My Wife is a Counsel Chapter 15: Quick test (4)

www.lnmao.org, the fastest update to the latest chapter of My Wife is an Archon!

The hearing court was much smaller than the trial court, with few auditorium seats and no jury seats. The prosecution and defense stood on the left and right of the parties respectively.

Judge Feng Xuefan is well-dressed, probably less than fifty years old, his hair is dyed black and shiny, and he is very elegant.

When he entered the court through the inner door, the clerk shouted "stand up" crisply, and everyone stood up, including a few people in the gallery.

Cheng Ye and Liu Hanliang both had smiles on their faces, and even Feng Xuefan glanced at them and nodded slightly.

The imperial judges have a lifelong tenure. Unless the relevant judges are impeached by the local (federal) parliament or resign themselves, no one can move them even if they die of illness in office.

In Donghai, the power to impeach judges at all levels belongs to the Donghai City Council.

Therefore, judges are usually very individual and fearless. For example, Feng Xuefan knows Cheng Ye and they do not shy away from suspicion.

Feng Xuefan walked up to the judge's bench. As soon as he took his seat, Lu Ming raised his hand.

"Your Honor, I request that you be replaced!"

The court immediately fell silent, and the clerk who was about to read out the summary of the case was also stunned. She was a pretty little girl, wearing a black professional skirt, with a slim appearance.

Liu Hanliang and Cheng also looked at each other with gloating smiles on their faces.

Actually, Judge Feng Xuefan is not their strong backing. This guy is just trying to gain fame and has the ambition to enter the Donghai High Court. In court, he is fair most of the time.

But if anyone offends him, he will be very aggressive. He is petty and very vindictive. This rookie lawyer will not be able to survive in Beiguan in the future.

"Well..." Feng Xuefan stared at Lu Ming, and the pretty female clerk below said hurriedly: "The defendant's attorney, junior defender Lu Qianxing."

"Lu Qianxing, do you think I am not impartial enough? Do you think I have interests in association with the plaintiff?" Feng Xuefan looked calm.

"No, your honor, although I have only been in Beiguan for a few days, I have heard about your reputation for fairness."

Feng Xuefan frowned, "Then tell me the reason why you want to change the judge."

Lu Ming nodded, "Because it is unconstitutional for you to hear this case. The defendant is an Irefenni girl. According to Appendix 5 of the Old Testament of the Imperial Code, all criminal and criminal offenses for the Irefenni are Civil lawsuits and disputes should be heard by Arefenni judges, and this appendix has never been explicitly abolished by the Imperial Supreme Court or the Federal Congress! Therefore, the Old Testament has always been part of the Constitution! ”

Feng Xuefan was stunned for a moment. It seemed as if in the early days of the founding of the empire, there was an Old Testament that gave Westerners great privileges.

It is normal that this ancient law has not been abolished, because gradually it is no longer used.

In the empire, including the nearly independent federation of the four northern provinces, the chief judges of courts at all levels are Westerners.

Although in areas where Central Asians gather, it is not uncommon for cases of Westerners to be heard by Central Asian judges, but who can still wrongfully accuse Westerners?

This ancient clause has gradually been forgotten.

But he really doesn’t know whether there are clear terms and whether it has been repealed.

After pondering for a while, Feng Xuefan nodded, "Adjourn the court for twenty minutes." He wanted to consult the chief judge for his opinion.

Liu Hanliang and Cheng were also stunned.

Wang Daan, who was sitting in the auditorium, clenched his fists and secretly shouted "Hello".

……

In the corridor leading to the lounge, both parties walked on one side.

Cheng Ye looked at Wang Daan and smiled: "Lawyer Wang, is your firm going to compete with us?"

Wang Daan was stunned, muttering, not knowing what he was talking about, and flew away early with excitement.

What does your own small temple say about "fighting against the enemy"? People coughed and were blown away.

Lu Ming smiled: "I'm just confronting you today. You can't represent the collective of twelve lawyers in your law firm, right?"

