Chapter 316: Judgment Day: One Move by Chess, All Losses (8K Characters Chapter)
On x, month x, 20xx, the weather will be fine, so it is suitable for travel, litigation, and imprisonment; it is taboo for marriage, moving, logging, and digging wells.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Yuncheng Intermediate People's Court, Criminal Trial Division One.
A case was solved in the online class b and the trial was held here.
"1. No audio, video or photography is allowed without the permission of the court;"
"2. Except for those who are allowed to enter the trial area due to work needs of this court, no other personnel are allowed to enter the trial area;"
"3. You are not allowed to applaud, make noise, make noise, or engage in other behaviors that hinder trial activities. You are not allowed to speak or ask questions without the permission of the presiding judge;"
"4. The bailiff has the right to stop..."
The clerk reads out court discipline.
Then the presiding judge and judges wearing robes entered the court one after another and walked onto the stage.
"Dong——"
The judge stood high on the legal platform, banged the gavel, glanced at it and said in a deep voice: "Today, in accordance with the provisions of Article 293, Article 246, and Article 364 of the Criminal Law,
The Criminal Trial Chamber of Yuncheng Intermediate People's Court held a public trial in accordance with the law in the case of the death of 76 defendants including Hao Qiang, He Zhengyi, Chang Junyi, Cai Xu and others through online classes."
"I will serve as the presiding judge and form a collegial panel in accordance with the law."
"Now, the court officially opens!"
"Due to the special circumstances of this case and the large number of defendants involved, we adopt a batch trial model and bring the first defendant to court first!"
After the words fell, the door to the left front of the trial court opened.
A defendant was escorted by bailiffs and walked into the courtroom with his head hanging down.
It is the defendant with the most crimes in this case—Chang Junyi!
He has a head of yellow hair, a thin figure, and a frightened look on his face.
He is only nineteen years old. Although he is an adult, he is actually just a half-grown child. He looks very arrogant on weekdays. He looks at people with his nostrils wherever he goes, as if he is the third child in the universe.
But after entering the courtroom, his legs became weak.
If it weren't for the support of the bailiff, I might not have been able to successfully walk to the defendant's seat.
As for the remaining defendants in this case, they are all in the waiting hall at the moment, under the supervision of bailiffs. The proceedings of the trial can be seen on the large screen in front.
Although they did not appear in court for the time being, they were all nervously staring at the court proceedings, feeling anxious and panicked.
Chang Junyi is the first defendant to appear in court, and the outcome of his trial can basically determine the subsequent trials of other defendants.
Because one of the most critical controversial points in this case is whether there is a legal causal relationship between Chen Yaping’s death and the actions of the blasters!
If the lawyer successfully refutes the prosecutor's claim and proves that this causal relationship does not exist, then the sentences of all defendants in this case will be greatly reduced.
After all, the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and causing death are two completely different concepts, and the sentencing is very different.
Most people will not even meet the standards for criminal conviction, and will only be detained or fined according to the relevant provisions of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law.
But if it is proven that causation exists, it means that all defendants need to bear legal responsibility for Chen Yaping's death.
This is obviously the situation they least want to see.
So it seems that only Chang Junyi appears in court at this moment, but in fact, the outcome of this trial affects the hearts of all the defendants.
"Woooooooo..."
Suddenly there was a cry from the crowd.
Some people were so scared that they cried.
The fear spread quickly like a tide, more and more people began to sob, and there was even a girl sitting there crying.
They are completely different from the arrogant and domineering way they show off their power online.
But the bailiffs around him showed no sympathy.
These people deserve it!
In the courtroom, in the gallery.
"This lawsuit is not easy to fight. I heard that the defendant's lawyer is very powerful and is very famous here in Yuncheng."
Jiang Bai whispered to Luo Dazhuang next to him.
He knew that the key to this trial was the determination of causation.
And this is actually very difficult.
Because this is a relatively general or fictitious concept, it is impossible to say that the prosecutor can determine the existence of a causal relationship by "snapping" some evidence.
There are so many places to play and argue.
The defendant's lawyer, Yan Shouyi, is also a very famous lawyer in Yuncheng. I heard that he has a high winning rate and his ability is naturally good.
