Chapter 384: Appealed?

Zhou Yi has been very busy these past few days, especially busy.

He has to meet with the families of defendants from all over, though fortunately, Zhou Mouren is well-versed in this regard.

There is only one principle: if you are truly and sincerely apologizing, then I will forgive you and withdraw the prosecution.

But if you come asking for Mediation and then start saying this or that, then sorry, I simply do not accept Mediation.

Facts have proven that those families who cannot see the situation clearly are quite rare.

It is just that some people seem accustomed to solving problems with money; they meet him and immediately ask how much money he wants.

For example, the person sent by Zhang Qi's side.

Zhou Yi had thought that a celebrity's team would probably be able to see the situation clearly, but as it turned out, they had a purely business-like attitude.

They met and asked how much money he wanted, with an expression that said, "I've seen plenty of people like you."

Zhou Yi didn't even bother to respond and turned to leave.

Right now, in Jingzhou, one could say that some are happy while others are sad.

Those families who were rejected wanted to vent online, but they discovered that no Self-Media was willing to speak for them anymore.

Xiang Yuyu's parents tried every way to find someone to expose the matter, but as soon as the people they used to know heard that the person being exposed was Jingzhou Ayi, they would delete and block them in one go.

So they could only post some things online themselves, saying things like how Ayi is too narrow-minded for not accepting Mediation...

But no matter what they did, the court date set by the Court still arrived.

In the past, the Guangming District Court would have been in a flurry, but now, having had the experience of the previous few times, everyone is used to it.

At the very least, the judges were already prepared to lose another layer of hair.

Especially since this time there is even a celebrity!

The Guangming District Court had not really sentenced a celebrity to prison before... this is a first.

Therefore, Xiang Yuyu was placed on the first day to be tried.

By now, Zhang Qi's accounts online have been completely banned, and people from all walks of life have begun to criticize and mock her in various ways.

When it comes to kicking a man when he is down, many people are very experienced.

No matter how great Zhang Qi's crime is, it is only Insult, and she cannot be sentenced for long, but in the mouths of many, it seems her crimes are more serious than murder.

This has reached another extreme, which Zhou Yi does not like at all.

But he cannot do anything more; being serious is one thing, but helping someone who just offended him to be serious would be a bit foolish.

Everything is proceeding step by step, and under the gaze of the masses, the court time has arrived.

Zhou Yi, as the Private Prosecution party, stepped into the court with Fang Dazhuang, and the judicial police also brought Xiang Yuyu up.

In the gallery, the hands of Xiang Yuyu's parents and Zhuang Qiang were shaking; having not seen her for a short period, Xiang Yuyu felt as if she had aged ten years.

She must have had a hard time inside; there is no need to say more about that.

Why? Because you broke the law, because you committed a crime; going in there is a punishment, not for you to enjoy!

So every time people say that criminals also need human rights, just listen and let it be...

After all, the scope of human rights is too broad; if we talk about human rights for everyone, should we let them live the same life inside as normal people?

Then where would the dignity of Criminal Law be, and who would still fear the Criminal Law?

Zhang Wei's hands were also shaking; this is his first time facing Fang Dazhuang!

A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree; the moment that bald man stood there, it made people feel immense pressure.

Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, a pair of eyes were like those of a bald eagle, as if he were about to begin his hunt!

But Zhang Wei told himself to stay steady; he had already said as much when he met with Xiang Yuyu earlier.

Mediation is impossible, because her parents personally cut off that path.

Zhang Wei will never forget the expression on Xiang Yuyu's face at that time; it was the feeling of a heart turned to ash.

Fortunately, Lawyer Zhang is reliable and told her there is still hope.

The court session began, and the evidence presentation and Cross-examination phase did not have any surprises.

Regarding the pieces of evidence submitted by Fang Dazhuang, such as the Big Green Book and the owners of the short video platform accounts, as well as the fact that the remarks they published reached the standard stipulated by the Criminal Law, there was basically no objection.

And when it reached the Court Debate phase, Zhang Wei finally revealed his point of view.

"When my client issued the relevant remarks, she did not name names; that is to say, at that time, no one knew that my client was referring to Zhou Yi."

"And in the composition of Defamation, the act needs to be directed at a specific person; it must allow others to know who this is!"

This is the point of debate Zhang Wei recently found; at the very beginning, whether it was the Small Essay or the video, Xiang Yuyu did not target anyone.

The reason is that afterwards, many Netizens were conducting Human Flesh Search because they did not know who was being referred to in the video.

