Sitting behind the dark long table on the left hand side of the judgment seat, Ling Li was still in a trance.

Qin Xinghai sat in the defendant's seat in the center of the trial area, not to mention his upright appearance, with short hair on his head and dark gray jacket on his body, but he looked solemn and not overly restrained, which was very different from the stereotypical image of more than a month ago.

The two prosecutors sitting opposite her, one was a girl with very delicate apricot eyes, she was very young in her twenties, and she knew at a glance that she had come to go through the motions to learn experience.

The other male prosecutor who appeared in court was also very young, looking to be in his early thirties, with a round face and a pair of glasses, and his facial features were very light, and he could hardly leave a deep impression without looking twice.

Anyway, after the trial has been held for so long, Ling Li can only vaguely remember that his surname is Chen.

Shen Mou, the presiding judge in the center of the table, wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and spoke sonorously and forcefully. He looked to be in his forties, elegant and elegant, but Ling Li knew that this judge was actually close to sixty, and he was also one of the top senior judges in the Provincial High Court.

The first time I went on the court as a criminal defense lawyer, it was a retrial procedure. When he met such an old and serious judge again, even if he had prepared a lot before, Ling Li was still a little timid in his heart.

Especially, when Shen Mu's eyes inadvertently slid over her, she couldn't help but tremble in her heart, and suddenly remembered the stern and somewhat harsh appearance of the head teacher in high school.

The presiding judge, Shen Mou, was still checking the information of the people present, Ling Li lowered his eyes slightly, adjusted his breathing, felt his heartbeat, and slowed down a little.

The trial began.

These days, she followed Zhu Jinchuan to revise the defense opinions, study the files, study the opinions of the prosecution, and was so busy every day that her feet did not touch the ground, and the days of more than ten days passed in a flash like a blink of an eye, and she couldn't catch it.

She looked at Lu Xiaoxiao sitting next to her again, and her heart was a little more settled.

Zhu Jinchuan was still a little worried that she would appear in court alone, hesitated for a long time, and discussed with Lawyer Ma to let Lu Xiaoxiao go together.

Qin Xinghai and Hua Zhao listened to Zhu Jinchuan and obediently signed the power of attorney. Lu Xiaoxiao was a little unhappy.

She has been in a beautiful mood recently, as if there has been some substantial progress between her and Nan Zhiyi, and one day she said to Ling Li with her eyebrows fluttering that Nan Dashen finally remembered her, but she was used to calling her "Dou Miao".

There is no other reason, pea sprouts are a seasonal dish in the winter of the capital, and it is this dish that Lu Xiaoxiao has sent the most these days.

Finally relied on a dish to occupy a place in Uncle Nan's head, Lu Xiaoxiao was gearing up to go further, and was suddenly assigned such an urgent and dangerous task, naturally he was unwilling.

However, Rao is bold and bold, because of her previous absurd behavior, she never dared to disobey Zhu Jinchuan, so she could only obediently become Qin Xinghai's lawyer.

Ling Li was in a trance, when suddenly Lu Xiaoxiao touched her arm and lowered her voice: "Why are you stunned!" Now that you've read the retrial decision, it's time for you to read the petition. ”

This sudden voice made Ling Li panic, and she hurriedly picked up the complaint and stood up, ready to start reading.

Lu Xiaoxiao held the corner of her forehead and looked like she hated iron but not steel, gritted her teeth and whispered: "Sit down and read!" Do you think you have to stand up and perform when you make a TV series? ”

Accidentally showing her timidity, Ling Li's cheeks turned crimson all of a sudden, and she hurriedly sat down, her heart fluttered and fluttered, and she quickly glanced at the audience.

Fortunately, not many people paid attention to this case, except for Qin Xinghai's wife Hua Zhao, there was only Zhu Jinchuan in the auditorium, the trial seat was packed, but the observer seat was empty.

However, Zhu Jinchuan's reproachful eyes did not appear in the imagination, he looked at her for a few seconds, and only nodded at her slightly, as if he didn't care about her ugliness.

Ling Li calmed down a little, picked up a few pieces of paper in his hand, and slowly read the contents on it.

After more than ten minutes, she finally finished reading the nearly 2,000-word appeal, and she was quite satisfied with her subsequent performance.

In the devilish simulation training in the institute, the tone, speed, and accent of her reading petition were all reviewed by Zhu Jinchuan word by word, and she simply asked the announcer to ask her.

Although this performance in court is not the best, it is also at the upper middle level. Moreover, the content of the complaint has also been repeatedly revised by Zhu Jinchuan, and there are roughly three reasons.

First of all, Qin Xinghai's confession of guilt is doubtful and cannot be used as the basis for a verdict, and the legality of the confession is doubtful, the content of the confession is inconsistent, and some of it is unreasonable.

Second, Qin Xinghai's confession of guilt does not match the current investigation and autopsy. The bamboo stick he confessed to was not found, and it could not be confirmed that the kitchen knife was a tool for committing the crime, and the public security organs did not conduct a bloodstain identification of the clothes worn by Qin Xinghai to commit the crime. The expert confirmed that Qin Xinghai's mother's head injury was indeed caused by the blow to the handle of a kitchen knife, but the scars on her back matched the shape of the bamboo stick, and the police could not give a reasonable explanation for these marks.

In the end, there were no eyewitnesses to confirm Qin Xinghai's crime. Therefore, it is recommended that the court acquit Qin Xinghai on the grounds that the evidence of the accusation is insufficient.