Jiang Bai was really worried that this trial would fail.
Hearing this, Luo Dazhuang smiled lightly and said, "Aren't you very curious about where I went last night?"
"Luo Dazhuang, please stop being so secretive and tell me quickly," Jiang Bai urged.
Luo Dazhuang smiled while stroking his hands: "I used to teach many students during the law examination training. Some of them became lawyers, some entered the court, and some worked in the procuratorate."
"It just so happens that the Yuncheng Procuratorate has a student of mine, and it just so happens that he is the prosecutor of this case."
"I just went to his house as a guest last night."
Hearing this, Jiang Bai immediately grinned and gave a thumbs up to Luo Daju.
It turns out that Luo Dazhuang had already given instructions to the prosecutor, so there is nothing to worry about in this trial, just watch the good show.
While the two were talking, they saw the prosecutor stand up and read out the indictment.
"Criminal complaint from the People's Procuratorate of xxx..."
"The victim in this case, Chen Yaping, was a Chinese language teacher in the second year of Yuncheng No. 2 Middle School... Starting from x day of this month, unknown people began to join teacher Chen Yaping's online classes. They disrupted the order of online classes by playing songs, swearing, sharing screens, etc.
Destruction and serious insult to Teacher Chen Yaping."
"Chen Yaping tried to persuade these unknown people many times, but to no avail, and these people only intensified their behavior."
"During the online class on June x, they disrupted the online class and insulted teacher Chen Yaping even worse, causing Chen Yaping to have a sudden myocardial infarction. After being sent to the hospital, resuscitation failed and she was confirmed dead at 18:34."
"The victim's family reported the case to the Yuncheng Public Security Bureau on x, month x. The case was investigated by the Yuncheng Public Security Bureau and transferred to this court for review and prosecution."
"This court believes that the defendant's behavior violated the provisions of Articles 293, 246, and 364 of our country's Criminal Law, and constituted the crime of provocation and defamation.
The crime of spreading silver filth is extremely serious!"
"A public prosecution is now being initiated in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law."
"The litigation claims are as follows:"
“The criminal defendant Chang Junyi was sentenced to 15 years in prison in accordance with the law for the crimes of provocation, insult, and dissemination of silver and filthy articles.
...The criminal defendant Hao Qiang was sentenced to ten years in accordance with the law..."
The prosecutor's voice was powerful and powerful, resounding in the huge courtroom.
The recommended sentences for the seventy-six defendants were announced one after another.
Among them, the one with the heaviest sentence was Chang Junyi. With three layers of buffs superimposed and several crimes punished simultaneously, the sentence directly reached an astonishing fifteen years!
The next in line is "Justice from Heaven" He Zhengyi.
As the group leader of the blasting group and the organizer of the online class blasting behavior, and for the purpose of profit, he has a lot of buffs, and he will definitely not be unjust for twelve years.
Others will bear different sentences based on their respective roles and roles in the joint crime.
Generally speaking, the sentencing opinions issued by prosecutors on defendants are generally more weighty.
For example, a defendant's sentence is considered reasonable within the range of 5 to 7 years. In this case, the prosecutor will basically recommend that the judge impose a sentence of seven years.
After all, this case is no ordinary criminal case. It is no exaggeration to say that it has reached the point of indignation among both humans and gods.
A heavy sentence, nothing wrong with it.
The only person whose sentencing opinion is not severe is Cai Xu. After all, he is not yet an adult and will definitely have some advantages. The sentencing recommendation is only five years.
Cai Xu is definitely the main force in the online class b-break. It seems that all the anger he received in school was vented on Chen Yaping. If he had been two years older, the sentencing recommendation would have been at least seven years!
Originally, Hao Qiang could also get this special treatment, but who made him meet a stupid mother, and she is also a stupid mother, not only closed the door to commutation, but also welded the windows shut.
The sentencing opinion given to him by the prosecutor was ten years in prison!
This is already the maximum sentence for causing quarrels and causing death.
Of course, these are just the prosecutor's claims and sentencing opinions.
As for the final sentence, it still depends on the opinions of the judge and the adjudicator.