As a result, after he finished speaking, he saw Fang Dazhuang's face full of mockery, with an expression that might as well have been written with "Did your law teacher teach physical education?"

The legal provisions are right there; it all depends on individual interpretation.

Likewise, the evidence is all there; Xiang Yuyu's initial Small Essay indeed did not name who the other party was.

But, she posted the video filmed by people around her at the time to her own short video platform.

Although they were on two platforms, because they were both posted by the same person, added to the nature of the content itself, legally, these two acts have an extremely strong correlation.

They can even be seen as a single act.

In such a situation, many people knew it was the person in the video; although they did not know the other party's name, it did not hinder them from launching Internet Violence against him.

More importantly, Xiang Yuyu was not idle; she said a lot in her subsequent replies.

Taken together, it is already sufficient to be identified as an act of Defamation directed at a specific target.

Unsurprisingly, in the Debate with Fang Dazhuang, Zhang Wei's voice grew lower and lower; he was also being rubbed into the ground.

Fang Dazhuang is consistently inhumane during Court Debate; seeing the end, even Zhou Yi felt that this little Lawyer was a bit miserable.

Not to mention Xiang Yuyu; she was completely stunned by this point.

Fang Dazhuang's logic was too clear; listening to his statement, one could directly hear his entire logic.

One link after another, even the party involved, Xiang Yuyu, understood that what she had done was in full compliance with the provisions of the Criminal Law and relevant Judicial Interpretation.

Not to mention the Final Statement; Xiang Yuyu had already cried her eyes out in court.

She admitted her mistakes in every way, saying that at the time, she truly hadn't thought there was a problem with doing so.

As for her expression of guilt and repentance, one could only say that Lawyer Zhang had finally taught her clearly enough.

Fixed-term Imprisonment of six months, with a Suspended Sentence of one year!

According to regulations, in situations where an Actual Sentence might be handed down, the Court is highly likely to adopt Criminal Compulsory Measures against the Defendant in a Private Prosecution.

However, for a Suspended Sentence, it depends on the situation.

"What? Fang Dazhuang, are you saying you previously felt it shouldn't be this serious?" Zhou Yi asked with some curiosity.

Fang Dazhuang smiled: "To tell the truth about this case, the other party's crime is certain, but it shouldn't have been sentenced to six months; the sentencing is a bit heavy."

"I had previously thought it would be Control or Criminal Detention plus a Suspended Sentence."

"And to be honest, in this case, if I were on the other side, there was a high probability I could have successfully argued for a Commutation of Sentence."

Zhou Yi shook his head and said: "You looked very confident when you were arguing before."

"A Lawyer, regardless of what they think inside, must appear very confident, otherwise how else can they engage in a Debate!"

After the verdict came down, Xiang Yuyu indicated that she wanted to file an Appeal!

She believed she was wrong, but should not have been sentenced, at least not to the point of committing a crime.

And Xiang Yuyu's parents did not cause a scene; it seemed as if they had decided to follow the legal path to the end.

Then let the trials continue; in any case, he, Zhou Yi, was never afraid of a war of attrition.

Once the trials start, then they will be tried one by one; for many people, the issue is actually not defamation, because defamation is something where, if someone initially says something false and others don't know it's false and then forward it, it generally does not involve a crime.

But if you know it's false and still intentionally forward it, then you have a problem.

It sounds like the subjective consciousness is very strong—that if you say it's true, it's true, and if you say it's false, it's false—but the actual operation is not that simple.

Judging whether the subjective aspect is intentional requires a whole set of evidentiary standards.

Many of these dog lovers and big influencers are here because of Insult; they catch people and curse them to death, cursing their ancestors for eighteen generations.

Someone who didn't know better would think there was some deep-seated hatred.

After Xiang Yuyu was tried, it was Zhang Qi's turn, and Zhang Qi's situation was even more serious.

Although her lawyer was eloquent and argued for her in every way, it was useless; Fang Dazhuang was even more eloquent.

Regardless of whether she was playing the victim or doing anything else, wrong is wrong.

As a celebrity and public figure, one should be even more cautious in their words and actions, rather than easily insulting others under those circumstances.

And then, when inciting fans to join in the insults, she didn't come out to explain.

All in all, Zhang Qi received a Fixed-term Imprisonment of eight months, with a Suspended Sentence of two years.

With this result, Zhang Qi also accepted it; she had lashed out at this person and that person online, and finally met her retribution.

Even if she wanted to make a comeback in the future, it would be impossible; artists with tainted records must be completely banned.

Zhou Yi attended every court session, whether Criminal Case or civil, and after returning, he gave the relevant materials to the Self-Media Studio.

