Seeing how sincere Li Xuezhen was, Su Bai nodded in satisfaction.
Good!
Very sincere!
That was simply how things were.
To hell with what other people call the fairest judgment under the law.
Why should what other people think matter?
Winning was the only judicial outcome their side could accept as right.
If they couldn't win, if they lost the case, what right did anyone have to talk about justice?
You lost the damn case, and you're still telling me all this? What a load of bullshit.
Presiding Judge: "Are you questioning my ruling?"
Whoever won the trial was in the right. If there really was a problem, all they had to do was report it to the appropriate judicial authority.
If there wasn't, questioning it would accomplish nothing.
Before long.
The court staff entered the waiting room.
They notified the appellant and the respondent that the lawyers for both sides should enter the courtroom.
On the respondent's side, Lü Wei and another male lawyer took their seats.
On the appellant's side-Qi Feng's side-Su Bai brought Li Xuezhen over to their seats.
Once the lawyers for both sides and the defendant, Qi Feng, had entered.
The clerk began reading out the courtroom rules.
"One: ..."
"Two: ..."
"Three: ..."
After finishing, the clerk continued, "All rise. Please welcome the Presiding Judge and the judges into the courtroom!"
Rustle, rustle.
Everyone in the courtroom stood.
Lin Youping and the other two judges entered and approached the bench.
Wearing his judicial robe, Lin Youping stood at the Presiding Judge's seat.
He spoke into the microphone at his seat:
"Please be seated."
Rustle, rustle.
Everyone in the courtroom sat down.
The clerk reported, "Presiding Judge, all parties in this case are present. All preparations are complete, and the hearing may begin."
Bang, bang.
Lin Youping struck the gavel.
"Court is now in session!"
Lin Youping glanced down at the documents on his bench. "Would the appellant's side please identify everyone appearing in court?"
Meanwhile.
Because Qi Feng's case had attracted considerable attention and controversy online, and the hearing was being livestreamed, many lawyers and others interested in the case were following the proceedings through the broadcast.
At that moment, Luo Daxiang had started his own livestream, broadcasting the hearing.
On the courtroom feed.
Presiding Judge Lin Youping was verifying the identities and details of those appearing in court.
Luo Daxiang gave a general rundown of the proceedings so far:
"The case we're reviewing today is Qi Feng's appeal. I'm sure everyone knows the outcome of the first trial: Qi Feng was sentenced to death. I also provided commentary after that trial concluded."
"You can watch my videos for a detailed account of the first trial, so I won't go over it again."
"Let's return to the hearing."
"The hearing has only just begun. Let me first explain the roles of everyone involved.
"In this case, Qi Feng disagreed with the first-instance judgment and lodged an appeal against the Prosecution with the Northern Capital Higher People's Court.
"The Presiding Judge is now checking the details of the appellant and the respondent.
"Presiding over today's hearing is Judge Lin Youping, the current vice president of the Northern Capital Higher People's Court. He is a renowned senior judge who has presided over many notable cases and has distinctive interpretations of certain laws.
"Seated to his left and right are the other members of the Collegial Panel, two judges.
"Both are also highly experienced judicial officials at the Northern Capital Higher People's Court. On the left is Judge Fang Mei, and on the right is Judge Zhu Xiong."
"The respondent is the Procuratorate, represented by attorney Lü Wei, who has extensive experience in criminal law. The appellant is Qi Feng, who lodged this appeal because he disagreed with the first-instance judgment."
After Luo Daxiang finished.
A flurry of questions appeared in the comments:
"Teacher Luo, what do you think of this case? Who do you think will win?"
"Same here. I want to know who'll win too. I'd rather see Qi Feng win, but it looks difficult right now."
"In public prosecution cases, the evidence is generally already established. The Prosecution has already established the facts and evidence of Qi Feng's killing. Winning will be difficult! All I can say is, very difficult!"
"Difficult doesn't mean there's no hope, right? Anyway, I'm hoping Qi Feng wins. Now it depends on how good the lawyer he hired is."
"Teacher Luo, who do you think will win?"
Facing the questions in the comments, Luo Daxiang shook his head.
"A concrete assessment will depend on how the hearing unfolds. In our country's courts, I wouldn't merely say the success rate of self-defense claims isn't high. I'd say it's very low.
"Let's hope this case, with all the public attention it's receiving, can change that situation. All right, enough outside commentary. We've now moved into the next stage. Keep watching. I believe we're in for an exciting courtroom debate."
Luo Daxiang still held out a little hope for Su Bai.
But honestly, this case was very difficult.
All he could do was hope.
In the courtroom.
After the details of the appellant and the respondent had been verified, Lin Youping struck the gavel and began reading out the grounds for the appeal:
"The appellant in this case, Qi Feng, has lodged an appeal because he disagrees with the judgment issued at his first trial. Does the appellant confirm that these are the grounds for the appeal?"
Seated at the appellant's table, Su Bai straightened his documents and nodded. "Yes, Presiding Judge. Those are our grounds for appeal."
Lin Youping struck the gavel.
"This court has reviewed the appellant's grounds for appeal and confirmed them to be accurate. The appellant may now state the relief sought and its supporting grounds."
Su Bai briefly arranged the documents in his hands, then began his statement:
"What we seek in this hearing is very simple. We ask the court to deliver a fair judgment concerning our client in accordance with the law."
"Our requests are as follows."
"First: our client's actions in the shopping mall were not intentional homicide, but acts of lawful self-defense. When the other two individuals attacked and beat him, our client was merely a victim engaging in reasonable self-defense. Under Article 20 of the Criminal Law, which defines lawful self-defense, action taken to stop a person committing an ongoing unlawful infringement, resulting in harm to that person, constitutes lawful self-
"defense and incurs no criminal liability. We request that the first-instance judgment be overturned and our client acquitted."
"Second: the charges brought against our client by the Prosecution at the first trial caused him unnecessary losses. Pursuant to the State Compensation Law, we request that the Prosecution compensate our client in accordance with its provisions in the amount of 55,864.75 yuan."
"Third: we request that the Prosecution issue a public written clarification concerning the damage to our client's reputation, so as to prevent further harm to his reputation."
"Fourth: our client is a young student, and this incident has caused him serious harm. We request that certain compensatory measures be provided for him."
Su Bai finished stating the relief he sought.
Everyone watching the livestream thought it was outrageous.
This...
Asking for an acquittal was understandable.
But you wanted the Prosecution to pay compensation too?!
And he had actually raised it right there in court. There was only one thing to say: absolutely legendary.
Before you continue