Debating Voluntary Surrender!

Hu Guang had been a prosecutor for more than twenty years. He had worked his way up from the lowest ranks, and now, still in his forties and in the prime of his life, he headed Criminal Division One of the city-level Procuratorate's Second Supervision Department.

What kind of case hadn't he handled?

What kind of opponent hadn't he faced?

But in all his years, Hu Guang had never heard of a suspect voluntarily surrendering when seven police officers had fired warning shots and brought the scene under control.

Calling that arrogant was an understatement.

It was sheer arrogance!

"Defense counsel, this is a courtroom. Anything you say may be entered into evidence."

Hu Guang's voice was cold, each word striking home as he continued:

"Get your thoughts in order before you speak!"

It was both a reminder and a warning.

In court, you could be aggressive. You could even try to bluff.

But spouting nonsense was a grave mistake!

It did nothing to help the case. Instead, it muddied what had been a clear line of argument and dragged the trial into a quagmire.

A stricter presiding judge would have issued a warning without hesitation.

And once court adjourned, the lawyer would become a laughingstock, with everyone talking about his antics.

But...

"I'm perfectly rational. The prosecution needn't worry about me!"

Xu De shot back. Seated at the Defendant's Bench, he met Hu Guang's gaze without fear.

It was 2002, a peculiar time. What made it so peculiar?

The law called for the presumption of innocence in cases of doubt, but those handling cases in practice followed the Presumption of Guilt in Case of Doubt.

That was why, in the years that followed, wrongful convictions would come to light in staggering numbers. Nearly sixty percent of those cases had been decided around 2002...

So he could not let up for even a moment!

"We are certain of our position."

"In this case, the defendant, Wang Qiang, was not arrested by the police. He voluntarily surrendered of his own accord, without interference from anyone else!"

He was... serious.

Hu Guang's brow knotted. He sat back down and remained speechless for a long while.

At the Judges' Bench.

The three judges had also frowned, though none rushed to speak.

A moment later.

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin struck the Gavel once more.

Bang!

"Defense, state the basis for your claim."

With that, Zhang Bingxin fixed his eyes on Xu De, watching for the slightest detail.

As before, if Xu De was spouting nonsense to disrupt the prosecution's rhythm, Zhang Bingxin had every right to warn him.

If repeated warnings failed, what awaited Xu De was...

Expulsion from the courtroom!

"Presiding Judge, judges, our basis is simple."

Xu De took a deep breath and set aside his feelings toward the prosecution, freeing his mind to present his argument.

"Earlier, the prosecution submitted statements from the seven officers at the scene, along with the police case file."

As he spoke, he gestured toward the evidence before the judges.

It was evidence the prosecution itself had submitted.

And why had he singled out this piece of evidence?

"Tell me, what are the exact words the police used to summarize the aftermath of the killing in that case file?"

Xu De's gaze sharpened, his mind whirring like a computer's CPU.

At the Judges' Bench.

Judge Liu Jianguo paused, looked down, then picked up the case file.

"This case file was provided by the police investigating this case."

"The passage cited by the defense reads..."

He paused, then read aloud:

"Original text: After the incident, the suspect remained at the scene and made no attempt to flee. Police officers subsequently took him to the Greenwood City public security bureau. The suspect has been brought in. Following investigation, the facts of the case are clear and the evidence is conclusive..."

That was what the police had written in their case file.

A careful look revealed one thing...

"Prosecution, Presiding Judge, in the police's own words..."

Xu De paused, then delivered his question.

"Did they ever say that the defendant, Wang Qiang, was arrested?"

At those words.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Then.

In plain view, all seven people on the prosecution's side and at the Judges' Bench looked down at the files in their hands almost in unison.

Wang Wei wanted to say something, but the file before him truly did not contain the words "arrested," "apprehended," or anything similar—not once!

In other words...

"The police never said the killer was arrested!"

"This claim that he was apprehended..."

Xu De pressed his advantage. The moment was right, and he launched his counterattack against the prosecution.

His gaze was razor-sharp, as though a flurry of blades were bearing down on Hu Guang and the others.

"Was entirely the prosecution's subjective conclusion, plainly unsupported by objective facts or evidence!"

The words landed.

Hu Guang's and Wang Wei's expressions changed abruptly.

Then voices rose from the gallery, making their expressions darken further.

"So after the killing... the police didn't say they arrested him? Then why did the prosecution call it an arrest?"

"Prosecutors Hu Guang and Wang Wei? Were those two trying to improve their chances of winning...?"

"Something feels off. Wouldn't the defendant know whether he'd been arrested?"

"Wait, the defense says it wasn't an arrest, and the prosecution says it wasn't a voluntary surrender... So how did the defendant end up at the police station? Can someone walk me through this...?"

"..."

The spectators were stunned.

Their raised brows now drew together in confusion. Countless doubtful glances swept through the crowd and landed on Hu Guang and Wang Wei at the Prosecution Bench.

Few pieces of information could determine which way a case would go.

But whether the defendant had voluntarily surrendered was one of them!

Now.

Hearing the doubts rising from the gallery.

Wang Wei and Hu Guang frowned deeply at the Prosecution Bench.

A smear campaign... Xu De was blatantly trying to smear them!

Neither man was obsessed with his reputation, but neither relished the idea of being cursed by thousands upon thousands of people!

"The prosecution has something to say!"

Wang Wei hurried to his feet. Without waiting for the presiding judge's permission, he spoke at once:

"The Procuratorate had no intention of deliberately approving an arrest. Every application is debated repeatedly before a decision is reached."

"In this case, the prosecution's basis is this: the threat at the scene had ceased, and the police had the scene under control!"

The legal standard for voluntary surrender did allow for surrender at the scene.

But only when the scene remained chaotic and the police had yet to bring everyone under control. Once they had control, even if you confessed on your own in hopes of leniency, you were still under arrest.

"Prosecution, I must correct you!"

"Under Article 67 of the Criminal Law, and with reference to the National Unified Textbook for Judge Training..."

"'When the scene remains chaotic and police have not established control, remaining at the scene to await arrest constitutes voluntary surrender.'"

Xu De shook his head. His tone was steady, as though he were simply reading from a script.

He continued:

"After the incident, the people involved in the fight had not been brought under control. They had merely been deterred by the warning shots, and some still had weapons in their hands!"

"The threat had not ceased. The scene remained chaotic and uncontrolled."

"The defendant and suspect, Wang Qiang, meets the criteria set out in the provisions I've just cited. This clearly constitutes..."

"Voluntary surrender!"

And besides...

Xu De paused and frowned, then drew a deep breath.

"As for the prosecution's claim about 'the thirty-second gap after the defendant, Wang Qiang, got out of the car'..."

That was his argument for voluntary surrender. At most, using that point alone to counter the prosecution's position would leave them at a draw.

But that was fine. He had yet to play all his cards.

"The defense..."

"Has a witness!"