Chapter 24: The Judge: Why Can He Always Find Tricky Defense Angles?

"Your Honor, this video records the real situation that night in its entirety."

"I request the court to re-examine the rape charge against my client, Ma Ming."

Lin Chuan raised his hand to signal.

Presiding Judge Feng Jianjun and the two judges beside him exchanged glances and then began to discuss. Soon, Presiding Judge Feng Jianjun nodded.

"The new evidence submitted by the defense attorney is more referential than the police-recorded confession."

"Request reasonable."

"The court will re-evaluate whether Ma Ming's actions constitute rape."

"Prosecuting attorney, do you have anything to say?"

Feng Jianjun's gaze fell on the plaintiff's bench.

"Your Honor, I have watched the video just now."

"I believe it basically matches the police-recorded confession 100%, so Ma Ming's rape charge still stands."

Zhao Qiuxia picked up the backup confession record and read it out on the spot.

"Interrogating police officer Shen Qiang: Ma Ming, before you engaged in sexual behavior with Li Huimei, did you ask for her opinion?"

"Suspect Ma Ming: I did."

"Interrogating police officer Shen Qiang: How did Li Huimei respond to you?"

"Suspect Ma Ming: She said no."

...

Zhao Qiuxia paused here.

"Your Honor, the content of the record matches exactly with the video. My client shouted 'no' twice in the video."

"But Ma Ming turned a deaf ear to it."

"He violated the will of our plaintiff, a woman, and forced relations."

"And according to the definition of rape."

"During the process of sexual behavior between a man and a woman, whether at the beginning or in the middle, as long as the woman shows resistance."

"The man must stop the subsequent behavior."

"Otherwise, it is a violation of the woman's will and is judged as rape!"

"Therefore."

"I believe that Ma Ming's rape charge still stands!"

The plaintiff's attorney Zhao Qiuxia found the key point. She knew that as long as she argued around 'the woman's will,' her chances of winning would greatly increase.

"Prosecuting attorney, do you have anything to refute?"

Section 32

Presiding Judge Feng Jianjun listened to Zhao Qiuxia's statement and agreed with it. The determination of rape is simple. The law clearly states that as long as relations are had against the woman's will, it constitutes a crime. Even if they are lovers or even husband and wife, as long as the situation is true, the woman can report to the police. This is considering that women are in a weak position in society. Therefore, the definition of rape is basically favorable to women and not very friendly to men.

"The situation doesn't look good. I am a fan of Lin Chuan, but why do I feel that what Attorney Zhao Qiuxia said makes sense?"

"It's not just making sense; the determination of the rape charge is greatly related to the woman's subjective feeling."

"Plus."

"In the video just now, when Ma Ming reached out with his lecherous hand, Li Huimei indeed said 'no.'"

"So."

"Whether it is objective factors or Li Huimei's subjective feeling, both indicate that Ma Ming somewhat violated the woman's will."

...

Although they won a second chance to re-examine Ma Ming's rape charge, the viewers in the live broadcast were not optimistic. Because legally, the definition of rape is too favorable to women.

"Your Honor, I disagree with the reasons stated by the plaintiff's attorney."

"In the video, before my client had relations with the woman, he asked for her opinion."

"The woman replied 'no.'"

"This is a fact."

Lin Chuan paused here and then clarified his thoughts, beginning to demonstrate his sophistry skills.

"As legal professionals, we all know."

"The determination of charges."

"First, we must consider objective facts!"

"Take murder, for example."

"The suspect used a murder weapon to kill the victim. The fuse may be because the two had a feud, or it could be other reasons, but objectively, he is the murderer."

"Therefore, the murder charge stands."

"But."

"If the suspect's unintentional behavior led to the victim's death."

"For example, a car accident."

"The driver hit and killed a pedestrian victim."

"Does the driver constitute murder?"

Lin Chuan scanned everyone present with his eyes, and everyone's eyes were very confused.

"Of course, it does not constitute murder."

"The definition of murder is the intentional illegal deprivation of someone's life, a criminal case."

"But if a car accident results in death, as long as the driver does not flee the scene, it is still a civil case."

The plaintiff's attorney Zhao Qiuxia gave a cold answer and then stared at Lin Chuan in confusion.

"Attorney Lin Chuan, our case is discussing the definition of rape. What do you mean by bringing up murder?"

Lin Chuan smiled. If he wanted to directly overturn Ma Ming's rape charge, it was unlikely. Lin Chuan could only make a flanking attack from another breakthrough to achieve his goal. It's like pulling out a tree; directly pulling it up definitely wouldn't have enough strength. But if you loosen the soil around the tree and shake it, the roots can be pulled out. By mentioning murder, Lin Chuan was 'loosening the soil' to exonerate Ma Ming. Now that the soil was loose, it was time to shake the trunk.

"Since Attorney Zhao and I have reached a consensus, then it's easy from here."

"Let's go back to the beginning of the video."

"My client Ma Ming made a request for sexual behavior to the plaintiff Li Huimei."

"Li Huimei said 'no.'"

"So Attorney Zhao believes that the woman has expressed resistance. That is to say, if Ma Ming continues his behavior afterward, is it a crime?"

Lin Chuan's lips curled into an arc; he was setting a trap for Zhao Qiuxia. But Zhao Qiuxia didn't notice anything because she felt that what Lin Chuan said was suspicious. On the contrary, it was very favorable to their plaintiff side, so she rushed to answer the question.

"Yes, if Ma Ming continues, then it is rape."

Zhao Qiuxia felt this was a gimme question.

"But if I say that at the time, my client Ma Ming heard Li Huimei's 'no' and thought it meant 'yes.'"

"So he proceeded to the next step."

"Your Honors."

"In this case, do you think Ma Ming still constitutes rape?"

Lin Chuan was frantically shaking the 'trunk,' getting closer and closer to his goal.

Hiss—On the bench, the three judges all squinted their eyes, stroking their chins, thinking about this question.

"Hmm..."

"If it is really as you say, Ma Ming misunderstood Li Huimei's 'no' as 'yes.'"

"Then... it's similar to a car accident causing death."

"Non-intentional behavior."

"The rape charge does not stand."

Presiding Judge Feng Jianjun thought for a long time and gave his answer.

It turns out that Lin Chuan had been circling around, laying so much groundwork, just to exonerate Ma Ming from this angle. It must be said that Lin Chuan's brain is like an alien's; he can always come up with conclusions that are both legally sound and acceptable to everyone from tricky angles.

But—Feng Jianjun still wasn't optimistic about Lin Chuan. Although he found a tricky angle to exonerate the charge, how can you prove that Ma Ming misunderstood 'no' as 'yes' at the time? In court, solid evidence is always paramount. Subjective thoughts cannot be verified for truth or falsehood and cannot be used as evidence.