After listening to the content of the appeal, Shen Mu frowned slightly, and asked in a deep voice, "Does the defender have anything to add?" ”

On the defense bench, Ling Li and Lu Xiaoxiao shook their heads in unison and said no, and Shen Mu looked at Qin Xinghai again: "What about the defendant in the original trial?" ”

Qin Xinghai also said honestly: "There is no addition." ”

After asking the complainant, Shen Mu turned his head to look at the prosecutor who responded to the complaint: "Prosecutor, do you have any opinions on the reasons for the complainant's appeal?" ”

Prosecutor Chen, who was opposite, stood up, looked sideways slightly in the direction of Shen Mu, and said in a sonorous voice: "Presiding judge, judges, the prosecution has new witnesses, and I hereby apply to the collegial panel to allow the witnesses to testify in court." ”

Ling Li was still a little stunned, Lu Xiaoxiao had already stood up, and her voice was anxious and fast: "You have violated criminal procedures, and the application for witness testimony should be before the trial." Moreover, even if you want to add new witnesses, you must enter the cross-examination stage and wait until the judge asks you if you have any new evidence or new opinions! ”

Seeing Lu Xiaoxiao's aggressive questioning, Prosecutor Chen glanced at her lightly, pursed his lips slightly, and said word by word: "The testimony of this witness is of great importance and can perfectly explain the doubts that the complainant has about the outcome of this case." ”

Ling Li finally understood what was happening, she stood up, her voice solemn and serious: "Presiding judge, the complainant has raised an objection to the prosecutor's request, according to the specific provisions of the Supreme People's Court on the trial procedures for criminal retrial cases, after the trial, the people's court should not accept new evidence unless it is evidence favorable to the appellant of the original trial." ”

Before Shen Mu could speak, the prosecutor preemptively replied: "The appearance of this witness in court will not have an adverse impact on the appellant of the original trial. First of all, as to the question of whether he has committed a crime, I don't think he can figure out what happened that night, and the witnesses can help you figure it out.

Second, in this case, the prosecution has never raised a protest, and in any case, the punishment of the offender will not be increased in the retrial. ”

The word "criminal" made Zhu Jinchuan in the auditorium stand up suddenly, looking at the trial seat with a frown, his face gloomy.

Lu Xiaoxiao refuted him urgently, and said quickly: "You are secretly changing concepts, and appealing without increasing the sentence does not mean that it is beneficial to the appellant." Moreover, please call Qin Xinghai the defendant of the original trial or the appellant of the original trial, not the criminal! The trial supervision procedure has been initiated, and the truth of the case is unclear. ”

Prosecutor Chen didn't refute, smiled at Lu Xiaoxiao and sat down again, but his slightly cold gaze stared at the two of them, and suddenly raised his eyes to look at Zhu Jinchuan in the auditorium, his eyes were like eagle falcons.

Regarding the procuratorate's unreasonable behavior, Shen Mu did not react immediately. He first leaned sideways and exchanged views with the two members of the collegial panel, and after a few moments, he motioned for the prosecutor to come forward and asked a few more questions in a low voice.

Ling Li was so anxious that she couldn't step forward, she only felt that there were thousands of ants crawling on her body, and she was restless.

Lu Xiaoxiao muttered hatefully with her eyes on the side: "Do these little actions again!" Shameless! ”

A few minutes later, as if the questioning had been completed, the prosecutor returned to his seat, Shen Mu picked up the gavel on the table and knocked it down, and said: "In view of the fact that the prosecution has brought witnesses to appear in court, the court is now adjourned, and the court time will be notified separately." ”

After speaking, the members of the collegial panel withdrew from the courtroom, leaving only the clerk and assistant to sort out the opening materials.

Prosecutor Chen stood up slowly, the corners of his lips curled slightly, and his voice was soft: "Lawyer Ling, Lawyer Lu, I will return all the hands and feet you did during the first trial. ”

His face was facing them, but his eyes were unabashedly glancing in the direction of Zhu Jinchuan.

Even if Ling Li was a little sluggish, he could feel the undercurrent after the two of them stared at each other in mid-air.

When Qin Xinghai was brought into the waiting room by the bailiff, he looked at Zhu Jinchuan with a worried brow. And Hua Zhao in the auditorium rushed forward, still comforting him in his mouth: "Xinghai, don't be afraid, I wish the lawyer a way to save you." ”

Qin Xinghai nodded, and when he saw Zhu Jinchuan, his frowning brows seemed to be a little looser.

Coming out of the court, Zhu Jinchuan frowned without saying a word, and did not go back to the office immediately, but took them to a café not far from the court.

As soon as he sat down, he ordered an Americano, the dark brown translucent liquid that looked astringent and bitter. He drank it in a hurry, went outside to smoke a cigarette, and when he sat in front of Ling Li again, he had already returned to his usual calm appearance.

Lu Xiaoxiao hasn't gotten along yet: "What are you doing!" Why is it so unruly when the evidence should have been submitted five days before the trial? Also, how can the court be in cahoots with the procuratorate? How do we lawyers live? ”

Zhu Jinchuan sighed slightly and said: "The so-called application for witnesses to appear in court or submit evidence should be five days before the trial, but there is no penalty at this time, and even if it is violated, the judge will not take anything from the prosecution and defense." Lawyers may still be afraid, but for the procuratorate, there is no such thing as unscrupulousness. ”

Lu Xiaoxiao was indignant: "How can you make such a sudden attack, it's so shameless." ”

Zhu Jinchuan didn't answer her words again, but raised his eyes to look at Ling Li, and the corners of his mouth raised lightly: "Ling Li, you did a good job this time, you were forced to be so anxious and didn't mess up, and bluntly pointed out that the court should not accept evidence that was unfavorable to the defendant in the original trial." ”

He shook his head slightly: "Unfortunately, apparently the judge thinks that whether it is in favor of the defendant is within his discretion, so he allows the prosecution's application." ”

His rare praise didn't make Ling Li happy, and he was still frowning.