Free Web NovelChapter 864: Chapter 320: This Lawyer Is No Match for Zhang Wei
Under the Judgment Chief’s direction.
The trial continued.
But in the nursing home.
Zhang Qingyuan, Li Weiguo and the others, seeing these defendants’ "defenses," instantly flew into a rage.
"What do they mean by that? If they hadn’t stirred things up online and attacked that girl, would she have died?"
"Freedom of speech on the internet? It’s exactly this kind of ’freedom’ that lets these trolls openly exist!"
"They don’t dare curse people in real life, so they run online to point fingers. People like that are the most disgusting."
"In their eyes, ’freedom’ probably just means they can casually comment, vent, and insult others online."
"..."
Everyone was a bit worked up.
Beforehand, they had already learned about this case from Qin Mu.
They were full of regret and sympathy for Zhou Xiaoqing.
The older you get.
The more you understand how precious youth and life are.
Zhou Xiaoqing was only twelve.
Yet because she suffered a wrongful accusation, was slandered by a swarm of online "saints," she took her own life by jumping off a building.
Perhaps.
For her, only by doing this could she escape their abuse and prove her innocence.
But... fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
A human life—who is supposed to pay for that?
Naturally, they laid this entire account at the trolls’ door.
"Freedom?"
Qin Mu sat among the crowd, listening to these defendants’ arguments.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Their understanding of freedom was freedom without limits, to say whatever they pleased.
But in fact...
That kind of freedom often is not real freedom.
Freedom.
Does not necessarily have to be restricted by law, but it must be constrained by ethics.
If there are no constraints...
Freedom is bound to turn into indulgence, into the strong exploiting the weak.
Take this case as an example.
The "freedom" they believe in actually led to a form of exploitation of Zhou Xiaoqing.
They stripped her of her right to defend herself, stripped away her online persona and dignity.
They trampled on her self-respect without the slightest scruple.
This kind of freedom...
Is bound to bring unforeseen consequences and lead to chaos across society.
Whereas true freedom...
Is often the freedom of self-discipline.
Within ethical bounds, respect others and restrain yourself.
Many people think freedom means doing whatever you want.
In fact, it’s just the opposite.
Freedom...
Actually means that within the framework of rules, you can choose not to do what you don’t want to do.
This is already a higher-level philosophical proposition.
"Dong—"
In the livestream.
The gavel struck again.
The trial moved into the next stage: the public prosecutor would present evidence, and the defense would cross-examine.
They saw...
A public prosecutor step forward and lay out several unlawful and criminal acts committed by the defendants.
These included their verbal attacks against Zhou Xiaoqing online, their trampling of her personal dignity, and unlawful manipulation of public opinion.
In addition.
There were also Zhou Xiaoqing’s hospitalization records, medical reports, and so on.
"Do you have any objections to the above evidence?"
The Judgment Chief turned to look at Gu Hongda and the others in the dock.
Gu Hongda and the others looked at one another.
They all turned their eyes to the lawyer beside them.
This lawyer...
Had been hired at great expense from Wan City by their parents and relatives.
He was said to be a star attorney.
And he was their last straw to clutch at.
"Honorable Judgment Chief, members of the jury."
The lawyer nodded and immediately stood up: "The above evidence does indeed show that my clients attacked Zhou Xiaoqing verbally online."
"But it does not prove anything."
"Because the origin of this incident lies in Zhou Xiaoqing’s disclosure online that she donated one yuan, which triggered my clients’ dissatisfaction."
"Put yourselves in their shoes."
"If you saw a cancer patient raising funds, needing a huge amount for surgery and treatment, naturally your hearts would be filled with compassion."
"But when you see someone donate only one yuan and still shamelessly post about it online, wouldn’t you feel angry?"
"There was a cause for this matter. My clients spoke out of righteous indignation and dissatisfaction, and they made those comments in a moment of impulse."
"Therefore."
"This evidence cannot prove that my clients were the initiators of the incident, nor that they alone are at fault!"
The lawyer spoke eloquently.
He was trying to "correct" the behavior the prosecutor had characterized.
The prosecutor believed that these actions were the fault of Gu Hongda and the others.
But he approached it from the angle that the incident was not initiated by Gu Hongda and his co-defendants.
He argued that the so-called "online violence" arose from a misunderstanding caused by Zhou Xiaoqing’s disclosure that she donated one yuan.
His clients...
Had merely expressed some dissatisfaction within the bounds of morality and ethics.
"Fuck! Where on earth did they find this lawyer? How can he say something like that?"
In the nursing home.
Song Tiancheng couldn’t help but swear after listening.
His fists clenched of their own accord.
With just a few sentences, this lawyer had practically cured his low blood pressure.
Such a vile case of online violence, and he actually called it a misunderstanding!
"This lawyer has no bottom line at all, he’s really worse than Zhang Wei."
"Zhang Wei may also defend this kind of scum, but he would never say something like that!"
"She donated one yuan and that was enough to shatter their fragile little hearts? If they donate ten yuan, they get to sit up on a high horse?"
"She at least donated something. It’s her own money; she can donate however much she wants. Does that still have to be morally blackmailed?"
"..."
In the courtyard.
Quite a few of the old folks were so furious their blood was rushing, faces flushed red.
