Chapter 153: Chapter 122 Zhang Wei: Good Thing I Didn’t Take Their Case_3
If they added a few more charges, and the original twenty-seven-year total sentence, when accumulated upwards, exceeded thirty-five years, the actual sentence would be capped at twenty-five years! Under criminal law, a twenty-five-year sentence is considered the maximum, already on par with life imprisonment. This is because, during a life sentence, reductions can still be obtained through various acts of repentance and meritorious service. Criminal law stipulates that for prisoners serving life sentences or suspended death sentences, after two years of imprisonment, their sentences can be lawfully reduced to no less than eighteen years and no more than twenty years, depending on their conduct! The minimum can even be reduced to thirteen years. In a sense, the twenty-five-year maximum term for multiple concurrent sentences is already comparable to life imprisonment.
At this thought, Qin Mu looked towards Wang Dachui at the plaintiff’s bench and motioned with his hand. "Dachui, come over here for a moment."
Wang Dachui walked over, his face blank. In just half an hour, he had experienced a veritable rollercoaster. He had yet to recover from the earlier "storm."
He swallowed and couldn’t help but say, "The one pressing these charges... is a bit vicious."
As a lawyer who primarily handled civil litigation... when had he ever witnessed such a spectacle?
"I’ve been thinking," Qin Mu began, then cleared his throat before continuing, "Besides the crime of disrupting courtroom order for their outburst, Jia Zuoying and his wife committed several other offenses. Remember to add these to the charges when court reconvenes."
He then listed the charges he had mentally compiled.
"First, they openly insulted, launched personal attacks against, and verbally abused numerous law enforcement personnel in the courtroom. The circumstances were quite egregious, potentially constituting the crime of insult."
"Second, they openly threatened Zhang Tao, saying that after this, they would ensure he wouldn’t live peacefully for the rest of his life. This could be construed as the crime of intimidation."
"Furthermore, they slandered the court by alleging secret collusion and fabricated false claims, which could be considered the crime of malicious prosecution or false accusation..."
These incidents had all occurred in the courtroom and were fully recorded on video. The facts were clear, and the evidence was conclusive. Moreover, the public nature of their actions in court aggravated the circumstances and magnified their impact. Of course, the specific judgment and findings would still depend on the court’s trial and determination.
Wang Dachui: "..."
Listening to the several "fresh" charges Qin Mu enumerated, he swallowed again.
Before this, Qin Mu had already filed four charges: illegal residential intrusion, extortion, refusal to execute a judgment, and robbery.
And now... in the courtroom, there might be additional charges for disrupting courtroom order, insult, intimidation, and false accusation.
Added together... that made eight serious felonies.
"Don’t worry. These offenses were all triggered by the same series of actions. Legally, they can only be sentenced for the most severe charge among them, so their maximum sentence is still likely to be twenty years," Qin Mu said with a reassuring smile, noticing Wang Dachui’s dazed expression. "My main goal is to give them a lesson in law."
Jia Zuoying and Wang Fenlan repeatedly claimed they understood the law. But in reality, they couldn’t even distinguish between criminal and civil liability. Their concept of crime was limited to serious acts like murder and arson. That’s also why they could behave so shamelessly, brazenly defying the court, yet genuinely believe they were in the right.
Otherwise, no normal person would illegally occupy someone else’s house for three years!
So, through their seemingly roguish actions, they had inadvertently broken the law time and again. Extortion was one example, as was insulting public officials.
「Half an hour later.」
Zhou Quanmin and the other two adjudicators re-entered the courtroom. After the break, the three of them, whose composure had been shattered earlier, had somewhat calmed down, though their expressions remained a little unnatural.
CRACK!
Zhou Quanmin struck the gavel, signaling the bailiffs to bring the defendants into the courtroom, intending to resume the trial.
During the recess, bailiffs from the enforcement division had subjected the couple to "in-depth persuasion." It was only after the bailiffs had talked themselves hoarse that Jia Zuoying and Wang Fenlan reluctantly agreed to cooperate with the investigation and trial.
"We will now announce the court rules," Zhou Quanmin declared. He glanced at Jia Zuoying and his wife, noting that they indeed seemed to have "calmed down" somewhat. They didn’t interrupt the reading of the courtroom discipline this time.
Five minutes later, the announcement of courtroom discipline concluded.
Zhou Quanmin took a deep breath and looked towards the plaintiff’s side. "The plaintiff will now read the indictment and state the grounds for prosecution."
Zhang Tao swallowed, then hurriedly picked up the indictment and began to read.
The indictment clearly detailed the entire sequence of events and the basis for the lawsuit. Although Zhou Quanmin and the adjudicators were already familiar with the case details, trial proceedings required public transparency. Thus, the indictment had to be read aloud.
Zhang Tao began, "Jia Zuoying and Wang Fenlan have illegally occupied my property for three years, refusing to vacate. They employed various shameless and disruptive tactics... I implore the court to find them guilty and sentence them according to the law for illegal residential intrusion, robbery, refusal to execute a judgment, and extortion."
He read these lines practically through gritted teeth. Every incident described had left a significant shadow on his heart.
"Defendants, do you have anything to say in response to the plaintiff’s indictment?" Zhou Quanmin then addressed Jia Zuoying and his wife, proceeding with the trial according to protocol.
This stage was for both parties to present their statements and defenses, allowing for free expression of opinions.
What surprised Zhou Quanmin somewhat was that for such a major criminal case, the couple hadn’t hired a lawyer. He’d heard that the legal aid lawyer provided by the government, who had offered to represent them, had been vehemently rejected and verbally abused by the pair. This resulted in Jia Zuoying and Wang Fenlan being the only ones at the defendants’ table.