Nearly one-third of the defendants received probation recommendations, some received three suspended sentences and five suspended sentences, and some received two suspended sentences and three suspended sentences.
The lightest penalty is one sentence with a suspended sentence of two.
This guy only took part in an online class once. He played a song in the class and quit, and he never showed up again.
According to his own words, it was because of his conscience that he couldn't bear it. Not only did he never cause trouble again, but he also quit the group immediately and said goodbye to this industry completely.
What the police learned after the investigation was consistent with what he said.
Among the seventy-six defendants, there are only a few who still have a conscience.
He played a small role in the joint crime, stopped the criminal behavior in a timely manner, and had a very good repentance attitude, so he won the precious chance of commutation.
But you still have to be punished.
The plot of putting down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha immediately exists only in stories.
In reality, even if you put down the butcher's knife, you have to accept the trial. It does not mean that when the prodigal son turns back, he will forget the past.
There is no such thing as a good thing.
After the prosecutor read out the indictment, the judge looked at the defendant's seat: "Defendant, are the causes of action and litigation claims mentioned by the prosecutor consistent with the copy of the indictment you received?"
"One... consistent."
Chang Junyi nodded slowly and responded with a harsh voice.
The judge then asked: "Do you have any opinion on this?"
"have!"
Chang Junyi couldn't wait to defend himself: "I admit that I abused the victim and did play some bad things in the online class. I admit all of this!"
"But I absolutely do not admit that the victim's death has anything to do with me!"
"She is thousands of miles away from me. I am not a god. How can I be blamed for her death!?"
"If you have to be responsible for someone else's death just because you curse a few words online, then who will dare to go online in the future? Who will dare to post a few words on the Internet?"
Chang Junyi's face turned red and he was extremely excited.
He was speaking strictly in accordance with Yan Shouyi's instructions.
Yan Shouyi's basic strategy in this trial was to plead guilty.
Admit the crime, but deny any legal causal relationship with the victim’s death!
In this way, the crime can be greatly reduced.
Take Chang Junyi as an example. The causal relationship exists and his sentence is fifteen years. But if it does not exist, his sentence may be less than five years!
The difference between these two is not that big.
That's why Chang Junyi is so nervous and excited.
Of course, the specific expressions must be particular. Words such as "You can't be a teacher if you have a poor mental quality" and "Maybe she was originally ill" are words that make your blood pressure soar. You must not say them in court.
Otherwise, it would really be "seeking death".
But even so, Chang Junyi's words instantly angered Fang Jian and his son and other relatives of Chen Yaping.
"What the hell are you talking about! A life was killed by you, and you still want to get rid of responsibility?"
"You are the murderer, don't try to exonerate yourself!"
"My daughter is in very good health. If she hadn't been scolded by you beasts, how could she have died? How could she have died!!!"
"..."
The victim's family members were emotional.
Chen Yaping's brother even stood up from the auditorium in excitement and rushed towards the defendant's seat.
The bailiffs quickly dispatched and stopped him.
"Boom!"
The judge knocked the gavel and said in a deep voice: "Please pay attention to the order of the court. No noise is allowed, let alone hitting anyone! Defendant, you continue."
Chang Junyi swallowed his saliva and said: "I deeply regret and apologize for the death of the victim, but this debt really cannot be pinned on my head like this."
"I didn't mean any harm, I just wanted to make some pocket money. The group said I could get money if I went in and cursed a few times, so I went there."
"I really didn't want to kill anyone, nor did I expect that anyone would die. This really has nothing to do with me. You can't just accuse me of being a murderer."
Although he endured countless murderous glances, Chang Junyi still insisted on his opinion.
These were also taught to him by Yan Shouyi.
The focus of today's trial is on the determination of causation.
What Chang Junyi has to do is to deny it from his own perspective.
As for debates and confrontations at the legal level, that is a matter strictly guarded by justice.
After Chang Junyi finished his statement, the judge said solemnly: "Since the defendant does not admit that he was involved in the victim's death, the subsequent court investigation will focus on the causal relationship."
"Next, please ask both sides to present evidence and cross-examine."
"Prosecutor, do you have any evidence to present?"
"have."
