Chapter 29: The Deliberation of the Adjudicators, Recess Ends, Court Resumes
Ye Fei noticed Li Xuezhen's gaze and frowned slightly but did not speak.
Beside her, Xie Jing was extremely nervous.
"Lawyer Ye, can we win this case?"
"If we lose the case, will the two of us be imprisoned?"
"Lawyer Ye, do you think their accusation of fraud against us can be established?"
Xie Jing's successive questions made Ye Fei feel irritated.
It would have been better not to mention this matter, because once it was mentioned she truly began to feel worried.
After all, the actions she had taken did indeed involve unlawful conduct, and when she had first begun doing them she had been concerned about exposure.
However, as the scale of her activities increased and she earned more and more money, repeatedly operating at the boundary of illegality instead made her become increasingly reckless.
This time, being accused of fraud was something she had never anticipated.
After all.
Who could have imagined that as a lawyer handling a case she herself might be sent to prison?
No one could understand her feelings at this moment.
Facing Xie Jing, Ye Fei could only stabilize the situation and avoid allowing herself to become disordered.
"There is no need to panic. The opposing lawyer has indeed gained the advantage, but the judgment has not yet been announced, and it is still uncertain whether the presiding judge has accepted the opposing party's arguments, so this is not the time to be anxious."
"Let us wait until the court resumes and the final courtroom statements are presented."
"At present no one can say exactly what the situation will be, so do not worry."
Despite Ye Fei's reassurance, Xie Jing's nervous expression did not relax in the slightest.
She understood clearly that Ye Fei herself also lacked confidence.
At this moment she felt deep regret.
Previously her life had been very pleasant, and she had been able to command Zhang Tongwei at will.
If she had not been greedy, she would not have reached this point.
However, since Ye Fei had spoken in this manner, she could not say anything further and simply nodded, focusing entirely upon whether she might be sentenced and upon her own regret, with no other thoughts remaining.
At the same time.
The three members of the collegiate panel were discussing the fraud allegation and related matters arising from the day's hearing.
Yang Yu took a sip of water. "Jiang Hao and Hongmei, as adjudicators what are your views on this case, and what judgment do you think would be appropriate?"
Jiang Hao pondered for a moment.
"From the courtroom arguments, it is evident that the plaintiff's side holds the advantage, and the elements of fraud they proposed are supported by reasoning and evidence, so I support the plaintiff's side and the determination of the offense of fraud."
Yang Yu then turned his gaze toward Liu Hongmei.
"Hongmei, what do you think?"
"Presiding Judge, I believe this case should not constitute fraud."
"First consider the plaintiff's argument. Although the plaintiff's argument is well reasoned and the elements are clearly stated, it relies upon a form of deceptive argumentative strategy."
"Of course, this is reasonable and lawful within courtroom proceedings."
"Su Bai's argument is that the opposing party constituted fraud and that the property involved in the fraud was the plaintiff Zhang Tongwei's premarital personal property."
"However, this matter has not become an established fact."
"According to his argument, Zhang Tongwei's personal property remains personal property, and although Xie Jing had such an intention and took steps during the process."
"This does not satisfy the established conditions for the completion of a criminal offense, because Xie Jing has not yet obtained Zhang Tongwei's property and it can only be regarded as an attempted offense."
"There is also the most critical point that the determination of the offense of fraud requires illegality."
"If Xie Jing were to obtain marital property through litigation, that conduct would be lawful."
"It can only be said that Xie Jing, together with her lawyer Ye Fei, intended to use lawful means to obtain her husband Zhang Tongwei's premarital property."
"However, Ye Fei is not a criminal lawyer and her understanding of the criminal offense of fraud is not very thorough, and she was drawn into this point by the plaintiff's lawyer Su Bai and overlooked this most critical issue."
"I believe it is not appropriate to determine the offense of fraud."
Liu Hongmei had a professional background as a criminal lawyer and understood this point very clearly.
It was purely because Ye Fei's performance in criminal litigation was weak that she had placed herself in a position where she might become involved in a criminal case.
Jiang Hao did not agree with this view and responded.
"I do not agree with that point. Xie Jing used threats of forced divorce and other methods to induce the plaintiff Zhang Tongwei to sign a guarantee letter and a gift agreement. Is this not unlawful conduct?"
Liu Hongmei responded again.
"This conduct is at the boundary of illegality, but it is very difficult to define and collect evidence regarding this situation, and that is the most critical issue."
"But this is still unlawful conduct, is it not?"
Faced with Jiang Hao's persistent questioning, Liu Hongmei was left speechless.
To say it was not.
It indeed was.
To say it was.
There was no evidence.
Moreover, Ye Fei did not understand criminal law and had not raised the issue during the hearing by questioning the opposing party and requesting that evidence be produced.
Ultimately, this was still a matter of insufficient criminal litigation experience.
Therefore, the final decision depended upon the presiding judge.
It was necessary to see how the presiding judge would determine the issue of fraud in this case.
At this moment, Liu Hongmei suddenly became interested in the plaintiff's lawyer.
She could see that the opposing party intended to preserve the plaintiff's property and had filed the accusation on the basis of fraud in order to prevent the opposing party from succeeding.
If this case had been heard as a civil marital dispute, it would have been difficult to avoid a determination requiring division of property.
Therefore the plaintiff's lawyer filed the accusation on the basis of fraud and took the initiative.
He had also drawn the defendant's lawyer into a disadvantageous position, which demonstrated considerable skill.
When Jiang Hao saw that Liu Hongmei was not speaking, he spoke again. "This should be unlawful conduct, should it not?"
Must you continue to insist upon this point?
"Yes, yes, yes, it is unlawful conduct, is that sufficient?"
Liu Hongmei did not wish to continue arguing with Jiang Hao.
The decisive issue in this case lay in how the presiding judge, Yang Yu, would determine the definition of fraud.
What she and Jiang Hao said would not determine the outcome.
Yang Yu listened to the discussion between the two and nodded slightly, and he already had a preliminary conclusion in mind, as this had originally been the point over which he had hesitated.
However, he had not yet fully determined the matter.
At present, though, he already had a general direction.
It would still be necessary to wait until the courtroom statements before making a final determination.
"All right, both of you have reasonable points."
"There is no need to continue discussing the matter. After the hearing resumes, we will listen to the final courtroom statements of both the plaintiff and the defendant before making a decision."
Yang Yu spoke.
Jiang Hao and Liu Hongmei naturally did not say anything further.
In the courtroom.
The hour passed quickly.
Both parties' lawyers and the parties themselves took their positions.
"All rise."
The presiding judge and the two adjudicators entered the courtroom again.
'Bang bang.'
"With respect to the case in which the plaintiff Zhang Tongwei has brought an action against the defendant Xie Jing, the court proceedings will now continue."
The gavel struck.
At the plaintiff's table, Su Bai's expression was relaxed.
As previously stated, defeat was impossible.
Victory was certain, and he had already guessed the purpose of the recess, although he did not yet know the extent of the victory.
Li Xuezhen continued to look at Ye Fei.
Zhang Tongwei appeared extremely nervous, because this concerned the preservation of several million in family property, and even though he had received Su Bai's assurance and had seen the clear advantage during the earlier hearing, he still felt uneasy.
At the defendant's table.
In comparison, the expressions of Ye Fei and Xie Jing were obviously much more serious.
The final judgment concerned not only victory or defeat, but also the future fate of both of them.
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