Cheng Ye looked at him and smiled contemptuously, "Lawyer Lu, you successfully angered me! Originally, I wanted to save some face for you." He took out a piece of paper from the folder and turned around. He said to Pan Mila: "Mrs. Pan Mila, this is the apology letter signed by Jin Taohua and your daughter. You may not know what it means, and the rookie lawyer you hired may not be able to explain it to you. So, you can ask lawyer Wang Daan to give you a detailed explanation later!"

After saying that, he smiled at Lu Ming, turned around, pushed the door open with Liu Hanliang, and entered the plaintiff's lounge.

……

The defendant's lounge is opposite the plaintiff's lounge. As soon as he entered the room, Wang Daan became anxious and shouted to Jin Taohua: "What did you do? How could you write this?! If you don't understand, just ask." People? Do you know? This will not only harm you, but also Bisi!”

Pan Mila bit her red lips and said to Lu Ming: "Go and talk to them now, reconcile and see how much compensation we need."

She knows a little bit about the law and knows that having such an apology letter means losing more than half of the lawsuit.

Jin Taohua's face was already full of tears, "I, I don't know. At that time, they said that as long as they wrote a letter of apology, they would forgive us. I, Bisi and I wrote it. Who knows, they will still sue us. ..."

Lu Ming nodded, "That is to say, your letter of apology has not been understood by the other party. This is also a reconciliation agreement that has not been reached."

"It doesn't matter what it is!" Wang Da'an looked at this fool, his face full of hatred, and said loudly: "If you really want to help, go and apologize and ask for reconciliation now, don't hurt Mrs. Pan Mila. And Miss Bisi!"

Lu Ming waved his hand and looked at Bisi: "I want to help you fight. Don't be afraid. Even if we lose, the jury will at most award us compensation. If we get to that point, I will sell the car and compensate you, okay? Okay? Now, let’s continue fighting.”

"Then Liu Hanliang, it's too easy to fake the injury. Can you afford to pay for it? Who knows where you rented your car?! Is the money from the sale yours?! Don't you live across from me? Is it true? Where can a rich man live?" Wang Daan was so angry that he was furious.

Lu Ming looked at him and nodded in his heart. Originally, his impression of him was just okay. Now, it was a bit more positive. Although he was timid and cautious, he was a warm-hearted person.

Pan Mila also sighed softly at this time: "Lawyer Lu, thank you, but let's reconcile. If you don't want to apologize, I will..."

Bisi looked at Lu Ming with tears in her eyes and said, "Uncle, I am not wrong..." She bit her lip to hold back from crying, "Uncle, I hope you can tell the judge and tell everyone that I am not wrong. I'm not a bad boy..."

Everyone was stunned and silent for a moment, only Bisi's childish and crying voice echoed.

"I am not wrong, I am not a bad boy..."

Inexplicably, it makes my nose feel a little sore.

Wang Daan also sighed deeply.

Pan Mila had a complicated expression on her pretty face, and finally said: "Fight, fight, if you lose, appeal. If you lose in the end, I will borrow money at worst."

"Thank you, mom..." Bisi turned around and threw herself into Panmila's arms, sobbing softly.

Pan Mila lovingly stroked her doll-like smooth golden hair and kissed her face gently.

Wang Daan couldn't say what he wanted to say at this time. He sighed in his heart and could only take one step at a time.

……

The bailiff came to inform them that the court session would begin in ten minutes.

Everyone entered the court. When Liu Hanliang passed by Lu Ming, he snorted coldly, "From now on, if you want to reconcile, kneel down and kowtow to me!"

Lu Ming just pretended not to hear it. In the court, every word he said had its value. It would be a waste to use it on him.

Unexpectedly, everyone stood up, and the person who walked to the judge's bench from the inner door of the hearing court was a little old lady. Moreover, she was obviously from Central China, not the chief judge of the West.

