Lü Wei was about to explode

He had kept himself in check-at least enough to stop swearing aloud-but that did nothing to stop the complaints running through his head.

Lü Wei unleashed a furious internal tirade.

Wait, weren't we having a normal debate?

And you just pulled out your finishing move?

I brought a gun, and you whipped out a rocket launcher?

If you'd brought it out earlier, I could have defended myself. But now...

He had already presented his argument. Trying to rebut this now would mean overturning his own earlier position. Su Bai would definitely seize on the contradiction and tear into him, leaving him to deal with the fallout.

This was impossible!

Lü Wei rubbed his brow.

How had Su Bai maneuvered him into this trap?!

And it wasn't just any trap. It was a huge, bottomless pit!

The kind you couldn't jump out of, no matter how hard you tried.

He'd cracked. Completely cracked.

If he continued arguing along these lines, his opponent would lead him straight into a pit he would never climb out of.

He exhaled slowly. Only after several seconds did Lü Wei calm down.

The findings provided by law enforcement had legal force.

Yes, he represented the prosecution, but overturning law enforcement's findings? Surely that was a joke.

Looking at the faint smile on Su Bai's face, Lü Wei nearly lost his composure again. He took several more long breaths before calming down.

Su Bai watched Lü Wei with a broad smile.

Weren't you always so good at keeping your cool?

Go on, then!

Keep it together, if you can!

This move was a clean knockout!

It pinned you to the ground so hard you couldn't get back up.

It forced Lü Wei himself to acknowledge that Qi Feng's crime had not been intentional.

He could try to overturn that conclusion, of course. He could stubbornly take on law enforcement-though he would almost certainly lose.

As long as the current finding was that the crime had not been intentional, but committed under stress and driven by emotion,

that could serve as grounds to find that Qi Feng had acted in legitimate self-defense or excessive self-defense.

Whichever of those two it was,

Qi Feng could not be sentenced to death.

Legitimate self-defense meant acquittal. Excessive self-defense, given the circumstances and factors at the time, warranted leniency rather than a death sentence.

At this point, they could already establish that Qi Feng's crime had not been intentional. That meant they had effectively won the case.

The principle remained the same.

If you took someone's money to handle a lawsuit, you had to give it everything. Winning was the baseline. Winning more for your client was where real skill showed!

In Chinese, legitimate self-defense and excessive self-defense differed by only one character, but the consequences were worlds apart!

Su Bai could now ensure that Qi Feng would not be found guilty of intentional homicide. A finding of excessive self-defense was highly likely.

But he could not guarantee a finding of legitimate self-defense. That decision rested with the collegial panel, comprising the presiding judge and two associate judges.

The presiding judge was the key!

That made the courtroom statements crucial as well.

And in this trial, the closing statements would be the most crucial stage of all.

Bang, bang!

On the bench, Lin Youping examined the supporting documents and struck his gavel.

"The applicant's request is granted. Can the prosecution provide any new evidence or grounds for rebuttal?"

Hearing Presiding Judge Lin Youping's words, Lü Wei realized that he had lost the argument over whether Qi Feng's crime had been intentional!

He knew perfectly well that no matter how stubborn he was, he could not prevail against law enforcement!

The reason he had lost...

was that he had fallen into Su Bai's trap and been outmaneuvered. Otherwise, he would never have ended up in such a passive position.

There was nothing he could do.

In courtroom argument, once the other side caught hold of a weakness, they would sink their teeth into it and refuse to let go.

But he still had to keep arguing. Arguing might lead to defeat; not arguing meant losing outright.

Under his conception of procedural justice, anyone who killed had to face the law's harshest judgment and sentence.

The sentence had to be the heaviest and strictest possible.

Especially since Qi Feng had killed two people. Even if it had been legitimate self-defense, Lü Wei believed that anything short of a death sentence would fail to deliver judicial justice!

Lü Wei gathered himself and looked up at the presiding judge, his expression solemn.

"Your Honor, we have no new evidence."

"However, we believe-"

"Your Honor, the respondent has no new evidence. We believe the argument that follows is irrelevant to the defense."

Su Bai cut him off.

He gave Lü Wei no opportunity whatsoever!

Lü Wei: ???

I hadn't even finished speaking. I'd barely started, and you interrupted me?

Bang, bang!

Lin Youping frowned slightly and struck his gavel. "Counsel for the applicant must not interfere with judicial proceedings. Consider this a reminder!"

"If it happens again, you will receive a formal warning. Counsel for the applicant, observe courtroom discipline!"

"Yes, Your Honor. We will observe courtroom discipline."

Su Bai answered earnestly, then smiled toward the respondent's table.

Bang!

The gavel sounded again, and Lin Youping turned toward Lü Wei.

"If the prosecution has no new evidence, does it have any new arguments?"

Lü Wei stared fixedly at Su Bai.

Seriously, what were you doing?

He had planned to appeal to emotion and reason, then add some legal arguments to sway the presiding judge. And what had happened?

Before he could even begin, Su Bai had cut him off.

Although it was a normal procedural maneuver, it was... a little shameless.

Lawyers could indeed be shameless in pursuit of victory, but after all the cases Lü Wei had handled, this was the first and only time he had ever been this speechless in court!

Not just speechless. Utterly speechless.

Now the presiding judge was asking whether he had any new arguments. What was he supposed to say?

The interruption had cost him his earlier opening entirely. His chance to speak was gone.

"Your Honor, we have no further new arguments!"

As his words fell,

Lü Wei fixed Su Bai with a brooding stare.

Li Xuezhen tugged at the hem of Su Bai's jacket. "Mr. Su, that Mr. Lü is staring at you."

Before Su Bai could respond, Li Xuezhen continued.

"Lawyer Su, I've noticed something."

"Every time we go to court, the opposing lawyer stares at you..."

The corner of Su Bai's mouth twitched. He asked in return, "Ahem...

"Why do you think they only stare at me, and not anyone else?"

"Because you're handsome, Lawyer Su...?"

Nice!

Now that was something he liked hearing!

Su Bai's lips curved slightly. "Being handsome is only a small part of it. The main reason is that we've never lost a case. They can't handle losing, so this is the only way they can vent their anger over it."

"He stares at us because we're that good. Otherwise, why doesn't he stare at someone else? Do you understand?"

Su Bai guided her patiently, without mentioning that he had deliberately interrupted Lü Wei and prevented him from presenting the rest of his argument.

Li Xuezhen nodded earnestly. "Lawyer Su, I didn't understand before, but now I do."

"They're jealous because we're so good! Am I right, Lawyer Su?"

Su Bai nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right."

From the look of things, he had already set Li Xuezhen, his trainee lawyer, on the right path.

Clearly, she had a promising future.

Under his guidance, Li Xuezhen might well become a mainstay of the White Jun Law Firm!

Tsk.

Not bad!

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(End of chapter)