Chapter 153: Important cases are handled first

On September 29, 2005, starting from 1:00 p.m. that afternoon, many reporters crowded around the press office of the Federal Senate, because today was a very important day. Previously, due to the death of the previous Chief Justice of the United States, the president nominated a new Chief Justice in accordance with the constitution, and today the Federal Senate needed to consider this nomination.

'As we all know, the Chief Justice is the leader of the judicial branch. He is not only the authority on federal law, but also, more importantly, he is responsible for coordinating the relationship between the law and the federal government and the parliament. Generally speaking, the person who can assume the position of Chief Justice is mostly an old judge or lawyer with rich judicial experience. However, the nominee for Chief Justice to be considered today is Judge Kenedy, who is only 49 years old!'

'This is incredible, because in order to ensure that the Chief Justice is only responsible to the law, the position of Chief Justice is a lifetime appointment, which means that if he stays healthy for a long time and does not commit any crimes, he will likely become the longest-serving Chief Justice since the founding of the United States! And now, the Chief Justice, who is responsible for the future of our laws, is waiting for the final vote of the Federal Senate!'

Outside the Senate, a reporter is speaking very excitedly into the camera. This is not just the reporter's personal emotion, but also because of the importance of the Chief Justice to the whole country, and even because of his lifetime appointment, to a certain extent, his importance even surpasses that of the President.

A few minutes later, someone finally came out of the press office. The press secretary walked to the podium, and with him came a short-haired white man, the nominated Justice Kennedy.

'In the deliberations that have just ended, the Senate passed the nomination of Justice Kennedi with 63 votes in favour, 28 against and 9 abstentions."

Although everyone had expected this answer, the fact that the voting stage had generally been reached meant that the decision had already been made, and this was just a formality. However, when the press secretary actually announced the answer, everyone applauded and cheered.

After the result was announced, the swearing in and other procedures for the Chief Justice were introduced, and after everything was over, it was time for the media interviews.

"Hello Chief Justice Kennedie, how do you plan to rectify the judicial system after taking office? Many people say that you were nominated thanks to the current president, what do you think? We know that you were a justice on the Massachusetts Court of Appeals in the past, and you were also once known as the most authoritative justice, so what do you think of that yourself? In your many years of judicial work, have you encountered any difficulties? You are the youngest Chief Justice..."

Facing the strange questions from the reporters one after the other, Kenedy replied, 'First of all, I am honoured to be the youngest Chief Justice. Then I personally have also gained a lot of inspiration from the Massachusetts Court. What really brought me to where I am today is because of a very special case.'

Kennedy looked up at the blue sky and continued, 'Although it's been 25 years now, and that case may have long since been filed away in the archives of the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, and the entire country may have forgotten about it, I will never forget it. It was a sensational case that shocked the entire country and even changed a lot of things.'

...

Time goes back to 3 December 90 years ago. It was the first Monday in December. The heavy snow that had fallen overnight finally cleared up in the morning, and the golden sun refracted through the clouds, spreading a rainbow-coloured glow.

An old priest was pulled out of the church by his son. He looked up at the spectacle in the sky and suddenly fell to his knees. He said piously, 'This must be the glory of the Lord, which means something extraordinary is about to happen!'

As the old priest knelt in worship, agitated, a black Buick car sped past his church.

The road in front of the church leads to the South Brighton District Court, and the black Buick is Zhou Ming's car. At the moment, Zhou Ming, Zhang Lin, and lawyer Alan are all sitting in the car.

Zhou Ming saw that Alan's hand holding the document bag was a little stiff, so he couldn't help but ask him, 'Attorney Alan, you are my barrister, and this is just an ordinary lawsuit, I don't think you need to be so nervous, do you?'

Alan first apologised to Zhou Ming, and then said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, this is not a simple lawsuit. Not only is it the most important lawsuit for me, it may even become a classic case for the entire state of Massachusetts or the entire federation in the future. It is very important, so I will not allow myself to make any mistakes. Moreover, I have already convinced the firm to temporarily devote all of its resources to this case until it is over.'

Zhou Ming was quite satisfied with Alan's seriousness, and Zhou Ming really needed this case at the moment.

The journey to the South Brighton District Court was not far, and a few minutes later, Zhou Ming and his party arrived at their destination.

'The internal settings of all courts are similar. I think that given the nature of our case, we should choose the commercial court,' Alan said to Zhou Ming.

There was no problem with this, so Zhou Ming and Alan then went to the commercial court together. However, when they arrived at the commercial court, they saw a long queue in front of the reception room.

"I really didn't expect there to be so many people in line,'

Zhou Ming whispered with emotion, he really didn't expect it either. They didn't come to the court right away, but it was still the morning, so why were there so many people?

Alan shrugged and said, 'There's nothing we can do about it. The South Brighton district is a busy commercial area, and there are countless business disputes every day. Plus, it's Monday, and the court's efficiency is already being criticized, and there's a backlog from the weekend that needs to be resolved today, so that's why there are so many people filing lawsuits.'

