What's wrong with this lawyer?!

The brother-in-law spoke up from the side, "Brother-in-law, what do you think we should do now?"

"What to do? There's nothing we can do, just wait. They've hired a top-notch lawyer, and there's nothing we can do about that. Besides, the trial hasn't even started yet, what's there to be afraid of!"

In such an atmosphere, at the Lincheng City Intermediate Court, Old Tang had finished making copies of the entire case file and walked out, checking the weather—it was quite nice.

The staff didn't care for him much, but they still had to cooperate on a professional level.

It was unavoidable, mainly because Old Tang was now well-known. If things didn't go his way, he would file a complaint with the higher court that easily.

The relationship between lawyers and courts these days is very subtle and complex. Some litigants who've read up on laws online would wonder when they hire lawyers to sue.

They ask, if the court refuses to file a case, and won't provide the relevant documentation, why not file a complaint? According to regulations, they either have to file the case or issue a decision not to file.

But they don't realize that the lawyer still has to mix in this place. After you, the litigant, are done with the case, you can just walk away, but the lawyer still has to deal with the court.

A lawyer's fee is just a small amount of money. If they offend local judges, how will they manage in the future? Law is law, but beyond that, there are also interpersonal relationships.

Moreover, it's merely a matter of dragging out the process for a bit longer. The judges have internal assessments that aren't easy either. Everyone should be a little understanding of each other...

Old Tang was different every time he went to court, he treated it as if it were his last. Citing the procedural law, he insisted that they had to give him a result within the set number of days, or he would escalate the matter. If the intermediate court didn't care, he would go to the high court, and if the high court didn't care, he would go to the Supreme Court!

He had been a lawyer for decades, combining his past and present life, so of course he knew the grassroots courts were also helpless. Their case closure rates were calculated over the course of twelve months.

But by that rationale, a case received in December couldn't possibly be judged before New Year's. However, that's how the assessments worked, so the only solution was to find ways to delay the filing through mediation and other procedures. That's why courts everywhere have a hard time filing cases at the end of the year.

But understanding aside, when it was time for Old Tang to get things done, he didn't hesitate. Their assessments may be important, but Tang Fangjing's life was important too, so they would all have to endure some hardship.

Carrying the relevant materials, he returned to his hotel room and began to study them carefully. Although the retrial itself represented an attitude from the high court, he knew that he had to make the necessary preparations.

One of the problems with Huang Licheng's case before was that the knife had been prepared in advance. This was also a main piece of evidence used to establish his criminal intent.

But after studying the materials carefully, Old Tang discovered another issue.

Or rather, it was an issue he had already considered. After all, at that time, three people had been injured, and since people have legs, it's not like they would just stand there like wooden stakes and let someone chop at them.

Even if the first person was headstrong and taunted, 'Come on, chop me if you dare,' the other two would surely run after seeing that knives had been drawn.

The situation was similar to what Old Tang had thought. For the person who was slightly injured, Huang Licheng did chase after him. However, according to the conclusion from the public security authorities, the subsequent attack only resulted in a minor scratch. The key issue was still the initial blows.
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Gradually, a complete defense strategy formed in Old Tang's mind. The core point remained the same as his previous argument for appeal—it shouldn't just focus on the few individuals involved in the fight, but should consider the village cadres, the temporary hires, and those operating the excavators as a whole.

As for the chase and the cut that followed, Old Tang had to thank a man from his past life known as Brother Long. Honestly, all the legal education on legitimate self-defense that Old Tang had seen throughout the years from the lower courts to high courts, high prosecutors, and public security offices, wasn't as effective as Brother Long's few seconds of publicity.

He advertised with his life—you tell me if that's not commitment!

Old Tang was busy with his work. He never just aimed for a not guilty verdict when dealing with wrongful cases, as perhaps for criminal defense lawyers, being able to achieve one not guilty verdict might be enough to serve as a milestone in life.

But that was nowhere near enough for Old Tang. If you're going to do something, do it thoroughly; there's no logic in doing things halfway.

On the other hand, at the Lincheng City Intermediate Court, the criminal court judge Bai Yongqi looked at the assistant in front of him and said, "So Tang Fangjing has copied the case file and left, right?"

The assistant nodded without speaking; the judge tenure system brought consequences, including lifelong responsibility.

It's not that you can just resign as a judge and expect a smooth landing. If a case you handled were to be overturned, you would still face prison time if needed.

Bai Yongqi sighed. What a situation this was...

Although it's often said how significant the error-correcting role of second-instance trials is, anyone who's practiced law knows that it's hard to alter a verdict at the second instance.

Why is this so? Generally, the panel of judges only has the power to maintain the original verdict. For a retrial or an alteration, according to internal court management regulations, it may require a joint meeting of judges for discussion, or even reporting to the presiding judge or even the chief judge for approval.

Even some major, sensitive cases might have to be taken up by the adjudication committee or reported to higher courts for guidance.

Now you see why. It's easy to decide to maintain the original judgment, but taking other actions gets more complicated. So, better to do less than more, just maintain the verdict and there's no issue.

Moreover, many people don't even realize that in most cases, second-instance trials, even for criminal cases, don't hold court hearings. Even according to the "Criminal Procedure Law," not holding a second-instance court hearing is the rule, and holding one is the exception.