Chapter 20: A Complete Reversal - The Plaintiff Becomes the Defendant!

"Sorry, Lawyer Lin Chuan. We were in such a hurry that we didn't know there was someone in the car. We sincerely apologize to you."

"It was all our fault for delaying the court session."

The two judges were actually the unscrupulous people Lin Chuan had mentioned. No wonder they didn't dare to reprimand Lin Chuan. It turned out that Lin Chuan's lateness was caused by their immoral parking.

"Cough cough cough... Lawyer Lin Chuan."

"May I ask if this matter is over and can the court session start?"

Feng Jianjun was so embarrassed that he was almost digging his toes into the ground. When the judge asked the lawyer if the court session could start, the scene couldn't hold it anymore, and the onlookers burst into laughter.

"Silence!"

Feng Jianjun knocked on the gavel sternly. He showed a ingratiating face to Lin Chuan, but he was not polite to others.

"Well, let's put this matter behind us and start the court trial."

Originally, Lin Chuan didn't want to mention this matter. He knew that Feng Jianjun and Bo Jiahao didn't do it on purpose. But he didn't expect Feng Jianjun to pick a fight with him. Well, Lin Chuan had no choice but to fight back. Now, the two judges became well-behaved.

"At 9 o'clock on the morning of October 30th, for the case of rape by demanding betrothal gifts, the defendant Ma Ming appealed, not satisfied with the first-instance judgment."

"The People's Court of Jingzhou City will hold a second court trial."

"This court trial adheres to the legal principles of openness, fairness and impartiality. There are citizens attending the court session as spectators, and there is a live broadcast on the Internet."

"Also."

"The judgment will be publicly announced on the official website of the People's Court of Jingzhou City in electronic form after the court session."

"It accepts public supervision and social opinions."

Presiding Judge Feng Jianjun read the opening remarks of the court session loudly. After that, he turned his eyes to the plaintiff's seat.

"In the first court trial, the plaintiff's claim was for the defendant to compensate 300,000 yuan. The court trial result was passed, but the defendant appealed for the second time."

"Today is the second court trial. Please answer whether the plaintiff side maintains the first-instance claim?"

"No, Your Honor. We have new claims!" Plaintiff's lawyer Zhao Qiuxia stood up.

"Please state the new claims."

"After careful consideration, my client has decided to change the claim to sentencing Ma Ming to ten years in prison for the crime of rape."

"In addition, my client has suffered violent torture and mental intimidation, and both her spirit and body have been severely damaged."

"Therefore, we demand 300,000 yuan from the defendant as compensation."

"Our litigation requests are as above."

Plaintiff's lawyer Zhao Qiuxia waved her hand to signal that she had finished answering.

"Damn, this chick is really ruthless. The two of them were in a relationship for a while at least. Don't they have the slightest bit of affection for each other?"

"They want money and also want Ma Ming to go to jail. They have such a malicious heart!"

"I guess they didn't expect Ma Ming to appeal for the second time. Li Huimei doesn't want to drag it out anymore, so she just plays it tough."

"Ma Ming only cares about money. When the first-instance result came out, he would be fine with just paying some money. Why did he have to ask for trouble?"

"Now that they want him to go to jail, it's not worth it!"

"Don't worry. There's Lin Chuan. I have faith in him. He gave us a huge surprise last time."

"This time is different. There is solid evidence! Ma Ming's sperm has been extracted from the woman's body. I really can't figure out how he can change his statement."

...

When they heard the plaintiff's claim, the male viewers in the live broadcast room had the same feeling. This woman looked gentle and quiet, but she was really ruthless when it came to doing things.

"Defendant, did you hear clearly the plaintiff's claim just now?"

Feng Jianjun's eyes fell on Ma Ming.

"Your Honor, I... I heard clearly." Thinking that if the defense failed, he would have to go to jail, Ma Ming panicked and stammered.

"Since you have heard clearly, then defendant Ma Ming, do you agree to the plaintiff's claim?"

"No - I don't agree!"

Ma Ming shook his head firmly. If he agreed, why would he appeal for the second time?

"Please state the reasons for your disagreement."

Feng Jianjun shifted his gaze to Lin Chuan. Obviously, Ma Ming couldn't answer this question.

"Your Honor, the reasons why our side disagrees are as follows:"

"Our side does not recognize the crime of rape."

"Based on my communication with my client, I found that Ma Ming did not rape Li Huimei at all, so the charge of rape does not stand."

Lin Chuan took the stage. As soon as he opened his mouth, the scene became silent.

"No way, is he really going to change his statement?"

"But the police not only have a confession, and Ma Ming admitted to rape in the confession, and Ma Ming's sperm was also detected."

"This... Does Lin Chuan mean to forcibly change his statement?"

"The success rate of doing this is not high, right?"

"I've never seen a lawyer do this before. The risk is too great. Once it fails, all paths are blocked."

"In this situation, the best way is to sacrifice the pawn to save the chariot."

"Keep bargaining with the opposing lawyer, strive for more compensation, and let the plaintiff abandon the claim for sentencing."

"Yes, this is the most prudent defense method."

...

There were quite a few lawyers from Jingzhou sitting in the spectator area. Changing one's statement was not so easy, especially in the current situation where there was overwhelming evidence. Forcibly changing one's statement had a very low success rate! They all thought Lin Chuan was desperate because once the attempt to change his statement failed and the opposing lawyer held on to this point, Ma Ming would definitely go to jail.

However, just when everyone unanimously thought that Lin Chuan's risk of changing his statement was too great, Lin Chuan made another astonishing statement.

This time, not only the audience in the scene and the live broadcast room widened their eyes and couldn't close their mouths in surprise, but even the jury, judges, and plaintiff's lawyer were shocked.

"Your Honor."

"Not only does our defendant not admit to the crime of rape."

"We also want to correct the facts of that night. It was plaintiff Ms. Li Huimei who raped Mr. Ma Ming!"

Hiss - everyone took a deep breath! Damn it, how come as soon as Lin Chuan opened his mouth, the plaintiff instantly became the defendant!