Acting Bravely for a Just Cause

Protecting the police?

What do you mean, Wang Qiang, barely five foot three and skinny as a rail, was protecting the police at the scene?

As Xu De's words came to an end—

"Wait, defense counsel."

In a rare move,

Zhang Bingxin suddenly interrupted Xu De from the bench.

In principle, neither side should interrupt the other's statement, but he chose to do so anyway.

Zhang Bingxin felt as though he had grown old and his hearing was failing.

He stared blankly at Xu De, as if seeking confirmation, and asked with a hint of hesitation:

"You mean... what the defendant did at the scene... was to protect someone else? Not his daughter, but the police?"

At the Defendant's Bench,

Xu De stopped speaking. He looked at Zhang Bingxin and answered without a trace of unease:

"Yes and no. I haven't finished, but ultimately, yes."

"We maintain that the defendant, Wang Qiang, acted bravely for a just cause. His actions do not constitute the 'Intentional Homicide' alleged in the prosecution's indictment!"

Zhang Bingxin pressed him again:

"So your position is that the defendant was acting bravely for a just cause by protecting seven police officers, one of whom was armed?"

Xu De replied calmly once more:

"Yes, presiding judge."

Zhang Bingxin: ?

For a moment, Zhang Bingxin froze.

He was not alone. The other two judges on the bench, Liu Jianguo and Sun Dong, were stunned too.

The Prosecution Bench was no different. Several prosecutors exchanged looks for a long while, while Chen Wei frowned, unable to tell what Xu De was up to.

After a long pause,

Zhang Bingxin looked at Xu De, his brow tightening slightly. His manner had grown noticeably more serious as he said:

"Defense counsel, please continue."

"All right."

Xu De nodded, paused briefly, then picked up where he had left off:

"Honorable presiding judge and members of the jury."

"According to the case information, the defendant, Wang Qiang, went to Li Family Village on October 2, resulting in Li Erniu's death."

"But this case cannot be judged by looking only at Wang Qiang and Li Erniu!"

"Prosecution, who else was at the scene when the incident occurred, besides the deceased and the defendant?"

The moment he finished speaking,

a crisp rap of the gavel rang out.

Bang!

Zhang Bingxin picked up the gavel and tapped it lightly on the bench.

"We will now move to the examination stage. Prosecution, please answer the question."

At the Prosecution Bench,

"What... what is this lawyer playing at?" Prosecutor Wang Wei frowned and turned to glance at Hu Guang, at a loss to understand Xu De's angle.

Acting bravely for a just cause?

Forget the reporters and spectators in the gallery—even the prosecutors from their Intermediate Procuratorate had nearly failed to follow him!

In more than forty years of life,

this was the first time Wang Wei had heard someone claim that getting worked up, striking first, and then killing someone could count as acting bravely for a just cause!

Did this lawyer even know what he was saying?

"Let's hear him out."

Prosecutor Hu Guang frowned as he replied. Then he turned to Xu De and answered loudly:

"There were six groups in all."

"The police, the victims of the trafficking case, the defendant, the victim, the victim's family, and the residents of Li Family Village."

At that,

Xu De nodded at the Defendant's Bench and continued:

"That's right. Six groups. Set that aside for now."

"Then let me ask the prosecution another question: under what circumstances does the Intentional Homicide alleged in your indictment occur?"

An ordinary person might have struggled to state the answer precisely.

But no one in that courtroom was an amateur.

Hu Guang replied:

"Article 14 of the Criminal Code expressly states: 'An intentional crime is one committed by a person who knows that his conduct will produce consequences harmful to society and wishes or allows those consequences to occur.'"

"That includes direct intent, indirect intent, and knowingly allowing the outcome."

At that point,

Hu Guang raised the document in his hand and pointed to the text on it.

"In this case, the defendant, Wang Qiang, knew full well that his own deliberate actions would escalate the confrontation and cause casualties, yet he did not stop."

"Those actions led to the death of the victim, Li Erniu."

"Therefore, the defendant Wang Qiang meets the criteria under Article 14 for indirect Intentional Homicide!"

Intentional homicide had its categories. It was not limited to hating someone and stabbing them to death.

For example: I know someone might die because of this, but I don't care. If they die, they die. I neither want it nor try to stop it, and I'll accept it if it happens. That, too, counted as intentional homicide.

Wang Qiang's actions could be argued as either direct or indirect intent. Based on the statements and evidence, Hu Guang believed the latter applied.

"Does the defense have anything further to say?"

Hu Guang folded his hands on the table, leaned forward, and watched Xu De with a frown.

At that,

Xu De seized his opening. He drew a deep breath and said:

"Prosecution, what you just said..."

"Is completely at odds with the facts!"

At odds with the facts?

That was no idle remark. To a prosecutor, it bordered on a personal attack!

Anger had only just surfaced on Hu Guang's face

when Xu De denied him any chance to respond.

Xu De turned to everyone in the courtroom and declared:

"According to the prosecution, the trafficking dispute left the defendant, Wang Qiang, agitated and hostile. He then struck first, causing the victim's death."

"But..."

"According to the evidence, it was the deceased, Li Erniu, who struck first!"

As his words fell,

everyone froze for an instant. Then bafflement spread across their faces, and a fresh stir rose from the gallery.

"That can't be right. I feel for the defendant, but... according to the police, didn't the victim just get on the vehicle and pull at a member of the defendant's family?"

"He didn't do anything extreme or provoke anyone verbally..."

"Wait... am I missing something this lawyer's getting at?"

"..."

Someone in the gallery scratched their head, staring at Xu De. Try as they might, they could not make sense of his claim.

And it was not just the spectators.

Even Hu Guang, Wang Wei, and the others facing him across the courtroom frowned, unable to tell what he was up to.

Judging by his reasoning, this lawyer is no clueless rookie. If that's true...

What does he mean by all this? What is he trying to accomplish?

Hu Guang stared at Xu De as though he could peer into his mind.

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin was silent for a long moment before asking hesitantly:

"Defense counsel, please explain what you just said."

Xu De nodded. At last, the faintest smile appeared on his face.

Then

a string of words rang in the ears of the more than four hundred people in Courtroom One.

"Before the death occurred, there were others at the scene—the six groups I asked about earlier."

"The police, the trafficking victims, the victim's family, the residents of Li Family Village..."

"What was the relationship between those four groups at the time?"

Xu De did not wait for anyone else to answer. He gave the answer at once.

"They were in a standoff!"

"More than forty people, including the two family members present at this trial, were holding weapons and forcibly surrounding seven police officers and the trafficking victims. They posed a grave threat to their personal safety—an unlawful, criminal act!"

"And our defendant..."

"Under those circumstances, he stepped forward before anyone else, placing himself between the crowd and the police officers to protect them. He stood against every one of those lawbreakers!"

Courtroom One, the largest courtroom in Greenwood City, fell utterly silent.

More than four hundred people stared openmouthed at the impassioned lawyer before the court.

"In light of the above, under Article 2 of the Greenwood City Regulations on Rewards and Protections for Persons Who Act Bravely for a Just Cause..."

Xu De declared:

"Our defendant was, in fact, acting bravely for a just cause!"

Prosecutor Hu Guang: ?

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin: ?

Everyone in the gallery: ?

When he finished, the entire courtroom remained silent.