You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 150

You Have Been Defended – Episode 150

Oh Sang-hyun was discharged from the hospital about a month before the trial.

During that time, we were busy doing the work that the lawyer he had originally appointed hadn’t done.

Because I couldn’t type due to my injury, Secretary Oh and Kang Min-jae worked twice as hard.

I felt awkward just sitting around doing nothing, so I tried to help, but there wasn’t much I could do.

“……I’m very nervous.”

Oh Sang-hyun, who was among the most strong-willed clients I had ever taken on, seemed afraid at the thought of standing in court.

For ordinary people, the courtroom is a frightening place.

Not many people they know have stood in court, and the court is an institution that restricts the freedom granted by natural human rights.

Every minute and every second in court determines one’s life.

“If you’re afraid of standing in court, there’s a way to present the CCTV evidence you have now to prevent the trial from taking place altogether.”

In fact, this is the usual approach.

Evidence is usually submitted before the trial.

We have evidence that can completely refute the indictment itself, so if we submit it and get the evidence admitted, the trial won’t be held.

And Go Yoon-sung’s side would obviously try to reach a settlement if they knew we had this evidence.

Just as Oh Sang-hyun was charged with injury beyond simple assault, Go Yoon-sung would also be charged with the same.

They could propose a huge settlement amount with the condition of strict confidentiality.

Perhaps Oh Sang-hyun might want that.

Frankly, in this world where materialism is rampant, what value is greater than money to an ordinary person?

“No. I have to see Go Yoon-sung humiliated no matter what. If I can win the trial for sure, I prefer this to a settlement. But…….”

“But what?”

“I looked it up somewhere, and that CCTV you found, Attorney… I’m really grateful that the director kept it separately, but I heard that the admissibility of that evidence might not be recognized… Then, no matter what’s in the CCTV, it’s completely as if it doesn’t exist, right?”

The CCTV copy naturally has evidentiary value.

But the problem is that the entity that saved this copy is a third party who has nothing to do with the assault incident.

Of course, he has the title of director, and managing the CCTV is his job, but personally saving and storing it could be considered illegal if you’re strict about it.

It’s the same reason why apartment residents are refused access to CCTV footage by the security office unless they bring the police when a car accident occurs in the parking lot.

“Of course, the prosecution will keep harping on the legality of the CCTV evidence collection method. We’re going to submit the CCTV after the first trial begins anyway. Whether we submit it during the trial or at the second hearing, if that evidence suddenly pops up, the next hearing will be scheduled.”

“Then, is the admissibility of the evidence reviewed before the next hearing?”

“That’s right. Unless the prosecution immediately recognizes the admissibility of the evidence, of course.”

“Ha, it’s a little scary. If that CCTV is ruled as illegal evidence, we don’t know what will happen.”

“There may be room for controversy, but if a lawyer lets such decisive evidence be thrown away, they should return their license.”

His anxiety wasn’t entirely unfounded.

Generally, since the director of the site, not someone else, saved the CCTV, it’s data that is likely to be recognized for its evidentiary value.

When I first received the video from the director, I thought this was all I needed, for the same reason.

But the problem is that the opponent is Hwang Young-chan and Wooshin [a powerful law firm or organization].

I don’t know what will happen if they dig up all sorts of precedents and cling to illegality.

In particular, the biggest problem is when even the judge has been bribed.

“Oh Sang-hyun.”

“Yes?”

“This may be a bit sudden, but how about proceeding with this trial as a jury trial?”

“A jury trial?”

It wasn’t just Oh Sang-hyun who was surprised by my words.

Kang Min-jae, who was sitting next to me, and Secretary Oh, who was doing paperwork at the desk, also turned their attention to me.

A jury trial is a somewhat unfamiliar concept at this point.

It was first introduced in Korea in January 2008, and now in 2009, it’s only in its second year of implementation.

There aren’t many legal professionals with experience in jury trials.

“If it’s a jury trial, does that mean there are jurors and such?”

“That’s right. Randomly selected jurors participate in the trial.”

“Then, does the verdict go according to the jurors’ opinions?”

“That’s not the case. Of course, the judge must respect the jury’s verdict, but there are cases where a completely different verdict comes out from the jury’s decision.”

We have clear grounds for innocence, but even if we didn’t, I think a jury trial is much better.

In the first place, a jury trial is advantageous in a guilt or innocence determination, not a sentencing argument.

Because it’s possible to appeal to the emotions of the jurors.

It takes a lot of preparation to deal with jurors who lack legal knowledge compared to general trials, but that’s something the lawyer can work harder on.

“Go Yoon-sung’s side bribed the investigative agency to bury the evidence. Just looking at the CCTV that the director backed up in advance, there was clearly CCTV in the storage, but they lied and said there wasn’t, and they ultimately indicted Oh Sang-hyun according to Go Yoon-sung’s will.”

“……That’s right.”

“Moreover, this case has been assigned to a single judge in the criminal division. That means there’s only one judge. If Go Yoon-sung has bribed the judge as well, a situation that could easily end will end up being difficult.”

Oh Sang-hyun was quite taken aback by the words ‘judge bribery.’

I also hope that such a thing doesn’t happen.

In fact, I’ve thoroughly investigated the judge assigned this time, and I didn’t detect any signs of corruption from her.

But no one knows what they might be plotting behind the scenes.