The little old lady looked to be in her seventies. She was shrunken and very thin. She was wrapped in a large black judge's robe, but she walked like a breeze and looked very energetic.

From the corner of his eye, Lu Ming saw the expressions on Liu Hanliang and Cheng Ye's faces as if they had eaten flies.

"Don't raise objections again. This is the second judge Li Wenhua and Li Guan. She can..."

Wang Daan, who was in the first row of the auditorium, originally leaned forward to remind Lu Ming, but when the little old lady looked over with a sharp look, he immediately shivered in fright and quickly retracted his body.

Li Guan sat down and cleared his throat: "Her Excellency Chief Judge Christine entrusted me to conduct the hearing of this case."

Looking at Lu Ming, "Lawyer Lu Qianxing, do you think it's okay?"

Lu Ming stood up and said, "In court, I have no objection, because according to the third annotation of Appendix 5 of the Old Testament, when the judge hearing the case of the Irefenni received the entrustment from Judge Grifenni, the hearing of the case and trial, all have legal effect."

The little old lady's sharp eyes were a little surprised. She stared at Lu Ming and nodded slightly.

She originally thought that this rookie defender had just heard the legends in the Old Testament and was just trying his luck to talk nonsense, but she didn't expect that this little guy seemed to be very familiar with the details of the Old Testament.

Even for her, she still found it after looking through the information for a long time.

"Let's start!" She waved her hand.

"Your honor, on behalf of the victim, Mr. Liu Hanliang..." Cheng Ye just stood up and had not finished speaking.

Lu Ming immediately interrupted, "Objection, the plaintiff's lawsuit has not been formally filed, so I object to the plaintiff's attorney calling the plaintiff "victim". In court, this is a legal term, and now, it is not There are no victims!”

Including Wang Daan, everyone in the court was stunned. Even though there were only a few people in the auditorium, some of them just liked to listen to the excitement, but after a long illness, they also had some knowledge of the law.

For the first time, I met such a serious lawyer.

Anger appeared on Cheng Ye's face, "I object to the defendant's attorney and interrupt my presentation of the case."

The little old lady blinked her eyes, considered for a while, then pointed at Lu Ming: "Your objection is valid." Looking at Cheng Ye, "Your objection is invalid."

Cheng also gritted his teeth, "Yes, your honor." After thinking for a while, he continued: "On behalf of Mr. Liu Hanliang, I am suing Ms. Bis* Stewart for failing to clean up the water in the restaurant in time, causing my client to accidentally fall. , suffered huge losses.”

The little old lady looked through the various evidences submitted by the plaintiff in the file, frowned, and looked at Lu Ming.

"Ms. Bisi, you didn't mean it..." Before Lu Ming could finish speaking, the little old lady had already shaken her head. She picked up the gavel and decided to rule that the case was established and set a date for the trial to form a jury.

"This kind of reason should be heard by the jury!"

She looked a little disappointed with Lu Ming. Originally, Lu Ming was very familiar with the Old Testament and was very careful with the plaintiff's words. This was quite new and very eye-catching. This young man was a bit interesting.

I didn’t expect that for such a simple case, this guy named Lu didn’t know how to immediately take responsibility in the restaurant. Among the rookies, he was considered relatively soft.

Whether the defendant did it intentionally or not, or whatever, has nothing to do with the hearing court.

The hearing court is mainly a review of the plaintiff's evidence to see if it is sufficient. If it is sufficient, it will enter the trial stage.

The real division of responsibility is determined by the jury during the trial stage.

I don’t know how this rookie lawyer got his lawyer card.

Her original expectations immediately turned into disappointment.

Seeing her pick up the gavel, Liu Hanliang and Cheng Ye's faces were immediately filled with joy.

"Your Honor, please give me two minutes..." Lu Ming said hurriedly.

"One minute!" She put down the gavel.

"Your honor, the restaurant was very busy at the time, but my client Bisi, although she did not clean up the water as required or put a warning sign in front of the water, she had already blocked the water with a broom. Moreover, the location of the water accumulation is very remote, please see my diagram. ”

He picked up a drawing, which he drew hastily. A court clerk came up and sent his sketch to the judge's bench.

