What's wrong with this lawyer?!

Just this move alone had Yu Niandong somewhat tongue-tied; Lawyer Tang truly possessed some skill.

The defense had concluded, and the court hearing entered the stage of judicial investigation.

Old Tang's side had already begun presenting evidence.

"Evidence One, three financial statements found in the property management office's trash bin and evidence of frequent poster distribution, prove that our client did not fabricate or forge facts."

"The comments he posted in the WeChat group were based on these three financial reports; they were inferences made from common sense, and therefore, he did not have the subjective intention to provoke and cause trouble."

Old Tang had laid a trap here that wasn't really a trap, which anyone with extensive litigation experience could easily see.

Simply put, he wanted to prove that Zhou Zhixing had no intention of provoking trouble; his claims were reasoned and evidenced, regardless of whether the evidence was genuine or fake — that was unknown.

But given the specific circumstances at that time, it was enough for Zhou Zhixing to suspect there was an issue, so he wasn't subjectively trying to provoke trouble.

"Evidence Two, screenshots of the WeChat group conversation where our client used several terms of doubt, meaning he did not fully assert that a bribery incident occurred; hence, he did not cause significant disruption to social order."

The term "provoking trouble" feels like it could fit any situation, but when you actually argue in court, you at least need to meet the basic definition of the term, right?

Even for the catch-all provision of "other behaviors that provoke trouble," there must be an intent to provoke trouble present.

You can't claim that because I saw a problem and raised a suspicion about it, you say I'm provoking trouble; that would be completely unreasonable.

Besides, provoking trouble must also result in consequences, such as the disruption of social order, and clearly, a suspicion did not cause such disruption.

At this point, Lawyer Liu began their cross-examination.

"Firstly, the objectivity of Evidence One is acknowledged, but its authenticity and relevance are not, because the other party claims these three statements were picked from a trash bin, which clearly lacks credibility, and their origin is illegitimate."

"Then, the authenticity and objectivity of Evidence Two are recognized, but not its relevance..."

As Xiao Zhao spoke, Old Tang smiled; he hadn't expected the other party would fall into the trap, but they did without hesitation.

Indeed, the reports could be fake, but on one hand, they were found in the property management office, and on the other hand, there were indeed frequent postings at that time. Combining these two factors was enough to raise reasonable doubt.

To put it plainly, Old Tang's method was to disregard the truthfulness and argue that such behavior did not amount to provoking trouble.

The defendant Yu Niandong's side had begun presenting evidence.

"Evidence One, the report materials..."

"Evidence Two, the investigation report from the district traffic police brigade, which shows that there was no occurrence of bribery."

"Evidence Three, the transcripts after the plaintiff was brought in, in which he recognized all of his actions spread in the WeChat group..."

Old Tang's side began to refute each piece of evidence one by one.

"Firstly, Evidence One is accepted; Evidence Two is not accepted. Although it has been investigated, the investigation's witnesses are all related to the case information, which clearly lacks sufficient weight."

"According to the regulations of our nation's Supervision Law, whether the information content spread by the plaintiff involves duty-related illegality or crime, and whether it is false, should be concluded by an authoritative body through a lawful investigation."

In other words, he's saying that it's suspected that you have issues, but whether there really are issues, whether it's true or false, should not be investigated by yourselves.

Otherwise, the credibility of this investigation would be too low.

Although this evidence would not affect the case, Old Tang still offered a rebuttal: self-investigation and its subsequent report — who would accept the credibility of that?

Yu Niandong's face darkened; the opposing side's words were nearly forthright, but he did not know how to respond.

Seeing that neither party had more to say, the Judgment Chief spoke:

"The investigation stage of the court has concluded. The focal point of the dispute in this case is whether Zhou Zhixing engaged in the act of fabricating and spreading false information. Now, let us begin the court debate."

Upon hearing the Judgment Chief's words, Old Tang began to drink water, he had already steadied himself. The Judgment Chief saw his little trap very clearly; the contentious point of the case was not about the truthfulness of the report.

In other words, whether or not the thing was true, the court couldn't clear it up, but according to the contents of the report, it seemed genuine, anyone would believe it to be true.

Then such behavior couldn't be considered provocation and trouble-making.

The debate began, and Old Tang's side had already resigned themselves to their fate. He only said one sentence, "I am actually very curious about one thing, what exactly does Article 26, item 4 of the Public Security Punishment Law include? I wonder if the defendant could explain."

Since their punishment was based on item 4 of Article 26, that's why Old Tang asked.

As for the debate, there wasn't much to argue; everything that needed to be said had been made clear.

Indeed, the authenticity hadn't been verified, but the material made him believe it was true. Residents of the neighborhood had the right to supervise; there was no stirring up of trouble for no reason, nor was it shared elsewhere, it was merely posted in the property owners' group chat.

Lawyer Liu was taken aback upon hearing this, a little unsure of how to begin speaking. Everyone who studies law has a bone to pick with such generic regulations.

Of course, it's probably annoying even for those who don't study law...

The two sides, who had been arguing fiercely, suddenly ceased fire because of one sentence, leaving the Judgment Chief quite disconcerted.

Both sides took a careful look before the Judgment Chief spoke, "Alright, does the plaintiff have anything to add?"

"No." Old Tang remained as calm as ever. In mediation, you can scold people, but not so much in court, otherwise the Judgment Chief would scold you.

"What about the defendant?"

"Nothing else."

"Very well, the court debate is over, we will now adjourn."

Lawyer Liu and Yu Niandong beside him exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief.

They had grown accustomed to such similar penalties, and being suddenly asked in this manner was indeed a bit awkward to address.

Zhou Zhixing's face was full of excitement; he felt every word spoken by Lawyer Tang hit the mark, leaving the opposing two speechless. Was this what a distinguished lawyer was like?

After the court had adjourned for quite some time and reconvened, the judicial committee made the following judgment:

"First, the defendant Changping Branch will revoke the... administrative penalty."

"Second, the defendant Changping Branch shall reprocess Zhou Zhixing's behavior of provocation and trouble-making."

Revoked? That means we won, right? Zhou Zhixing was overjoyed but saw that Tang Fangjing beside him didn't look quite right.

"What's the matter, Lawyer Tang? Didn't we win?"

Old Tang shook his head, "We won half the battle. Didn't you notice? They said you indeed might be suspected of provocation and trouble-making, which is why they've let the public security organ reprocess it."

"Then, this…"

Across the floor, Lawyer Liu had already indicated they would appeal, and Old Tang said, "We'll appeal as well."

Although he felt sure of victory, there was no choice; the Lincheng Intermediate Court had just handed them a huge, messy compromise.

Offending no one, yet leaving room for maneuver...

So, let's take it to the higher court and see how they rule!