Tokyo Barrister: Start the law firm bankruptcy

Chapter 459 Sentencing
Beiyuan's voice fell, and the entire court fell into an unprecedented silence.When Cai Yanyong finished his supplementary public prosecution opinion, it aroused a wave of indignation among the public in the auditorium.But right now, after Beiyuan finished his final defense, the courtroom was eerily quiet, as if even the sound of breathing had disappeared.The expressions of all the people present trembled a little. The lawyer's words seemed to pick out the hidden and dark side of human nature in everyone and expose it to the broad daylight.

Even the three judges on the trial bench seemed to be stunned, they didn't expect the defense lawyer's final opinion to be like this.

After about 3 minutes of blank space, Judge Sakuma coughed slightly, broke the silence, and said, "The court defense is over. Now we are entering the defendant's final statement. Defendant Morimoto, what do you want to say to the court?" .”

"I obey the court's judgment." Morimoto said.

In order to avoid being recognized as a retraction, which would cause the "Affidavit of Guilt and Punishment" to become invalid, the detained researcher could only give such an answer until the final statement.

Judge Sakuma nodded, and then said: "The trial of this case is over. Since this case has been considered by the Judicial Committee, the judgment made by the collegial panel needs to be discussed by the Judicial Committee. Therefore, the judgment of this case will be announced at 4:[-] p.m. today. .The defendant was remanded by the judicial police to the cell of the court."

"Crack!"

The gavel sounded.

Sentencing at 4:30 p.m.? !This news came from the mouth of the chief referee in front of him, and instantly caused commotion in the auditorium.It is now 11:57.That is to say, after about 4 hours of discussion by the interim judicial committee, the result will be issued, followed by the verdict.The journalists in the auditorium immediately took out their mobile phones to spread the latest instant news.

When Morimoto heard that more than 4 hours later, he was about to announce the result of his case, his hands couldn't help shaking.He wondered what the verdict of the case would be.Perhaps, waiting in front of him will be a sentence of up to 13 years accused by the prosecutor's office.Just like a roller coaster in an amusement park, it will slowly slide to the highest point of the track, preparing for the fastest dive.Right now, Morimoto is being slowly pushed towards the highest point of that orbit.

The researcher's mood fell into an extremely tense situation.When he was taken to the court cell, sweat had soaked his clothes.He just ate a few mouthfuls of the simple box lunch for lunch, and then he felt nauseous.Even if I am hungry, I want to vomit out any food stuffed.

The clock, "tick, tick" moves second by second.

Time seemed to have frozen.

Morimoto was nervous.

He hoped that the time would arrive at the moment when the sentence was pronounced, but he was afraid that what would greet him would be a 13-year sentence.

Every minute, every second, Morimoto lived in extreme torment.

It wasn't until the bailiff brought him back to court that he came back to his senses.

The clock was already pointing to 4:[-].

However, Morimoto no longer remembers how he spent this period of time.

No big court is already full of people.Right now there will be no more heated court debates, but the atmosphere in the trial court is even more frightening.Immediately, the result of this criminal case was announced.What kind of verdict will Judge Sakuma make?What will be the outcome of the discussion by the judicial committee?
"Beihara. What is the probability that Morimoto is not guilty?" Miyagawa, who was in the defense seat, gently covered his chest, calmed down, and asked the male lawyer next to him in a low voice.

Beiyuan stared at the secret door next to the trial seat, "The best result is probably to judge the sentence according to the number of days the defendant Morimoto has actually been detained. It is already the most ideal result to be released in court. It’s too difficult to be innocent. Now, the Sakyo District Court has asked the judicial committee to intervene in this case, which means that all unconventional judgments will be subject to stricter scrutiny.”

Hearing this answer, Miyagawa's eyes dimmed a little, he held the pen tightly in his hand, and did not speak.

"Drip" sounded.

The indicator for the secret courtroom door changes from red to green.

Judge Sakuma, holding a stack of materials, appeared from the secret door and slowly stepped into the referee's seat.The two magistrates behind him followed in his footsteps.The announcement of the judgment is the moment when judicial power is formally exercised.In an instant, an unprecedented sense of oppression filled the air.

When Morimoto saw the judge appear, he couldn't help but "click" in his heart.The moment that determines his life is finally coming.Whether the beast hidden in the black box is a beast that can devour itself will be revealed in the next 5 minutes.It was like being thrown into the bottom of the sea suddenly.Morimoto felt as if he was being squeezed by an invisible wall of air, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"The case of Morimoto's corruption will be announced publicly according to the law. Please stand up." The clerk in the middle said.