Lu Ming continued: "Actually, normal people will take a detour. It is not the only way to go to the bathroom, but in the corner. Normal people will not walk sideways like a crab when going to the bathroom."

"Objection!" Cheng Ye stood up, "Objection to the defendant's lawyer's insult to my client."

The old lady made a gesture, and Cheng Ye sat down helplessly.

Lu Ming continued: "Furthermore, your honor, the water damage there was originally caused by the drink that the plaintiff spilled to express his dissatisfaction. I think that the restaurant and Miss Bisi did not have any fault, because although the plaintiff and the restaurant formed a There is a certain contractual relationship, but in this contract, the restaurant and Miss Bisi only need to provide a safe and comfortable dining environment and value-for-money meals. However, due to the plaintiff’s reasons for creating unsafe factors, all consequences should be It is the responsibility of the plaintiff, not to mention that my client has tried his best to help the plaintiff eliminate risk factors..."

"One minute's up..." The old lady looked at her watch and thought, "It's still a bit far-fetched. When a guest accidentally spills water while dining in the restaurant, doesn't the restaurant have the obligation to clean up?"

The old lady paused, "Moreover, these reasons should be heard by the jury, and they should decide whether you are right or wrong, not by the hearing court."

Lu Ming said: "That's not what I mean. What I mean is that many of our legal cases now focus too much on uniformity without in-depth analysis and differentiation of cases. The division of responsibilities in legal obligations still depends on the specific circumstances of both parties. During the interaction, it is clear that Mr. Liu Hanliang deliberately caused trouble. If this requires a trial, it will only be a waste of court resources. The hearing court should have excluded these unreasonable and even malicious lawsuits! ”

"Your Honor..." Cheng Ye stood up and took out the letter of apology from Jin Taohua and Bisi.

Lu Ming said very quickly: "Your honor, now is my statement time."

The little old lady made a gesture, and Cheng had no choice but to sit down.

Lu Ming held up a piece of paper and said, "Your honor, this is the settlement agreement proposed by the plaintiff. Of course, in view of Mr. Liu Hanliang's reputation, my client immediately rejected it."

The legal officer sent the piece of paper to the judge's bench, which was an agreement to ask Bisi to be a maid to take care of Liu Hanliang until he healed his leg injury.

The little old lady looked at it, her brows immediately furrowed, and she looked up at Bisi, who was as cute as a little doll, but now she was timid and heart-wrenching.

Looking at Liu Hanliang, whose face was full of obscenity, there was anger in the eyes of the little old lady.

Lu Ming said: "Of course, from a personal perspective, I believe that all unreached settlement agreements should not be brought to court."

The little old lady said oh and looked at Lu Ming with interest: "What do you mean?"

"Because a settlement agreement is never evidence. For example, if my client hopes that the matter will be settled after an apology, in order not to cause more trouble, he is likely to ask for a settlement through an apology."

“But if this type of apology settlement agreement is seen by the judge and jury, they will usually assume that my client is at fault, which will affect the judgment of the judge and jury.”

“In a fair trial of a case, the judge and jury cannot have a preset position. During the trial of the case, they should follow the evidence. Only in this way can they be impartial.”

When the little old lady listened, a strange color flashed in her little eyes, and she pondered for a while, "That's the truth."

Cheng Ye, who was holding an apology letter in the plaintiff's seat, almost had his nose twisted with anger. Are you a human? You are not a human being either!

Oh, you showed the judge the settlement terms I proposed, and then started talking about what unreached settlement agreement should not be presented to court. Will this affect the judge's judgment?

After you have influenced me, you will no longer influence me?

The little old lady looked at the settlement agreement again, with disgust on her face, and raised her head and said: "I agree with the defendant's lawyer. In this case, the biggest responsibility lies with the plaintiff. Moreover, since the plaintiff can attend the hearing, it seems that It didn’t suffer much damage, and there was no need to waste public money on the trial!

