Tokyo Barrister: Start the law firm bankruptcy

Chapter 408 Chaos
The entire courtroom fell into quite a chaotic scene in an instant.The bailiff shouted loudly to maintain order, and the fainted Shicun was carried to the middle of the aisle.In less than a few minutes, several judge assistants also rushed to the trial court, with anxious expressions on their faces, standing by the aisle, and hurriedly making emergency calls.Observers at the scene were immediately ordered to leave the courtroom.

Soon, there were only judges, prosecutors, Niwa who was traveling with Ishimura, Kitahara, Miyakawa, judge assistants, and bailiffs in Nuoda's criminal trial court.

"Xianghui!" Morimoto also wanted to step forward to check, but was held tightly by the judicial police beside him.

Standing at the gate of the trial court, Beiyuan saw emergency personnel in white clothes not far away, and immediately waved his hand to guide them to come here.

When the ambulance personnel arrived, Shicun also opened his eyes in a daze.After some on-site inspections, the female researcher was fine.But in the end, out of prudent considerations, Shicun was put on a mobile rescue bed, and was sent directly to the basement of the court through the special channel used by the judicial police to escort the suspect, and then got into the ambulance and went to the hospital for observation.

Seeing that the defendant's family members were safe and sound, Judge Sakuma could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.The way Shicun fell into a coma just now really frightened him.If something really happened, he would not be able to get away with a penalty.Then, Judge Sakuma looked at Iwanaga and Kitahara, and said in a deep voice:
"The trial is temporarily suspended. You two, come to the back room!"

……

……

……

Court building, 3rd floor, court room.

There is a desk in the attic, and there is a coat rack next to it, on which black robes have been hung.Judge Sakuma sat behind, frowning slightly.I originally thought that this afternoon's case should be a case of pleading guilty and accepting punishment. Even if ordinary procedures are applied, it will not exceed one hour at most.

Unexpectedly, this case turned into an innocence defense case.

In addition, there has also been a rare situation where the defendant pleads guilty and accepts punishment, but the lawyer has to hold the view of innocence.

Yoshiichi Kitahara... Judge Sakuma thought about this name in his mind. He had heard Judge Takanashi mention this lawyer's name at the judge's dinner before, saying that he left it for her in the previous plagiarism case of counting ancient books. Very impressed.

As a result, the lawyer now has given himself the legal problem of whether the plea affidavit is still valid in this case.

Judge Sakuma immediately raised his head and looked at Yan Yong and Bei Yuan in front of him, "I have called you here now to discuss the validity of the plea affidavit in this case. Lawyer Bei Yuan, let me ask you now, the defendant has clearly admitted guilt and accepted punishment. Now, do you want to continue to defend your innocence?"

Standing in front of the desk, Bei Yuan smiled, like a child with a very thick skin who did bad things, "Yes, the chief referee. Sorry, I must insist on the defense of innocence. The evidence and materials in the case cannot be convincing." I, Morimoto, are guilty."

Yan Yong snorted coldly, "Chief referee, the other party is obviously sophistry! The defendant and the defense lawyer have a principal-agent relationship, and the views expressed by the defense lawyer should be regarded as the views of the defendant. If the lawyer defends innocence, it should be considered that the defendant refused Plead guilty! Unless Morimoto terminates the defense lawyer's entrustment relationship, it should be deemed that Morimoto agrees with the defense lawyer's point of view!"

As soon as the voice fell, Beiyuan replied directly: "In this case, Morimoto entrusted me and lawyer Miyagawa as defenders. Lawyer Miyagawa agreed with Morimoto's point of view of pleading guilty and accepting punishment, and pleaded guilty. If, my point of view is counted as Morimoto's Opinion, then whose opinion should Miyagawa's opinion be counted as?!"

"You!!" Yan Yong was choked by Bei Yuan again.More and more, he found that this young lawyer always seemed to be able to find strange angles to cut in, and suddenly shot secretly.This ability to sophistry is really annoying!
Yan Yong said again: "Then you can withdraw from this level of entrustment and leave another lawyer for me!"

