Chapter 315: White Tower Court Trial

The people who came were none other than Higashi Saeko, the daughter of the former First Surgery Department Professor, Professor Higashi, and Sekiguchi, the lawyer responsible for litigating on behalf of the deceased, Sasaki Yohei.

This lawsuit has been protracted, and by now it has reached the second trial; the Tokyo High Court has accepted the appeal, and the family of the deceased has already been reduced to poverty due to the lawsuit and the resulting boycott from the entire medical community.

Yet, at the critical moment of the case, Lawyer Sekiguchi submitted a request for a new witness to appear in court, elevating this case to a new level and once again drawing the attention of the entire society.

The Forensic Examiner Uesugi of the Special Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is actually the person who performed the pathological autopsy on the body of the deceased, Sasaki Yohei, and he is about to appear in court to testify!

And his appearance is no different from a meteorite falling onto a calm lake!

His fame is too great, and his influence is too vast; once he leans toward one side, the District Public Prosecutors Office and the court will face immense pressure.

Because he has never lost; every force that has attempted to go against him in criminal referrals and on-site forensics, no matter who they were, has failed.

The weather in Tokyo in December is bitterly cold; Lawyer Sekiguchi, draped in a thick wool overcoat, looks unshaven and weary, while Higashi Saeko, who possesses a delicate, traditional beauty, is dressed in a brown winter OL-style suit skirt paired with thickened brown silk stockings, keeping herself looking very neat and clear, which also makes it impossible for the two to be in a relationship as lovers or a married couple.

"Uesugi-san, we are truly grateful that you are willing to appear in court to testify!" Both Lawyer Sekiguchi and Higashi Saeko bow toward Uesugi Muneyuki.

Uesugi Muneyuki smiles enigmatically and gestures for the two to sit down: "Hit a wall, have you? Encountered trouble? I heard the first hearing of the second trial was very unfavorable for the plaintiff? You invited Professor Higashi to testify and conduct a second appraisal, but the results weren't very good, were they?"

"............ Please forgive our incompetence, Uesugi-san," Lawyer Sekiguchi says helplessly: "Because Professor Zaizen's father-in-law, Zaizen Mataichi, is the Vice President of the Kanto Medical Association..."

"It has nothing to do with whether he is the Vice President or not," Uesugi Muneyuki says calmly: "Actually, regarding this Sasaki Yohei case, even if you asked me to perform a second appraisal, or even if you asked me to perform the autopsy a hundred more times, I could only tell you this: first, Professor Zaizen did not misdiagnose, because it is normal to be inaccurate in judging small shadows on the lungs; the deceased was a heavy smoker who smoked two packs a day, it would be problematic if there were no inflammation in his lungs."

"Secondly, it is also wrong for you to say that Professor Zaizen's surgery was problematic; Professor Zaizen's judgment was the most accurate at the time, and the surgical treatment plan he provided was also the best and most reasonable treatment plan at the time; even Professor Okochi evaluated it as an almost perfect surgery."

Uesugi Muneyuki says to Higashi Saeko and Lawyer Sekiguchi: "Not to mention that third-party appraisal agencies are also doctors; are there any doctors who like medical disputes? What are you relying on to win? It would be useless even if you invited Ms. Saeko's father, Professor Higashi, to conduct an appraisal, and besides, after doing this, won't Professor Higashi have to resign from his position as the Director of the Nagoya Kinki Labor Hospital?"

"So you people, having done this three times in succession, forced Associate Professor Satomi to resign and move away to the Chiba University School of Medicine, forced Professor Higashi to resign, and caused me to have to resign from my position at the Medical and Dental University; in fact, if it weren't for the fact that Professor Okochi is an Emperor's Award recipient qualified to be seated in the Seiryo Palace, he would have been forced to resign too." Uesugi Muneyuki shakes his finger: "Because you didn't find the right method; you have always been fighting within the White Tower, and against the White Tower itself."

"Does Uesugi-san mean..." Ms. Higashi Saeko asks cautiously, her eyes filled with the light of expectation.

In fact, Professor Higashi also decided to appear in court to testify only after repeated failed attempts at reconciliation, and because of this, he had to resign from his position as Director; even so, the plaintiff still failed to gain an advantage in the trial, and instead, it resulted in Professor Higashi not only losing his position but also having a big fight with his wife at home.

In every sense, Uesugi Muneyuki is already the plaintiff's last hope.

"Outside the White Tower, is there no other tower?" Uesugi Muneyuki says calmly: "Professor Zaizen's medical skills are fine, but are his other personal actions also fine?"

"It is impossible for you to defeat Professor Zaizen within the White Tower," Uesugi Muneyuki says: "However, we don't necessarily have to fight within the scope given to us by the other party."

After speaking, Uesugi Muneyuki takes out a document, which is the original file of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University tampering with Uesugi Muneyuki's Forensic Autopsy Report: "Do you know what is called a legal search, what is called an illegal search, what is called procedural justice, and what is called substantive justice?"

A smile curls at the corner of the man's mouth: "Leave it to me."

"Please!" Lawyer Sekiguchi and Higashi Saeko bow to Uesugi Muneyuki in unison; looking at the man's confident appearance, they have a strange sense of confidence in him.

This case, perhaps we can win!

Three days later, Tokyo High Court, the second hearing of the second trial of the Professor Zaizen medical malpractice case.

In the front courtyard of the court at noon in December, the new snow covers the granite steps like a velvet curtain. The bronze dome of the Neo-Baroque building glints with a cold light, fragments of snow pile up in the fluting of the Corinthian colonnade, and the statue of the scales of justice on the lintel supports a half-melted snow crown. Breath condenses into tiny diamond dust in the air, falling onto the uncleared snow surface of the black iron benches.