The prosecutor nodded and began to present evidence.
The first thing to be shown was the screen recording files of several online classes related to Chang Junyi, which clearly showed how Chang Junyi insulted Chen Yaping.
Yan Shouyi did not refute this evidence.
That's not his focus either.
Then, the prosecutor showed the report issued by the hospital.
There are several key pieces of information in the report: Chen Yaping is in good health and has no history of myocardial infarction, the time of myocardial infarction on that day, the time of death, etc.
"Defendant, what objections do you have to this evidence?" the judge asked.
Chang Junyi looked longingly at the lawyer beside him.
Yan Shouyi did not remain silent this time. He gave him a reassuring look, stood up and said, "I have no objection to the authenticity, legality and relevance of the evidence, but I do not recognize its strength of proof."
"The prosecutor's evidence can only prove that the victim died of a heart attack for the first time, but it does not prove that there is a causal relationship between her death and our client's behavior!"
"You must know that our client is only a 19-year-old child. Although he has reached adulthood and is legally a 'person with full capacity for criminal responsibility,' he is still young, has insufficient experience, and does not have rich social experience."
"And I learned that at the time of the crime, he was running away from home, wandering alone, with no source of income. He just wanted to survive in this way. There was absolutely no strong subjective malice."
"Our client's behavior does constitute the three charges mentioned in the indictment, but he just wants to live. We cannot crudely blame all consequences on him."
"This is not only unfair to our client, but also fails to reflect the spirit of our country's legal system and humanistic care!"
It has to be said that Yan Shouyi is indeed quite capable. He not only questioned the evidence submitted by the prosecutor, but also directly raised the topic to another level.
He admitted that the evidence could prove the three counts, but questioned its strength in proving causation.
This is a very smart cross-examination strategy - avoid the important and ignore the trivial!
Acknowledge what is best for you and refute what is worst for you.
From a legal perspective, there is nothing wrong with his defense, but from a moral and personal emotional perspective, his speech is unacceptable!
"What nonsense are you talking about! My sister was killed by them and you are still trying to help them get away with it, bah!"
"What kind of bullshit lawyer are you? In order to make money, you really give up your conscience, right?"
"Scum! Beast!"
"Can you feel comfortable taking this money that is so embarrassing for you? Can you sleep at night?"
"..."
Many family members of the victims were extremely excited and spoke out to severely accuse Yan Shouyi.
The entire courtroom became noisy.
In their view, Yan Shouyi was just a black-hearted lawyer who told lies just for money. He had no bottom line and no humanity!
"Boom!"
The judge banged his gavel again to maintain order and issued a warning.
Then the prosecutor stood up and spoke.
"I don't agree with the defender's point of view. Just because you have no financial resources and want to survive, can you commit a crime? Can you infringe on other people's rights?"
"If we follow this logic, can thieves and robbers also be forgiven?"
"The law is the lowest bottom line that restricts people's behavior. If even the bottom line of the law can be exceeded at will, then this society will completely fall into chaos!"
The prosecutor strongly refuted Yan Shouyi's point of view and continued:
"As for the defense's disapproval of the probative strength of this evidence, well, let me explain now how this evidence proves that there is a causal relationship between the victim's death and the defendant's behavior!"
“First of all, we must make it clear that causation in criminal law refers to the connection between the cause and the cause between harmful behavior and harmful results.”
"The determination of whether there is a causal relationship between harmful behaviors and harmful results cannot be made subjectively, but should be guided by the theory of dialectical materialist causality."
The prosecutor took a deep breath and began to present his point of view.
"First, the objectivity of causality."
“Causation, as the relationship between cause and effect between objective phenomena, exists objectively and is not premised on whether people know it subjectively.”
"We can see from this evidence that the victim was in good health and had no hidden dangers. If she had not been subjected to 21 days of online violence, she would still be alive and healthy now!"
Yan Shouyi frowned slightly, feeling an ominous premonition in his heart. He quickly raised his hand and said, "Objection!"
"What the prosecutor said does not prove the existence of a causal relationship. Even if the victim had no history of myocardial infarction and no other hidden dangers, it cannot prove that her death was related to the breach of the online class."