"However, the defendant needs to apologize to the plaintiff and the case is dismissed!"

Bang knocked down the gavel.

"Your Honor, here are the letters of apology from the defendant restaurant owner Jin Taohua and the defendant Bisi..."

"I also agree with the defendant's lawyer. If a settlement agreement is not reached, presenting it to court will affect the judge and jury's default position. From today on, in my court, this behavior will be abolished!" Bang, another sound! gavel.

Cheng Ye was stunned, "Your honor..."

"Rejected!" The little old lady banged the gavel again, then stood up.

"Stand up!" the clerk said in a crisp voice.

The little old lady walked down the steps towards the inner door. When she got to the door, she turned around and saw the restaurant proprietress thanking the rookie lawyer with tears. She understood in her heart and did not shift the responsibility to the restaurant at first. The rookie lawyer has a good heart and doesn't want the restaurant to be the one to be accused and lose everything. Secondly, if the other party has an apology letter, even if he shifts the responsibility to the restaurant, he will not directly dismiss the case, but will file a case. The merits will depend on both parties. The various evidences were presented to the jury for judgment.

Well, this court should not see an out-of-court agreement that does not reach a settlement, and the jury should not see it.

Otherwise, the judge and jurors will have some preset positions.

A very novel point of view, but very reasonable.

It was like I had thought about this for a long time, but I never knew the secret, but this little rookie explained it to me.

She suddenly stood still and shouted: "Lu Qianxing, come with me to the bar for a drink tonight."

Over there, Lu Mingzheng smiled and said to Cheng Ye: "You have our formal apology in your hand. It seems that my client does not need to express his apology verbally!"

Cheng Ye was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.

At this moment, Li Guan, who walked to the inner door, suddenly shouted this.

Everyone in the court was stunned. It was not that Guan Li asked someone to drink that was surprising.

Because Li Guan has always been independent and has high prestige in the legal community, no one can do anything to her.

What is surprising is that Li Guan would actually favor a rookie lawyer.

Cheng also gritted his teeth, saying that a judge shouldn't be able to work for a lifetime, that's why there are so many weirdos! However, I can't afford to offend him.

Liu Hanliang stared at Lu Ming with a gloomy expression.

Cheng was also startled when he saw his expression. There was almost nothing this good man could not do that he wanted to do. Now, if he ruined his affairs, he might not get any good results.

My heart was immediately filled with great fear, and for a moment, I had long forgotten to curse Old Mrs. Li.

Over there, looking at the dumbfounded Lu Ming, Li Guan blinked his little eyes mischievously, "Don't worry, I'm old and have no interest in fresh meat. Don't be afraid that I will eat you!"

Lu Ming couldn't laugh or cry, "Li Guan, it's my honor to taste wine with you."

"Seven o'clock in the evening, Fiona's Bar!" After saying that, the little old lady opened the door and entered the inner courtyard.

Lu Ming was speechless for a moment. Ao Fei's bar was just the prototype of a disco. It was too noisy to go there by himself. After all, discos should be a world for teenagers, but he didn't expect that this old lady was very Trendy.

Lu Ming scratched his head and was about to leave when the pretty female clerk walked over quickly and said, "Lawyer Lu, Lawyer Cheng, please follow me to supervise the changes in your assessment scores!"

Cheng Ye's expression immediately changed, but he forgot about this.

Having the case dismissed directly is worse than losing a lawsuit. It is the most severe punishment. The points are twice as much as losing a lawsuit.

If you lose a lawsuit normally, you will be deducted 10% of your points or ten points, whichever is the maximum.

But if the case is not filed directly, 20% of the assessment points will be deducted.

He originally had 156.75 points, which is considered to be a relatively high score among the ordinary lawyers in Beiguan. Now, more than 31 points will be deducted at once.

