Chapter 415: Chapter 302: Supreme Court Case Filed!
If Zhengyang City really thinks the way Liu Jinshui and Xu Liang do, then filing the case there is indeed impossible; Upper City has the authority to try the case.
Except that...
What happens after the trial?
Once the case is over, Zhengyang City will inevitably have to change, but once it changes, it becomes Upper City versus the locality; by then there’s no telling what might happen...
"What about the court in Zhengyang City?" Wang Yao suddenly asked.
In a city district, besides the police, the judiciary also includes other organs; if the court over there is functioning normally, then there’s no problem trying the case in Zhengyang City.
Xu Liang weighed his words for a moment, then said, "The Zhengyang City court..."
"Is only willing to accept it as a civil lawsuit."
A civil case...
A civil case for a dead person!?
Wang Yao was stunned.
Criminal and civil cases differ by just one character, but what they represent is completely opposite!
The former pursues criminal liability—blood for blood; the latter is almost only about compensation!
Kill someone and just pay compensation...
"One last question. Where do you think this case should be tried?" the elder in the main seat suddenly spoke.
Xu Liang came from the local level.
At this point, he clearly knew more than they did.
"Upper City."
Xu Liang answered without a second thought, not even hesitating.
Even if Zhengyang City files the case, it will most likely lose at trial.
If it’s filed at the Nanhai Province High Court... it will most likely be sent back to Zhengyang City for trial.
There’s no helping it: the fact that Zhu Haoyi could track down Lin Fuqiang means there’s someone behind him at roughly the same level as Lin Fuqiang. For that kind of person, manipulating the jurisdiction of a minor criminal case is far too easy...
"Tried in Upper City..."
The people in the conference room fell silent.
In that case...
"Sorry to trouble you, Lawyer Xu. You can go see the would‑be client, Liu Jinshui, now and ask for detailed information." The man in the main seat said.
"We haven’t signed a contract yet, so he’s not my client."
Xu Liang gently reminded him.
Then, without changing his expression, he walked to the door and pulled it open.
The next second, he vanished from the conference room.
Once Xu Liang disappeared from the room, the voices of the others slowly rose.
"Everyone, give your recommendations. Public opinion around this case is huge right now; the sooner we vote, the more we can minimize the impact."
The elder spoke.
Hearing this, everyone hesitated for a moment, then finally said:
"Let the case be tried locally. The situation in Zhengyang City requires careful long‑term handling, otherwise it will lead to intense conflict between the two sides..."
"No. A case is a case; it has nothing to do with politics. Legally speaking, since Zhengyang City refuses to try it, Upper City has the right to take over!"
"I agree as well. Besides, public opinion outside is intense. If the case is transferred to the local level... and if the judgment is not perceived as fair, public opinion might escalate even further."
"Makes sense. I also agree that Upper City should directly take charge of this case!"
"..."
After a round of comments, everyone had expressed their views.
Until...
The elder spoke.
"The minority yields to the majority."
"Those who agree that the case should be filed and tried where the crime occurred, raise your hand."
When he finished, a few people in the conference room hesitated for a moment and then raised their hands—about three or four.
"Those who agree that Upper City should take full charge and exercise complete jurisdiction over this case, raise your hand!" the elder continued.
This time, the overwhelming majority in the room raised their hands; at a glance, at least a dozen.
Seeing this, the elder made the decision on the spot.
"Very well. The minority yields to the majority. The case will be directly tried by Upper City!"
"As for which judge will take the case..."
"Send it to the High Court first and have the High Court transfer it to the Middle Court."
This is the Supreme Court. The cases it handles are, at minimum, those that affect the entire province, meaning the first instance would be held in the High Court.
Unless someone is appealing a concluded case—i.e., a retrial after the first and second instance!
As things stand, Liu Jinshui’s case is a criminal case interwoven with civil disputes: one person dead, one missing.
But in terms of impact... having the first instance heard by the Middle Court best accords with the legal framework.
Very soon.
The order to file the case was transmitted to the High Court, which merely glanced at it and passed it on to the Middle Court.
Upper City.
Inside the Intermediate People’s Court.
When the filing division learned that the Liu Jinshui case reported in this morning’s papers would be handled by the Middle Court, they immediately found themselves in a bind.
For one reason.
"Which judge do we assign it to?"
The person in the filing division responsible for assigning cases was instantly torn.
Upper City has very rich judicial resources, but the problem is...
"The plaintiff’s lawyer is that Xu Liang. No one in this court likes the way he litigates."
"We need to find a case‑handling judge with a very stable temperament..."
That’s what he was thinking, but as he finished, the person beside him reminded him:
"You think it’s hard to find a judge for this case?"
"Have you forgotten the judge who was seconded to the Middle Court yesterday?"
Seconded to the Middle Court?
The woman froze for a second, then suddenly understood what he meant.
Yesterday, a judge admired across the Middle Court and the grassroots courts was seconded to the Upper City Intermediate Court.
He had been working in the Middle Court in his fifties. At first he wasn’t even a division chief; his career path looked like a dead end.
But then one day he suddenly took off, and in just a year he leaped from deputy division chief all the way to the High Court!
His promotion speed was like riding a rocket; there wasn’t a single judge who didn’t envy him!
And his temperament and capability...
"Aren’t they exactly what we need in the judge handling this case!?"
