly what Attorney Zhu meant by "go back and think about it."
Strictly speaking, Chen Jingyang was able to get into Attorney Zhu's law firm through "back channels," because Attorney Zhu's law firm generally does not recruit undergraduate students.
What can we do when we get back? We can only ask Chen Jingyang for advice.
If the Chen family is willing to protect him, what harm would it do to him be a presiding judge of a criminal court or even the president of a court?
As long as the evidence is solid and the trial is conducted in accordance with the law, there is nothing to fear!
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