In an instant, the crowd in the courtroom stood up immediately.

All eyes were on the chief referee of this case.

In the gambling game of this criminal case, the outcome between Kyoto University's face and Morimoto's 13 years of personal freedom will soon be revealed.

"Crack!"

The gavel sounded.

Judge Sakuma's voice sounded: "Sakyo District District Court, first-instance criminal verdict Jingzuo [23] No. 562. Public prosecution agency, Kyoto District Prosecutor's Office."

"Defendant, Naoya Morimoto. Born on August 36, 8 in Taika. He was arrested on June 2, [-], on suspicion of corruption, and is currently being detained at the Kyoto Detention Center."

"Attorney, Yoshiichi Kitahara, lawyer at Eto Law Firm, and trainee lawyer Saeko Miyagawa."

"The public prosecution alleges that the defendant Morimoto has served as a researcher at the Faculty of Engineering of Kyoto University since February 168th of the first year of this year, and has held relevant positions in an industry-research joint venture, and has the authority to manage and approve corresponding scientific research funds. Taking advantage of his position, he used false materials in Asai Kiko Machine Tool Co., Ltd., Canghashi Electronic Instrument Co., Ltd., and the Joint Research Institute of Engineering Mechanization to extract public scientific research funds into his personal account for personal consumption and enjoyment, and sold off related information privately. Experimental equipment. As a consultant expert of the Kyoto City Hall, he used his approval authority to assist Adachi Information Technology Co., Ltd. to fraudulently obtain precision machinery subsidies, and embezzled relevant subsidies in the form of dividends. Among the above four corruption facts, the defendant Morimoto Corruption 388 yen."

"The defender in this case believes that Morimoto's behavior does not constitute a crime of corruption. The defendant has no employment relationship with Kyoto University, is not an employee of the National University, and does not meet the statutory subject of the crime of corruption. It is impossible to distinguish whether the seized items in the case were bought by Morimoto himself or There is no sufficient evidence to prove that Morimoto has the subjective intention of illegal possession. The property involved in the embezzlement does not belong to public funds, but belongs to the company's own funds."

"This court found the following facts after trial: The defendant Morimoto joined the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Kyoto University as a researcher on February [-]th of the first year of this year. The society is a legally registered civil society. Morimoto worked in Asai Kiko Machine Tool Company , Cangqiao Electronic Instrument Co., Ltd. served as the financial manager, and was employed by the Kyoto City Hall as a consultant expert for precision machinery. Morimoto used false invoices and other means to extract the above-mentioned corporate funds into his personal account, and also accelerated the joint research institute. tube for export and sale.”

"The evidence to confirm the above includes: the statement issued by the relevant university institutions and enterprises, bank transfer records, search records, seizure list, account books of the enterprises involved in the case, accounting documents, financial documents, "employment contracts", civil society inquiry books, Kyoto Prefecture Minutes of city hall meetings, approval forms for precision machinery subsidies, etc.”

Hearing Judge Sakuma read this, Iwanaga smiled.Among the factual evidence identified by the court are the "Statement of Situation" issued by university institutions and enterprises.This means that the collegiate panel still uses it as the basis for ascertaining facts even though the "Statement" does not belong to the eight major types of evidence in the Criminal Procedure Law.Sure enough, the situation is always stronger than people!
Judge Sakuma continued:

"This court's comprehensive evaluation of the defender's opinions, combined with the evidence in this case, is as follows:"

"First, regarding the validity of the "Affidavit of Guilty and Punishment" involved in the case. This court believes that the "Affidavit of Plea and Punishment" is an agreement reached between the public authority and the defendant. Since the agreement has the color of national public authority, Therefore, it should be made stable and credible. In the case that there is no major violation of the "Affidavit of Plea and Punishment" and the defendant directly denies it, the contractual effect of the affidavit should be respected, and it cannot be overturned under normal circumstances. In this case, the defender The act of independently exercising the right of defense does not constitute a reason for the revocation of the "Affidavit of Guilty and Punishment" involved in the case."