I’m someone who has to prepare for all possible situations, so there’s no harm in being prepared.

“If we go to a jury trial, it will be assigned to a criminal division with three judges. There will be one presiding judge and two associate judges… At least the possibility of bribery drops significantly compared to when there’s only one person.”

Well, it’s not like Wooshin can’t bribe all three of them.

It’s just about minimizing the possibility as much as possible.

“In this case, I think it’s more likely to appeal to three judges and several jurors than to one judge. Even though it’s something that hasn’t happened yet, ordinary people would unconsciously think it’s absurd that a regular employee assaulted Go Yoon-sung’s youngest son to the point of causing an 8-week injury. There will be quite a few jurors who approach the trial with the underlying thought that Oh Sang-hyun might be wronged from the beginning.”

It’s not that I don’t trust the objectivity of the jurors, but I want to say that even those jurors are human beings and citizens of the Republic of Korea.

“Also, the advantage of a jury trial is that, unlike general trials that take a long time to reach a verdict, the verdict comes out on the same day.”

“……Then, doesn’t that mean there’s no time to review the admissibility of the CCTV evidence? Then, shouldn’t we submit the CCTV in advance?”

“If it’s adopted on the spot, the admissibility of the evidence can be recognized.”

Oh Sang-hyun seemed to have a lot of anxiety about the admissibility of that evidence.

“Oh Sang-hyun, the anxiety about the admissibility of evidence will be the same whether it’s a jury trial or a general trial. A jury trial is not particularly disadvantageous. Rather, there may be advantageous aspects.”

“Advantageous aspects?”

“In a jury trial, the judge is… how should I put it? It feels like a facilitator.”

“A facilitator?”

“That’s right. They explain the principles to the jurors, conduct the trial… Until the verdict, you should see it as helping the trial proceed by the jurors. So, the judge doesn’t express personal opinions until the jurors request it.”

Oh Sang-hyun slowly nodded at my words.

“What happens if evidence that hasn’t been agreed upon in advance appears in the middle? First, we will fully explain the legality from our perspective. The prosecutor’s side will object, of course. At that time, it’s the judge who decides whether to look at that evidence or not. Even if it’s not recognized, you can still see the evidence.”

“……I see. Then, in a jury trial, does the jury make that decision?”

“You can’t say that the jury decides, but if the jurors want to see it, the judge will see it too.”

Even if the CCTV ultimately concludes that the collection path was illegal, the scene of Oh Sang-hyun being beaten by Go Yoon-sung and his entourage will linger in the jurors’ minds.

Before the trial begins, the judge tells the jurors that they should never consider evidence that has no evidentiary value.

But is that easy?

“After listening to you, Attorney, I think it would be better to have a jury trial. Then, can we request a jury trial if we want to?”

As the famous Latin legal maxim says, *’in dubio pro reo’* [when in doubt, the benefit of the doubt should go to the defendant].

I intend to strongly state the necessity when requesting a jury trial.

Moreover, we are now in the stage of piloting the jury trial, and it is a system that has not been well promoted.

From the state’s point of view, it is advantageous to increase the number of cases even by one.

Also, there is nothing that falls under the exclusion principle, so it will probably pass as is.

Above all, the opponent is Yang Han-seok.

If the prosecutor rejects the jury trial, he would think that it’s the same as the prosecutor saying that he’s not confident in persuading the jury.

“There’s no reason to be excluded.”

Oh Sang-hyun also soon erased the uneasy look from his face and nodded.

* * *

December 31, 2009.

The last day of the year.

We, who had been too busy with work to make time, gathered at a nearby barbecue restaurant at the strong insistence of Kang Min-jae, who said we had to have a year-end party.

However, the problem was that there were so many people like us that the barbecue restaurant was packed, with barely any room to move.

So much so that even though three people are sitting around this small table, the voices of the people speaking right in front of you can’t be heard properly.

“Attorney, there are 5 missed calls on your phone?”

When I came back from the bathroom, Kang Min-jae handed me my phone, which he had placed on the table.

“It was Senior Yang Han-seok.”

“Yang Han-seok?”

December 31st, and it’s even 7:30 PM now.

I know that prosecutors are often stuck working overtime, but for him to call me five times at such a time…

I picked up the phone.

“I’ll go take a call.”

I thought about just ignoring it, but Yang Han-seok isn’t the type to call for meaningless chatter.

I pushed through the crowd and went outside the restaurant.

And I pressed the call button.

-You seem busy.

A blunt voice came from over the receiver.

“I am a bit.”

-I heard you applied for a jury trial.

“I did.”

-Senior, it seems you didn’t know well because the jury trial is a new system. You must apply for a jury trial within 7 days of receiving the indictment. You’re too late.

Was he thinking of using this to find fault?

I lit a cigarette and replied.

“Are you at the office now?”

-Yes.

“You can use the computer then.”

-What are you trying to say?

“Then search as I tell you.”

-What is that….

“Supreme Court Decision 2009Mo1032 dated October 23, 2009.”

The sound of keyboard tapping was briefly heard over the receiver, followed by a sigh.

“I guess you didn’t know because it’s a fresh precedent that’s only 2 months old. Even if 7 days have passed, you can apply before the first trial date.”

-…….

“Then let’s meet in court. Happy New Year, Yang Pro.”