Obviously, this video was quite labor-intensive again.

It was just because Xiang Yuyu and a few other Defendants chose to Appeal, so the video could only be released after the Appeal ended.

The Second Instance arrived at the Handong Provincial Intermediate Court; basically, in the absence of new evidence, the Second Instance rarely changes the verdict of the First Instance.

Unless the First Instance verdict is outrageously wrong...

As the judge's Gavel fell, the Second Instance had a result: the Appeal was rejected, and the original verdict was upheld!

Outside the Handong Provincial Intermediate Court, Xiang Jinjun looked as if he had aged a few years.

Zhang Wei shook his head there and said: "Uncle Xiang, there is really no other way; at least for now, we truly cannot win this lawsuit."

Xiang Jinjun kept his head down and didn't speak, while only his wife kept chattering about something on the side.

Saying her daughter had a hard life, saying how the other party could be so cruel, and similar things.

Suddenly, Xiang Jinjun looked up and asked: "Lawyer Zhang, you say this Second Instance is over, do we have any other way to continue to Appeal? You also know, I only have this one daughter; if she has a Case Record, it will really be hard for her in the future."

A Case Record is something some people are extremely wary of, believing that under no circumstances should one have one.

Some people think it doesn't matter; anyway, they aren't taking civil service exams or working for the government, so it doesn't matter.

Xiang Jinjun himself hadn't done anything, but he still wanted to avoid leaving a Case Record.

As far as Zhang Wei's thinking went, it was already like this; anyway, it was a Suspended Sentence, so just be careful and get through this year and it would be fine.

But since they asked, he could only say: "If you still feel this sentence is unfair, there is one more path: go to the Procuratorate to file a Protest!"

A Protest, which is the Trial Supervision Procedure of the Procuratorate!

This thing is extremely strict; generally speaking, don't even think about it, unless there is very strict evidence that complies with relevant legal provisions and affects the verdict, only then will this procedure be initiated.

Otherwise, normally, once the Second Instance is over, it's over.

When the party involved asks, Zhang Wei must answer; he is a Lawyer and has this obligation, and he also has the obligation to explain things clearly.

"Uncle Xiang, my advice is don't; it's not necessary."

It really wasn't necessary, as it was a Suspended Sentence after all, but if the other party really requested to do so, he would continue to do it.

Anyway, making money isn't shameful.

"After a Protest, if it is successful, the relevant case will be retried, and then the verdict result might change."

"Good Lawyer Zhang, then everything is entrusted to you; go apply for us, anyway, find a way; if only we had listened to you in the beginning."

Xiang Jinjun said with great regret.

Then let's apply; anyway, trying won't get anyone pregnant.

…………

Time passed quickly, and the Second Instance verdict had already taken effect.

Zhou Yi's video was also finished, and he was recording the voiceover at home.

"Hello everyone, my dear viewers, I am your old friend A Yi. I also didn't expect to meet you all in this form."

"Some people are very clear about the matter, and some are not, but it doesn't matter; let me straighten it out."

After recounting the general events, Zhou Yi began to talk about the outcome.

The judgment results are all "put online," which is to say the China Judgements Online, so talking about it is fine.

"Originally, I just wanted her to pay for my lamp, but I didn't expect her to be a Small Essay expert who got herself into trouble."

"Sigh, what can one say? A bloody case caused by a dog?"

He was in the middle of recording the video when his phone rang.

Zhou Yi quickly grabbed it; he usually keeps his phone on silent, and only calls from a very few people will ring.

He saw it was Fang Dazhuang.

"What's wrong, Fang Dazhuang?"

"What? The other party's application was successful, the Procuratorate filed a Protest, and now the case has been sent for Retrial?"

"This, what kind of situation is this!"

Fang Dazhuang chuckled: "Do you remember what I told you before? This judgment was a bit heavier than I expected."

"If the other party found new evidence and submitted it, then perhaps they could succeed in getting the Procuratorate to file a Protest."

"However, a Protest leading to a Retrial is not entirely a good thing; a retrial after a Procuratorate Protest does not need to follow the principle of Prohibition of Increasing Punishment."

…………

PS: The Trial Supervision Procedure in reality is much harder than this; this is for the sake of the plot, do not apply it to reality.

Second update, thanks to Brother Nanjiao, Brother Shanyue, Brother Shijie Yongyuan De Shen, Brother You Yige Xinshou, Feimaowuyu, Wenchidage, Brother Guiwai De Sha Shijian Sanmao, Brother Eric3Fang, and Brother Fengling Zhiguang.

(End of this chapter)