"Second, regarding Morimoto's powers. The statutory subject of the crime of corruption is a person who does not have the status of a public office except for those who have the official status of working in a national institution, but who is entrusted with the management of public funds according to law, which also constitutes the statutory body of the crime of corruption. Subject. Although Morimoto is a researcher of the electrification project of Kyoto University and the financial manager of the relevant production and research enterprises involved in the case, he has led and participated in many scientific research projects and is one of the members of the relevant project team. Therefore, it should be considered that the defendant was entrusted with the management according to law Public funding related to the scientific research project involved.”

"Third, regarding whether the funds that Morimoto extorted were public funds. The defender believed that the funds entering Morimoto's account belonged to the company's own funds, not public scientific research funds. This court believes that the answer to this question must be combined with relevant According to the use of the funds, the defendant Morimoto obtained the reimbursement application form for the funds of the relevant production and research enterprises, which stated that the relevant reimbursement was for the scientific research projects that the production and research enterprises involved in the case cooperated with universities. Therefore, even though the production and research enterprises in this case Self-owned funds and public funds are mixed in the same bank account, but combined with the purpose of reimbursement of expenses, it should be considered that the funds that have been embezzled belong to public funds, not private funds.”

Hearing the chief referee's voice, Miyagawa's face turned pale, and the slender hand holding the pen couldn't help shaking.The court has considered that Morimoto has the qualifications of the main body of the crime of embezzlement, and that what has been embezzled belongs to public property.It's over...really, it's over...finally...

Miyagawa lowered his head slightly, not daring to look directly at the court.

The more Yan Yong listened, the happier he felt.The judge has now raised the guillotine of conviction, and it is only a matter of time before it falls.Although the court confirmed the validity of the "Affidavit of Plea and Punishment", it doesn't matter.As long as Morimoto can be convicted, he wins! !

"Fourth, regarding the impounded consumer goods involved in the case, whether it can be identified as personal pleasure expenditure. The defender took the case as an example that the seized suit did not match the height of the defendant, and denied that the expenditure involved in the case belonged to Morimoto's personal pleasure expenditure. This court believes that personal pleasure Expenditures include expenditures for one's own enjoyment, as well as expenditures for the enjoyment of others. Although the seized high-end suit does not match the defendant's height, as long as the corresponding product is a luxury enjoyment product, it should be recognized as personal enjoyment expenditure.

"Fifth, about whether Morimoto has the subjective intention of illegal possession." Judge Sakuma continued calmly: "The statutory element of the crime of corruption is that the perpetrator must have the subjective purpose of illegal possession. Therefore, in this case, Morimoto's behavior has satisfied Under the objective elements of the crime of corruption, whether there is a subjective purpose of illegal possession is the key to Morimoto's crime or innocence."

"In this case, although the public funds involved in the case entered Morimoto's account, the financial account books of the production and research enterprises involved in the case contained Morimoto's personal bank account and password. Therefore, it is doubtful whether the funds involved in the case were illegally possessed by Morimoto. The flow of Morimoto's personal account was compared with the expenditures of the relevant production and research enterprises involved in the case. Some of the expenditures of the production and research enterprises were directly transferred from Morimoto's personal account. Accordingly, although the funds involved in the case entered the name of Morimoto's personal account, Morimoto's subjective It has not been ruled out that the production and research enterprises involved in the case used the funds in their personal accounts."

"At the same time, the part of the performance bonus collected by Morimoto is indeed used to release the historical debts of the production and research enterprises to the employees of the club. The accelerated management of the research institute borrowed is also to solve the breach of overseas contracts. Others managed by Morimoto The production and research enterprise has economic relations with Adachi Information Technology Co., Ltd., which applied for precision machinery subsidies. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the precision machinery subsidy involved in the case is a payment for business transactions. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out whether Morimoto has the subjective purpose of illegal possession. Suspect."

"In summary, this court believes that the prosecutor's office accused Morimoto of committing the crime of corruption with insufficient evidence to prove that the defendant had the subjective purpose of illegal possession. Although the private bank account of the defendant Morimoto was used to receive public funds involved in the case, the involved The funds are not out of the control of the production and research enterprise. Therefore, the facts of the prosecution's accusation of the defendant Morimoto's crime of corruption are unclear, the evidence for the accusation is insufficient, and the alleged crime cannot be established. The opinion of the defender is adopted."

"After discussion by the adjudication committee of this court, the following judgment was made in accordance with Article 160, Item ([-]) of the Criminal Procedure Law."

"Defendant Naoya Morimoto is innocent."

"The verdict is over."

The referee's voice stopped abruptly.