"Okay! Don't start arguing. This is not a court debate!" Judge Sakuma stopped, "Now, Prosecutor Yan Yong, tell me the basis for your withdrawal of the affidavit and sentencing proposal."

Yan Yong immediately replied, "Although the defendant Morimoto pleaded guilty and accepted punishment on the surface, he also pretended to disagree with the lawyer's point of view of the innocence defense. However, he did not release the defense lawyer's commission, which should be regarded as acquiescing to the defense lawyer's point of view. Therefore, in fact, it violates the The conditions for pleading guilty and accepting punishment stipulated in the affidavit."

Judge Sakuma listened to Iwanaga's answer, thought for a moment, and then said, "Lawyer Kitahara, please tell me why you think the plea affidavit is still valid."

Bei Yuan immediately said, "The plea affidavit is a document signed by the state authority, the defendant, and the lawyer. The binding force of the affidavit should only be bound by the signatory of the document. In Morimoto's case, I only accepted him last week. Entrustment by family members. Although Morimoto entrusted other lawyers to sign the plea affidavit before, I did not participate in the previous process. My signature was not on the plea affidavit, so this case affidavit has no legal effect on me , does not prevent me from pleading not guilty."

Yan Yong quickly retorted: "Even if you did not sign the affidavit, the lawyer's signature and the defendant's confession attitude actually bound you, and you must abide by the contents of the affidavit."

"Even if you take a step back, the lawyer signed the affidavit before." Beiyuan said, "However, chief judge. The current law does not stipulate the status of the defense lawyer's signature on the affidavit. The lawyer's signature on the affidavit is both It can be understood as an agreement to the affidavit, but it can also be understood as a witness to the relevant process, not an approval of the content. Therefore, even if the lawyer signs the affidavit, it cannot prevent him from defending his innocence."

Judge Sakuma fell into thinking again, and he felt that the question in front of him was really a hot potato.A few minutes later, the judge said: "The affidavit of plea and punishment is a document signed by the public authority of the state. Under normal circumstances, it should not be overturned arbitrarily."

"Prosecutor Iwanaga. Considering the current case, the lawyer has to defend his innocence. The result of the first-instance judgment may cause dissatisfaction with both the prosecution and the defense. This case is very likely to face an appeal or protest. Go to the second instance. Once you go to the Higher Court, the determination of the validity of the confession of guilt and punishment in this case may become a binding precedent. Therefore, this issue must be handled with caution."

Judge Sakuma continued, "Consider that once the prosecution protests in this case, the relevant public prosecution work will be carried out by the Kyoto Higher Prosecutor's Office, and you will no longer be in charge of the public prosecution. Therefore, Prosecutor Iwanaga, you'd better coordinate with the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office." Regarding the validity of the plea affidavit in this case, you'd better consult the High Prosecutor's Office before deciding whether to withdraw it."

Yan Yong's cheeks bulged, but facing the judge's request, it was difficult to refuse, so he took out his mobile phone, "Okay. Judge Sakuma, I will go outside and make a call with the High Prosecutor's Office, and then I will reply you .”

The prosecutor walked out of the office with a disgruntled expression.

Soon, the request for instructions on the effectiveness of the plea affidavit in the Morimoto corruption case was conveyed to the Kyoto High Prosecutor's Office.The Kyoto High Prosecutor's Office quickly convened an emergency meeting of prosecutors and senior prosecutors.In the face of the case involving Kyoto University, no one dares to neglect.

At 4:32 p.m., the Kyoto Higher Prosecutor’s Office responded to the request from the Sakyo District Prosecutor’s Office:
"This office agrees with your office's view on the validity of the plea affidavit in Morimoto's embezzlement case. If the defense lawyer insists on pleading not guilty, it should be deemed that the defendant refuses to plead guilty and accept punishment, and your office can readjust the sentencing recommendation. As for whether the plea affidavit is ultimately valid, it should be left to the court to decide."

At 4:35, Iwanaga showed Judge Sakuma the electronic reply letter from the Kyoto High Prosecutor's Office, officially adjusting the sentencing recommendation for Morimoto to 16 years in prison...

(End of this chapter)