Unlike the first trial, the second trial has attracted the attention of all of Japan!

Uesugi Muneyuki is about to appear in court to testify!

Consequently, the number of news media outlets increased from a dozen to over seventy in an instant; a dense crowd surrounded the entrance of the Tokyo High Court, and upon seeing Uesugi Muneyuki appear, all the reporters rushed forward.

"Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, this is an NHK Live Broadcast; recently, the Tokyo Medical and Dental University Professor Zaizen misdiagnosis case, which has received the attention of all citizens, has reached its second hearing; this time, Uesugi Muneyuki, who is the person who performed the autopsy on the deceased plaintiff, will personally appear in court to testify!"

"Hello everyone, this is a Fuji Television Live Broadcast... According to information obtained by this station, the plaintiff's situation during the first hearing of the second trial was very unfavorable; the defendant's lawyer is none other than the ace defense lawyer of Japan's number one law firm, the Nishimura Asahi Law Office, Lawyer Guoping; in addition, the third-party appraisals from the Kyoto University School of Medicine and the Osaka University School of Medicine both believe that Professor Zaizen's diagnosis was not problematic; this is a war between Kanto and Kansai, please look forward to it!"

"This is TBS Broadcasting... Under the overwhelmingly unfavorable situation for the plaintiff, can Forensic Examiner Uesugi complete a turnaround? 100% win rate versus 100% case-solving rate! One side is bound to fail!"

"NTV reporting for you... Wow, Mr. Uesugi has appeared, along with our familiar Judo-beauty policewoman; it is said that her position in the Special Mission Unit now is as Forensic Examiner Uesugi's exclusive personal bodyguard? Hmm, and who is that beauty in the trench coat next to him? Why are there beauties all around Forensic Examiner Uesugi?"

"Asahi Television, Asahi Television, now bringing you a live broadcast from the court entrance... This case may become a new weather vane for Japan's medical system and existing medical diagnostic protocols!"

"Red Star shines on the earth~ Five-way Dora-man Galaxy! Transform, Hikari! Super-materialization~ Ah ah ah ah ah~ ah ah ah ah ah ah~" TV Tokyo did not send any reporters.

"Uesugi-san, please say a few words!" "Uesugi-san, can you tell us why you chose to appear in court to testify?" "Uesugi-san, we can no longer find your name in the public roster of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, may we ask what happened?"

Uesugi Muneyuki turns a deaf ear to all the reporters' questions, only maintaining a smile and gesturing for them to move aside.

Ten minutes later, Tokyo District High Court, the courtroom.

The jury is already full; after hearing that Uesugi Muneyuki intended to appear in court to testify, a total of over ten thousand people applied for jury qualifications, which once caused the Tokyo District High Court's website to crash and also put tremendous pressure on the Tokyo District High Court.

Uesugi Muneyuki's former mentor, Professor Higashi, has also come; for some reason, Uesugi Muneyuki feels that he looks almost exactly like the Administrative Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Kai Mineaki, and Kai Mineaki's son, Kai Toru, has already completed all transfer procedures and is ready to join the Special Mission Unit.

Standing in the courtroom, facing countless gazes, Uesugi Muneyuki says very calmly: "In fact, I have no objections to the medical appraisal results of the first trial; at that time, the body of Sasaki Yohei was autopsied by myself and Professor Okochi together, and I myself cannot assert whether the lesion was a metastasis from before or after the surgery, because I autopsied a corpse, not a living person."

Uesugi Muneyuki holds up his appraisal report: "Actually, according to the situation at the time, I personally believe that it is unrealistic to want to judge whether a lesion metastasis has occurred through a lung shadow the size of a fingernail; this might require a needle biopsy, or even a wedge resection biopsy, and Sasaki Yohei was already critically ill and waiting for surgery; in this situation, it would be no different from murder."

"Therefore, I agree with the defense lawyer's point of view and the results of the first appraisal, which is that from a medical perspective, Professor Zaizen's diagnosis was not problematic; from a medical perspective, hoping that a doctor can make an absolutely accurate and error-free judgment in such a short time and under such complex circumstances is, in fact, cutting off the path for the further development of medicine."

Hearing Uesugi Muneyuki say this, the complexions of Professor Zaizen and his father-in-law and adoptive father, Zaizen Mataichi, look much better.

Director Ukai is still efficient in handling things! Don't reward him openly, let's send him something secretly.

As for the plaintiff's side, the complexions of Sasaki Yohei's wife and son are extremely poor; they immediately look at Lawyer Sekiguchi, asking with their eyes what is going on?

Wasn't he invited by you?

Lawyer Sekiguchi gestures for them not to be anxious and to let the bullets fly for a while.

"I see." The presiding judge of the Tokyo District High Court nods; facing this existence who has put great pressure on the court, he says in a deep voice: "Since you, Uesugi, have no objections to the results of the first appraisal, for what reason did you choose to accept the plaintiff's request and appear in court to testify?"

"My reason for appearing in court to testify is very simple." Uesugi Muneyuki takes out an original file: "Because I discovered that the hospital tampered with my autopsy report, so I decided to appear in court to testify personally; I am a Forensic Pathologist, and I want to explain things clearly."

"And I am here today to explain things clearly, because Professor Zaizen's problem is not in the medical aspect, but rather in..."

"Wait!" Just at this moment, the defense lawyer, Lawyer Guoping, suddenly speaks up.

"I object!"

(End of chapter)