Perhaps it was because the judgment was so lengthy that everyone in the courtroom was lost in the details of the reasoning.At the moment when the verdict was pronounced, many people did not realize the result of the verdict.Many people froze in place, as if they were confused by the sudden end of the sentence.

Until someone whispered: "Just now... Did you just say you were innocent?"

Not guilty.

innocent?

Not guilty! ! !

Yanaga was originally in the public prosecutor's seat, and even half-closed his eyes, preparing to hear the result of the court's sentence of at least 8 years in prison for Morimoto.However, even the prosecutor did not react to the sudden turn of events.It wasn't until he saw the verdict recorded on the real-time screen of the court, which indeed read "not guilty", that the senior prosecutor's expression lost control for the first time.

How could there be a verdict of not guilty? !
Yan Yong couldn't control the muscles of his face in an instant, and his whole body was already in extreme shock, especially since the judgment was made after discussion by the judicial committee. How could this impossible thing happen? !

Morimoto kept his head down during the sentencing process.He had given up hope when he heard the judgment layer upon layer demonstrating that his subjects and behaviors met the constitution of the crime of corruption.A heart seems to sink into a bottomless abyss.Sure enough, his life was over.The destination of my life is behind bars.After the judge's voice stopped, he came back to his senses.

I am... I was sentenced for several years.

Why didn't I seem to hear the number just now.

When Morimoto raised his head and saw the transcript of the verdict that was also displayed on the screen in real time, the word "not guilty" suddenly hit Morimoto's eyes.

innocent? !Morimoto's eyes widened suddenly, and he took a sudden step forward, with veins in his hands, tightly grasping the electronic screen in the dock in front of him.Because of the excessive force, the wires behind the entire screen were pulled out abruptly.The researcher couldn't believe it. It wasn't until he scanned his eyes back and forth more than ten times that he confirmed that the two extremely simple Chinese characters "Innocence" were indeed written on it.

There are no words that can describe Morimoto's feelings at this moment.Just like a pedestrian who was dying of thirst, he encountered an oasis in the vast desert.Patients in desperate need of oxygen desperately need a working ventilator.At this moment, the simple word "innocence" surpassed all the miraculous medical skills of rejuvenation in this world.

His hands trembled as he touched the screen in front of him.In this short moment, countless pictures flooded into Morimoto's mind.Humiliation, humiliation, and verbal abuse suffered in the detention center.Betrayed and betrayed by lawyers and prosecutors hired by the previous university.Those days when I couldn't see clearly without my glasses.All of these, all the depression, like a volcano that has been brewing for a long time, suddenly erupted at this moment.

A tear trickled from the researcher's eye.

It landed on the prison uniform on his body.

Morimoto sobbed softly.

Just this little sound.

But exceptionally clear.

Judge Sakuma raised his head and said: "According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, the defendant Morimoto was released in court. This court informs you according to the law that people who were wrongly detained and found not guilty have the right to apply for state compensation."

Before Judge Sakuma's voice could finish speaking, a black shadow jumped into the trial area of ​​the court.Morimoto's wife, Ishimura is already in tears.She and Morimoto were just newly married, and her husband had been imprisoned for nearly two years.In the past two years, she has even maintained the room of the two of them as a wedding room, carefully cleaning and maintaining it.

She wanted to hug her husband so badly.

I want to feel the warmth of my husband.

I want to touch my husband's body.

Want to smell him.

"Zaozai! Zhizai!" The female doctor yelled out without caring about any etiquette.The sound of Shicun's wailing resounded in the courtroom. This woman was crying so hard, and it made people feel distressed.It's over, it's over, it's over.She finally didn't have to worry all day and all night, and she could finally vent all her concerns and thoughts about her husband wantonly.

Regardless of the eyes of others, the couple hugged each other tightly and felt each other's breath.After a while, they seemed to suddenly remember something, and then looked at the defense seats.With tears on their faces, the couple supported each other as they walked towards the young male lawyer in the courtroom.They knelt down slowly, bent down and kowtowed heavily, with a crying voice, they couldn't control their sobs, and said:

"Lawyer Beiyuan, thank you!"

"Lawyer Beiyuan, thank you very much!"

The male lawyer quickly stood up and was about to help them up, telling the couple not to make such a grand ceremony.However, at this moment, the couple couldn't control their emotions even more.They grabbed the male lawyer in front of them, and the two of them hugged him tightly, buried their heads in his arms like a child, and cried even louder, without stopping for a long time...

(End of this chapter)