Looking at Lu Ming, who looked confused, and Wang Daan, who was excited and hugging Lu Ming to celebrate, his eyes were about to burst into flames. However, he had no choice but to follow the little clerk to register. She entered the new score record into her file, and gave him the certificate of the new score, stamped it, and felt that today was simply the most unlucky day in her life.

……

After leaving the court, Wang Daan's excitement gradually faded away. Looking at the calm Lu Ming, he was speechless for a moment.

What is this, a lawsuit, and my assessment score has exceeded my previous highest score record. For more than thirty years, my assessment score has ranged from minus 90 points to plus 50 points, barely maintaining it, no matter what If the score reaches minus 100, your lawyer license will be revoked.

Now my score is only one step away from having my lawyer license revoked, which is very dangerous.

This guy, just a few days after becoming a registered lawyer, negated all his decades of hard work.

With the blessing of the goddess of luck, no one can stop you.

However, this guy is really powerful. I don’t know who made those arguments, but from a legal perspective, they are simply mind-blowing. This guy’s teacher must be at the level of a barrister.

However, seeing Lu Ming coaxing Ruth who was crying in his arms, Wang Daan did not bother him, "Manager Jin, let me see you off!"

Wang Daan walked to Jin Taohua. He drove his second-hand car that he bought for more than 100 yuan.

"I, I want to thank Mr. Lu." Seeing Lu Ming and Pan Mila talking, Jin Taohua didn't dare to come over and disturb them.

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future!" Wang Daan said with a smile.

Jin Taohua thought about it and said, "Okay, thank you Lawyer Wang." She followed Wang Daan and walked towards the direction where he parked his car.

"Okay, okay, you won't look pretty if you cry anymore!" Lu Ming scratched the tip of the pretty Lolita's nose that was holding him.

Bisi gradually stopped crying, but she held Lu Ming's arm and refused to let go.

Having never had a father, she encountered a big tree that could shelter her from the wind and rain for the first time.

Although Pan Mila frowned when she saw Bisi's actions, at this time, she couldn't bear to scold her any more. She looked at Lu Ming again and said sincerely: "Mr. Lu, thank you!"

Lu Ming smiled: "Okay, I'll take you home."

Pan Mila nodded slightly and walked with Lu Ming in the direction where he parked his car. Bisi still held Lu Ming's arm and refused to let go.

"How much are the legal fees? I will write a check to you later?..." Pan Mila said as she walked.

Lu Ming was looking at Bi Si amused, thinking that it was a pity that his body was not strong enough, otherwise it would be fun to hang her by one arm.

My own father also did this to me when he was a child.

Father, mother...

Lu Ming suddenly felt extremely depressed.

I never think about these things, but Bisi's actions today reminded me of my relatives who I fear will never see again in eternity.

While he was secretly feeling sad, the fragrant wind blew gently, and Pan Mila's delicate voice also drifted into his ears.

"Lawyer Lu? How much are the legal fees?"

Lu Ming came to his senses and said with a smile: "This is my first lawsuit in the East China Sea, so let's take it for free."

"How about that? Wait a few days and I'll write you a check."

Lu Ming knew what was going on, but naturally he would not embarrass this Western lady. He smiled and said, "Whatever, I'm not in a hurry."

Just in time, I came to the phantom of the snow dragon with smooth black lines and shiny black paint.

"The car is nice!" Pan Mira looked at Lu Ming suspiciously, "Is Mr. Lu rich?"

Lu Ming rubbed his nose. It had been a day before he noticed his car. Obviously, she was just indifferent on the surface. In fact, she loved her daughter very much, so she never paid much attention to other things. Before the case was over, , I haven’t been in my mind all the time.

"Get in the car!" Lu Ming was not very gentlemanly, so he opened his own door and got in first.

Pan Mila hesitated for a moment and said, "Lawyer Lu, can you go to my laundry? I have some legal questions I would like to consult with you."

Lu Ming nodded: "Okay, I just happen to be home, and I will live above your laundry."