The prosecutor smiled slightly and said calmly: "Your Excellency, the prosecutor applies for witnesses to appear in court."
"agree."
Soon, witnesses appeared in court.
He is a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a pair of glasses and looking very elegant.
He also held a document in his hand.
After walking into the witness seat, he bowed slightly toward the stage, then held the document in both hands and began to read: "I am the witness Du Mingli. I have understood the rights of the witness, the obligation to testify truthfully, and the legal consequences of violating my obligations..."
After reading the contents of the guarantee letter, the bailiff handed it to the judge.
The judge took it and looked at it, and at the end it had the witness's signature.
Then he said: "Prosecutor, you can now ask questions to the witnesses."
The prosecutor nodded, looked at the witness and began to ask: "Witness, may I ask about your occupation and your relationship with the victim."
"I am the chief physician of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at xx Hospital, and my relationship with the victim is that of a doctor and a patient."
"On xth day of this month, our hospital received a patient who had a sudden myocardial infarction. It was Chen Yaping, the victim in this case. I participated in the treatment. Unfortunately, I still could not save her life."
As he spoke later, Du Mingli's voice became deeper.
As a doctor, it is uncomfortable to see patients die in front of you.
The prosecutor then asked: "What was the cause of the victim's death?"
"Cardiogenic shock!"
Du Mingli said solemnly: "When the patient was sent to our hospital, he had already suffered from a large area of acute myocardial infarction, which caused a significant decrease in myocardial contractility, myocardial ischemia, and insufficient blood supply to other important organs, leading to a state of shock and death."
The prosecutor asked again: "Then what factors caused the victim's sudden myocardial infarction?"
Du Mingli said: "There may be many reasons for myocardial infarction, such as previous heart disease, smoking, diabetes, abnormal blood sugar, overweight or obesity, unreasonable diet, emotional agitation, weather changes, etc."
"The cause of the victim's sudden myocardial infarction was a sudden change in mood within a short period of time."
"I have also heard about this case. She is definitely one of those beasts who was exposed by the online class and was so angry that she had a heart attack!"
As he said that, Du Mingli glared hard at Chang Junyi, who was sitting in the defendant's seat.
It can be seen that he is also a sweet-tempered person.
"I've finished asking my questions." The prosecutor ended the question and slowly sat down.
These are enough.
The judge looked at the defendant's seat: "Does the defense have any questions for the witness?"
Yan Shouyi immediately spoke: "Witness, you must know that your testimony may directly affect the punishment faced by the defendant in this case. How can you say with certainty that the cause of the victim's sudden heart attack was mood swings?"
The latter glanced at him and said, "Just because I am the best cardiovascular physician in Yuncheng, and I was also involved in rescuing the victim!"
"I am definitely the person who knows her situation best, and I can fully take responsibility for my words!"
"Lawyer, you are a professional in the legal field, but I am a professional in the medical field. I hope you will not question a professional doctor from a layman's perspective!"
Although Du Mingli's words are arrogant, they are also true.
Looking at the entire Yuncheng, there really is no other doctor who is more authoritative in cardiovascular medicine than him.
Even looking at the whole country, he is the top person in this field.
Du Mingli's words made Yan Shouyi speechless.
The witness then left the court.
"What the witness just said proves the objectivity of the causal relationship."
The prosecutor continued to elaborate:
"Second, the temporal sequence of causality."
"The so-called time sequence means that harmful behaviors occur before and harmful results occur after."
"The reason for the harmful results is hidden in the previous harmful behaviors!"
"The witnesses have just proved that the direct cause of the victim's death was myocardial infarction, and the cause of her sudden myocardial infarction was emotional excitement."
"At the time of the sudden myocardial infarction, the victim was taking an online class, and it was during the online class that he committed harmful behavior, which is the so-called online class breach!"
"I have absolutely reason to believe that the breach of the online class caused the victim to have violent mood swings, which led to a sudden heart attack and his death!"
The prosecutor's voice was loud and impassioned: "This proves that the temporal sequence of causality exists."
“At the same time, objectivity and causal sequence also support each other!”
Yan Shouyi's face had become very ugly.
He didn't expect the prosecutor to be so well prepared and so sharp!