'I understand the reasoning, but if I want to file my application quickly, is that possible?' Zhou Ming asked.

Alan nodded and said, 'No problem. Judge Oppenheim is my friend, and through him we can directly file an application with the court without having to endure this long line.'

This answer was unexpected but reasonable, because according to the law, most cases must be heard in the lower court where the company is located, and the appellate court and the high court will not hear the case unless it is too big. So if a rich man or an official wants to go to court, does he have to wait in line like an ordinary person?

It seems that even in the United States, where the law governs the country, there is no way to get around the system.

So Alan took Zhou Ming into the courthouse and found Judge Oppenheim, a judge with a Mediterranean hairstyle. After listening to Alan's request, he gladly agreed to help.

Then Oppenheim took Zhou Ming and Alan to apply for litigation, but they didn't go back to the original reception room in front of them, but walked into the courthouse and went to another room. This was a very comfortable reception room with not only heating, but also sofa seats and melodious music playing. I think this is a reception room specially for the upper class.

Oplang brought a document to Allen and told him that it was an expedited lawsuit application document.

Allen quickly wrote something on this for Oplang, who then called a female staff member and handed her the document, saying, 'This is the gentleman's expedited lawsuit application. Please take care of it right away.'

This was a normal thing to do, and the female staff member naturally took the document, nodded and said, 'Okay,' but before she could leave to process it, she heard another voice ring out, 'What kind of case needs to be processed with such urgency? It's even pushed mine aside. Are you suing Brighton Bank or Massachusetts Insurance Company?'

Along with the voice, Zhou Ming and Alan turned their heads to see a mixed-race black man with a frown walking over, his face full of dissatisfaction.

Oplang didn't care about the black man's dissatisfaction. He just said, 'That's the way it is. This gentleman's case is very important, so the court has decided to accept his case first. Do you have any other comments?'

'Important?' the black man said, deliberately raising his voice. 'Are there any cases here that are not important? Or are you discriminating against me because of my skin colour?'

'Sir, I don't have any discrimination against you. If you say that, I will sue you for defamation!' Oplang said.

'Hey! I think everyone heard it. Just now, this gentleman said he was going to sue me. I don't know if this can be considered a threat to me. If so, as a court employee, you casually threaten people like this. Can we immediately complain about you?' The black man retorted.

Zhou Ming knew that many blacks suffered discrimination here, and some people were born with a pathological sensitivity to racial issues, especially mixed-race blacks. Zhou Ming didn't want to cause any trouble here, so he said to him, 'Okay, sir, even if my case is important, it's not urgent. If you feel that your case is more important than any other case, you can go ahead.'

Zhou Ming said this and gave the other person a polite gesture, but the mixed-race black man did not appreciate it. He still kept his head up and said, 'What do you mean let me go first? Is this a favour to me? What about all these other people here?'

Zhou Ming frowned and asked, 'So what do you really want?'

"It's very simple. I just want to tell you that all the cases here are very important, not just yours. Do you know him?' He said, pointing his finger at a man next to him, 'He is suing that national chain, Han-Nuo Burger.'

After that, he pointed to the other side and said, 'He is suing the Roder Rubber Tire Factory.'

'And me,' the black man continued, 'I am suing Louis Investment Company. Do you know Louis Investment Company? It is one of our top investment companies. How about that? You are speechless when you hear the names of these companies, aren't you?'

Zhou Ming was indeed a little speechless, but not because he was scared, but because he was a little bit at a loss for words, because at first Zhou Ming really thought he had a big case! But then he remembered that this was just a basic court, and if it was a really big case, or if it was some rich person, I'm afraid they would just go straight from the city court, where would they be here?

'Sure enough, they are all very powerful companies in Brighton, but I think it would be better if I went first,' Zhou Ming very politely suggested.

The black man stared at Zhou Ming and said, 'Did you not understand what I just said? I said that our case is the most important one. What are you, a Chinese, and what case could you possibly have?'

Then the black man snatched Zhou Ming's documents from the female staff member and read them out loud: 'Look at you, you're only suing 45 investment companies, including Caribbean Investment Company, Louis Investment Company, St. Martin Investment Company and New Dawn Investment Company.'

The black man was very spirited when he first started reading, but as he read out each name, his voice weakened by three decibels, and by the end it was so small that it became a mosquito's noise. Even so, it still attracted the attention of everyone in the room.

In this way, in the gaze of everyone, the black man looked up at Zhou Ming in disbelief and said, 'How is this possible? How can you sue these companies? They are all the most powerful investment companies in Brighton!'

'Doesn't the law support you?' Ming deliberately asked this question, and Allen shook his head in time to say that it was impossible. Ming immediately continued, "So I'm suing today."

The black man couldn't help but give Ming a thumbs-up: "You're amazing!"