This lawyer’s cross-examination had them all a bit worked up.
If this were happening in the courtroom itself...
They’d have to give this lawyer a few choice curses, no matter what.
Their values were more crooked than their asses.
Not a shred of basic human decency.
By comparison.
Someone like Zhang Wei was much better than this kind of lawyer; at least all of Zhang Wei’s points of defense revolved around the law.
"As bottomless as this kind of defense is, in strict legal terms... it can still barely stand."
In the crowd.
Qin Mu was also somewhat angry, but still offered an objective assessment.
If you look at it under the crime of defamation—
The initiator of this incident was not Gu Hongda and the others, but Zhou Xiaoqing herself when she went online and publicly revealed the "one-yuan donation."
And that was a fact.
Netizens’ dissatisfaction with this, in terms of moral sentiment, was at least arguable.
It was not an intentional, fabricated attack or insult.
Using this as a line of argument.
They might be able to downplay the seriousness of the defamation charge and thereby argue defamation out of the case.
However...
This lawyer was clearly neglecting one thing: the procuratorate had charged them with both defamation and picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
Even if defamation was gone, they still couldn’t escape the charge of picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
The crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble...
Is divided into two types: stirring up trouble under a pretext, and stirring up trouble for no reason.
No matter how the incident started, no matter what moral emotions they claimed, it clearly met the "stirring up trouble" element.
They deliberately made trouble online, fanned the flames, and ultimately caused serious consequences.
There was no way they were getting out of the picking quarrels charge.
"Dong—"
On the livestream.
After listening to the defense lawyer’s cross-examination, the Judgment Chief suddenly asked a soul-piercing question: "You say your side was acting out of righteous indignation and simple moral feelings when you criticized and attacked Zhou Xiaoqing."
"But in fact, after Zhou Xiaoqing made her identity clear and explained the reason she only donated one yuan, Gu Hongda and the other defendants still refused to relent, and instead intensified their attacks."
"Are you saying that was righteous indignation too?!"
As soon as the words fell.
The courtyard erupted in loud cheers.
"Good! The Judgment Chief nailed it. Righteous indignation? Where the hell did these trolls get righteous indignation?!"
"She donated one yuan, he donated ten, and then he runs to the internet to flaunt his sense of superiority, looking down on everyone who only gave one yuan!"
"He criticizes people for donating too little; when she explains, he refuses to believe it."
"These trolls only believe what they want to believe. Even if the truth is laid right in front of them, they’ll pretend they didn’t see it!"
"I want to see how this lawyer talks his way out of this!"
"..."
Everyone stared at the livestream with laser focus.
Their goodwill toward this Judgment Chief shot up.
The defense lawyer, hit with this question, was a bit tongue-tied.
But he quickly recovered and argued: "All of this was information on the internet. Words alone are no proof. How could my clients possibly be sure that what the other side said was true?"
"Holding a skeptical attitude is only human, isn’t it?"
"Things online are a mix of real and fake. Taking a big step back, even this donation information could well have been fake. As rational adults, it’s understandable that my clients chose not to believe that explanation."
After that string of arguments.
He was still trying to make his story self-consistent and distance Gu Hongda and the others from responsibility.
But...
The public prosecutor couldn’t stand it any longer and stepped forward: "You don’t believe Zhou Xiaoqing’s explanation of her identity, yet you do believe the fact that she donated one yuan. Using that as a pretext, you escalated your criticism—this is what you call ’understandable’?"
"Since you think things online are fake, why didn’t you just laugh it off and move on? Why instead launch a massive attack on Zhou Xiaoqing over her one-yuan donation, pushing her until her psychological defenses collapsed and she killed herself?"
Facing the lawyer’s argument.
The public prosecutor showed no mercy, harshly refuting him point by point.
With a case like this.
Even if he tried to be objective and impartial, it was hard not to bring some emotion into it.
Especially...
When dealing with this kind of defense lawyer for the accused.
"Good! This public prosecutor hit back perfectly! This lawyer, and those defendants, are textbook double standards!"
"They just pick what they want to believe, huh? People like that are only fit to live in the virtual world."
"There are tons of people like this online. Old Zhang got flamed so badly last time, I was dying for them to come and flame me instead."
"Peh! You just want that emotional-damage compensation, don’t you?"
"..."
In the courtyard.
The old folks once again burst into loud cheers, applauding the public prosecutor.
They’d watched a lot of cases.
Most public prosecutors only prosecute because it’s their job; they show no emotion or inclination at all, so calm and detached they barely seem human.
But with this public prosecutor...
They could feel real, tangible anger.
"In this round... the public prosecution clearly has the upper hand."
In the crowd.
Qin Mu smiled slightly and made an objective comment.
The public prosecutor’s stance was crystal clear.
He obviously intended to prosecute all four hundred-plus people.
The points the defense lawyer questioned couldn’t stand at all. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
In the first half.
The odds were about eighty-twenty.
If nothing unexpected happened...
As long as they held steady in the second half, these four hundred-plus trolls would all receive the punishment they deserved!
"Dong——"
Very soon.
As the trial proceeded, the Judgment Chief struck the gavel.
Signaling the start of the free debate phase.
Both sides would now, around the previous points of contention, present corresponding evidence and legal provisions to prove their respective claims.
