Chapter 63

On Wednesday morning, the fat boss Jonny was pushed by his daughter in a wheelchair into the Jincheng City Court; his case was to be heard here today.

Jincheng is very prosperous, so there are many cases that need to be heard every day; some small cases go through a fast-track court, but criminal cases like assault must have a formal trial process.

You must allow both the defendant and the plaintiff the right to defend themselves and to assert their legal rights; this is written in the charter.

"I'm a bit worried, Dad," the fat daughter said, sitting beside him; the smell on her was a bit heavy, even Jonny could barely handle it.

He highly suspected that her boyfriend had rhinitis, or that his daughter had some special ability to actually make a man not leave her.

Of course, these thoughts only flashed through his mind; he maintained a confident expression, "I've consulted a lawyer; this is just a small case, there won't be any surprises."

Actually, the two had already discussed this issue twice, but the fat daughter still felt somewhat uneasy, "But they hired a lawyer."

As soon as this was mentioned, Jonny became somewhat annoyed, and his voice grew louder without him realizing it; this is almost a common ailment of people at the bottom.

When they are questioned, they try to prove that what they are saying makes more sense by raising their voices!

"I said, I've consulted a lawyer; I am the indisputable victim. They can't just hire a lawyer and have the judge ignore my current miserable state and conclude that I beat them up all by myself!"

"So the result of this matter is just how much money they can compensate me, and whether I forgive them, nothing more!"

Just as he was speaking, a gentleman in a formal suit suddenly walked over; honestly, it was mid-to-late September, the hottest time of the year, and wearing a full formal suit was also a tough act.

If nothing unexpected happened, this person was a lawyer, because only lawyers would dress so neatly.

"Mr. Jonny?" The lawyer was somewhat arrogant, standing before him with his nose in the air, casually raising his hand while waiting for Jonny to reach out and shake it.

That condescending look made Jonny feel humiliated, even though the other party hadn't done anything and had only said one sentence.

After three seconds, he nodded slightly and then indicated that he couldn't shake hands, "It's me, so..."

The lawyer withdrew his hand and turned his head back; only then did Jonny tilt his head and see a few young people sitting on the other side of the corridor, laughing and joking.

Even now, he remembered how cruelly these people had attacked him; those painful memories surfaced again, and his blood pressure began to rise, "You want me to forgive them?"

The lawyer shook his head, "I mean you can settle out of court. I know it might sound excessive to you right now, but..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Jonny roared, "I am the victim! I am the one who decides the final outcome of this lawsuit, not you!"

"Now, take your damn arrogance and get out of our sight!"

Jonny looked back at his daughter, "Push me somewhere else; I feel disgusted seeing people like this who will do anything for money!"

The fat daughter looked at the lawyer in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, I..."

The lawyer shrugged indifferently, "That's your choice," and saying this, he shook his head and turned to walk toward those young people.

The fat daughter pushed Jonny to the side, "You shouldn't have said that to him; he's a lawyer, and it would be very easy for a lawyer to cause us trouble."

Jonny didn't care at all, "If he wants to come, let him come. These bloodsuckers wouldn't come to do anything at all if there wasn't some benefit; they actually want us to settle out of court?"

"I'm telling you, don't even think about it!"

Thinking of his miserable pleading that night and their brutality despite his pleas, it wasn't about the money anymore; what he wanted was to vent his anger, a deep, bitter resentment!

The unease in the fat daughter's heart grew stronger, "You should at least have listened to him finish; maybe..."

"Don't dream of it! Even if I died and fell from here, I wouldn't listen to him say even one more word!"

Once Jonny's temper flared, no one could control him; perhaps the woman who had already left him would have had a way, but she was gone.

The fat daughter sighed, "I think we're going to mess this up."

Jonny snorted coldly without speaking; in his heart, he was already thinking about telling the judge in court how abominable these lawyers and those brats were, just like in some movies he had seen, righteous and stern.

The lawyer returned to the young people's side; he showed a very regretful expression, "The other party refuses to settle out of court, so now the only thing I can do is to have you pay as little as possible and serve as little jail time as possible."

The parents of the few young people thought about going to talk to Jonny again, but the lawyer thought it wasn't feasible; of course, he wouldn't stop them.

The facts were indeed so; when they explained their intentions, Jonny told them to get lost, which also made these parents very angry.

Although their children were in the wrong, this had nothing to do with the adults, and they had come with good intentions.

Twenty-some minutes later, the formal trial began; Jonny was pushed by his fat daughter to the plaintiff's seat, and then the judge walked in in a hurry, looking very exhausted.

After a series of opening court rituals ended, the judge glanced at Jonny, "Is your lawyer late, or did you not hire one?"

Jonny shook his head, "Respected Judge, I consulted a lawyer, and the lawyer believes that a case that can be seen through at a glance doesn't need a lawyer to defend me."

The judge wanted to laugh but held it back, "I will keep that in mind." Then he looked at the young people in the defendant's seat and their lawyer, "The plaintiff didn't hire a lawyer, so let's start with you."

The lawyer stood up and bowed, "Thank you for taking the time to hear this case. I am Anthony, a lawyer from the Diamond Firm, and I am currently taking over this case."

"Judge, first I need to introduce my client..."

The lawyer took out some materials and told the judge that at least four of his clients had been diagnosed with agitation disorder and exhibited violent tendencies.

At the same time, he stated that the whole case was not a crime of passion or a random crime; they were just a group of young people whose minds were clouded by friendship and who had lost their reason.

At the request of a good friend, they tried to retaliate against the boss who oppressed and exploited the apprentice, but because they were young, psychologically immature, and had violent tendencies, it led to serious, but not irreparable, consequences.

He presented multiple documents, including proof that these children had actively participated in community service and proof that they had completed high school with at least a C+ average.

Their neighbors also testified that these children were usually very sensible and obedient, and were willing to help others in need in the neighborhood.

In short, he produced enough evidence to prove that this was just an accident and that there was no subjective intent to commit a crime.

Then, naturally, the person primarily responsible for bearing all these consequences became the apprentice.

The apprentice's mother had blown the lawyer several times, as the last thing she could do for her son before she left, and she had already done it.

Seeing the woman with some charm letting him toy with her, the lawyer eventually agreed to defend the apprentice.

However, he also told the apprentice's mother that there was a high probability he would go to jail; the best expected result was three to five years, most likely around five years, which was the limit of what he could do.

If she could come up with at least fifty thousand dollars, then he could try to defend the apprentice as not guilty, then lower his sentence to about a year and a half to two years, and then get him out directly through other means.

But unfortunately, the apprentice's mother didn't have that money; even if she started using her special talents to make money now, it would be too late.

This is the benefit of hiring a lawyer, but Jonny didn't know.

After the judge read all the documents, it was indeed as the lawyer said; these young people couldn't be called excellent, but at least they were qualified federal youths.

He glanced again at Jonny, who was sitting there foolishly, and then asked the lawyer, "I noticed that you mentioned in this document the matter of this young man... being oppressed and humiliated."

The lawyer turned his head to look at the apprentice, and the apprentice stood up, "That is indeed the case, respected Judge."

The judge pursed his lips, "Would you mind telling me how he humiliated you?"

He looked down again, "It also mentions your mother above?"