In the filing division, the man spoke again:
"Besides, this judge has experience handling exactly this kind of case—filing with a body present!"
"He himself is a judge of the High Court. Coming to the Middle Court is already a downgrade. Even though this is the Upper City Intermediate Court, his gold content definitely won’t be low either."
The woman sounded a bit worried. "It’s just, doesn’t he still have that human experimentation case in his hands back in Qingshi City?"
"Come on, the people upstairs aren’t worried, what the hell are we worried about? Besides, if he’s not the presiding judge, he can just serve as a panel judge." the man added.
Hearing this, the woman thought it through carefully this time, and finally realized...
"Hey, that might actually work!" she raised an eyebrow and said.
That way, this tricky case would be fully taken care of.
As for whether the other side would be overwhelmed...
Fifty years old.
Exactly the age to charge ahead!
"Man, this judge really is a good guy. Wherever it’s busy, he goes and helps. Whatever case carries the most pressure, he’s the one shouldering it..."
The man suddenly sighed with feeling as well.
The woman immediately started making arrangements.
"I’ll go arrange it!"
"As for the hearing date... let’s set it a month from now, July twentieth!"
Right now it was June seventeenth.
From now till July twentieth... there was only about a month left!
...
At the same time.
Zhengyang City.
"Rumble~! Thud thud thud!!!"
"Bzzzz~!!!"
"Whirr~ screech! Bang!"
"..."
The racket was deafening, the whole site shrouded in thick billowing dust.
This was the Run Dong Weaving Plant in Yangshan Gully, only unlike before... right now Yangshan Gully was filled with the roar of machinery!
Through the dense clouds of dust, the silhouettes of large machines loomed in and out of view.
"Knock it down, knock all of it down for me!"
"Throw all this crap off to the side!!!"
Zhu Haoyi stood on top of an excavator, a walkie-talkie and loudhailer in hand, constantly barking orders at the crowd as they worked.
Until...
A figure hurried up to Zhu Haoyi. The sweat on his face had sucked in the dust, like a layer of cement gray smeared over him.
Looking at Zhu Haoyi, the man wiped the sweat off his face, scraping off the mud and dust with it, and blurted anxiously:
"Boss, the people in the weaving plant haven’t all left yet. There are still people inside!"
Hearing that.
Zhu Haoyi said coldly, "Grab the people inside, tie them up, and keep demolishing!"
Yesterday, he had already made up his mind to forcibly demolish the weaving plant, and that very night he’d lined up the construction crew.
This morning he’d led the team straight over to start tearing it down.
"But..."
The foreman of the construction crew broke out in a fresh sweat. He’d clearly been scared.
God knows how terrifying it was when, in the middle of demolition, one shovel went down and two people suddenly appeared under it!
If they crushed someone to death... his whole life would be over!
"No buts!"
"If something happens, I’ll cover you. Keep demolishing!"
Zhu Haoyi barked coldly.
Hearing this, the foreman’s face twisted with conflict. In the end, he sighed and went back to directing the crew, only this time slowing the pace, grabbing everyone from the weaving plant before continuing to tear it down.
Zhu Haoyi said nothing more. Watching the demolition of the Run Dong Weaving Plant, he gradually felt himself relax.
Once the plant was torn down, the rare earth mine beneath it would be his.
Then he’d cooperate with a state-owned enterprise, wait a year or two, and by the time they started handling the tech... even if he couldn’t get at the core technology, he’d definitely be able to get close to some of the technicians!
Thinking of this, a heat rose in Zhu Haoyi’s chest.
Until...
"Beep beep beep~"
A phone started ringing over and over.
Zhu Haoyi frowned, instinctively glanced around, then realized it was his own phone and pulled it out.
Caller ID: [xxxx]
Just a string of digits—clearly, Zhu Haoyi didn’t recognize the number.
But he still picked up.
"Hello?" Zhu Haoyi said.
As soon as the word left his mouth, an angry roar blasted through from the other end.
"Zhu Haoyi, this is all the shit you stirred up!"
Without any preamble, he just laid into him with a torrent of curses.
A flash of anger surged up in Zhu Haoyi’s chest on reflex, but once he recognized who it was, he snapped to attention and quickly said:
"It’s you?"
The faint ember of anger in him vanished. Suddenly realizing something, he hurriedly asked:
"What happened!?"
On the other end, hearing this, the man’s tone flared with rage.
"You’ve still got the nerve to ask me what happened?"
"Have you not fucking watched the news!? Zhu Haoyi, is your brain made of shit?"
"How the fuck did Liu Jinshui manage, right under your nose, to drag a corpse up to Upper City and file a case!?"
As he spoke, his tone got sharper and sharper.
It was obvious that the caller was furious.
He himself was in Upper City. Yesterday, when he heard about Liu Jinshui kicking up a storm at the Supreme Court, he’d already suspected it had something to do with Zhu Haoyi.
But because of his special status, he hadn’t dared to get in touch. Until now...
A whole day had passed, and Zhu Haoyi still hadn’t done a damn thing!
Calling now, he found out the guy didn’t even know what was going on, which sent his temper through the roof!
He snarled:
"Zhu Haoyi, is that a pig’s brain sitting on your neck?"
Zhu Haoyi froze, then hurriedly said:
"What happened in Upper City!?"