He couldn't find anything to refute.
"Third, the inevitable connection of cause and effect."
The prosecutor continued after a brief pause.
"Cause-and-effect relationship is manifested as an inherent, inevitable, and regular connection between the cause and the cause between two phenomena. This is the most basic and main form of cause-and-effect relationship."
"In this case, the defendant's behavior caused the victim's heart attack, and the heart attack caused the victim's death. There is an inevitable connection."
"In summary……"
The prosecutor took a deep breath and concluded in a deep voice: "There is a causal relationship under criminal law between the death of the victim in this case and the defendant's behavior."
"We can even say that the victim died because of the defendant! He must bear responsibility for the victim's death!"
These words are very resounding.
Like a heavy hammer, it hit Chang Junyi's heart hard, and it also hit the hearts of other defendants in the waiting hall.
Yan Shouyi twisted his eyebrows into the word "Chuan" and secretly said trouble.
The prosecutor's attack was too fierce and caught him off guard.
"Lawyer Yan, speak quickly and refute him quickly!"
Chang Junyi gritted his teeth and urged, sweating profusely.
Yan Shouyi frowned and thought.
The situation is now very unfavorable to him, and the balance of victory and defeat has tilted.
It can even be said that Yan Shouyi has lost ground on the battlefield of causality.
How difficult it is to regain the position.
It can even be said to be almost impossible.
Yan Shouyi's mind was running rapidly, and soon his eyes lit up.
Since there is no way to regain the position, then simply give up and outflank them from the side!
Thinking of this, Yan Shouyi immediately spoke:
"Even if a causal relationship exists, it does not mean that our client needs to bear criminal responsibility!"
"Because this cannot help but depend on objective facts, and also depends on our client's subjective mental state of behavior and results."
"In this case, our client was just trying to make money for a living, and he did not have any subjective malice to intentionally cause death."
"The victim's death was caused by other unforeseen reasons and is an accident!"
It's still the same old thing, avoiding the important and taking the easy.
But he wanted to use "accidental events" to excuse the defendant, but it was obviously not that simple.
After hearing these words, the prosecutor, instead of feeling troubled, grinned.
Yan Shouyi made a fatal mistake!
And this mistake made this trial no longer suspense.
The prosecutor stood up and said: "Since the defender has admitted the existence of causality, that means he admits that the harmful result (the death of the victim) is related to the harmful behavior (the defendant's online violence)!"
"In this case, what does it matter whether the defendant has subjective malice or not?"
"If there is no subjective malice, there is no need to bear criminal responsibility. Then, do you not need to bear responsibility if you accidentally hit and kill someone while driving? Do you not need to bear responsibility if you accidentally hit someone to death by throwing an object from high altitude?"
Yan Shouyi's face suddenly changed.
He realized he had made a stupid mistake!
"Even if there is no subjective malice, at least the defendant was negligent, and this negligence caused the death of others, which is suspected of negligent death!"
The prosecutor snorted coldly.
Of course, the so-called crime of negligence causing death is difficult to establish in this case.
Because this crime is a crime of negligence, including negligence causing death and overconfidence causing death.
The former means that the actor should have foreseen that his behavior might cause the death of others, but failed to foresee it due to negligence, resulting in the death of others."
The latter means that the perpetrator has foreseen that his behavior may cause the death of others, but can avoid causing the death of others due to gullibility.
However, in this case, neither fault was established.
The defendants indeed had no way of predicting that their actions would cause Chen Yaping's death, so they would not be found guilty of negligent death.
The prosecutor mentioned this crime just to use it as a reason to further suppress the defender’s views!
Yan Shouyi frowned, feeling deeply powerless.
If you miss one move, you will lose the whole game.
This trial has been lost.
Yan Shouyi let out a long sigh.
But no matter what, giving up easily is never his style.
Even if the hope is slim, you still have to try your best.
"I think..."
Yan Shouyi was still making his last effort, but he also understood that this was just a desperate struggle.
The prosecutor continued to expand his advantages and established a victory.
This court debate almost presented a one-sided situation.
"Dong——"
Finally, the judge knocked the gavel and ended the court debate.