I Became a Law School Genius – 109



I Became a Genius Law School Student Episode 103

Kim Gap-dong was a young man in his twenties suffering from severe schizophrenia.

At first it was just a mild paranoia that people were laughing at him and talking behind his back. However his symptoms worsened day by day and Kim Gap-dong came to believe that everyone around him was conspiring to harass and kill him.

Eventually one day I started having terrible auditory hallucinations.

– Kill it. Kill it before it dies.

This was the reason he had no choice but to be admitted to a mental hospital.

Fortunately long-term hospitalization and medication were effective. While taking the medication I was no longer subject to auditory hallucinations or delusions and thanks to that I was able to be discharged.

After being discharged from the hospital Kim Gap-dong started working as a kitchen assistant at a restaurant. His career was cut short and with a psychiatric record it was the only job he could find.

Spring has come to Kim Gap-dong as well.

– You’re having a hard time. Eat this and do it.

Ms. A a part-time worker who is friendly to everyone. Inspired by her sunny smile Kim Gap-dong developed passionate feelings in a corner of his heart… but one day he overheard Miss A talking on the phone with her boyfriend.

– There is a strange person at the restaurant where I work.

– He always has a gloomy expression and something about his expression is strange… I treat him like nothing is wrong but I’m so scared every time we make eye contact. Looks like someone is sick.

It was an opportunity to revive the mania that had subsided.

Eventually Kim Gap-dong whose mental illness took over stole a kitchen knife from the kitchen while falling into a state of severe confusion and hallucinations a few days later.

He then lurks in the restroom of a restaurant and as soon as Miss A enters the bathroom he swoops down and brutally kills her.

“…This is an outline of the case reconstructed using only the main evidence.”

I put the record down on the desk.

Of course it is impossible to review all the data in 30 minutes.

I had to focus on those that would help me understand the core of the case.

A police report on transfer and an indictment written by a prosecutor.

Suspect interrogation report containing Kim Gap-dong’s statement.

A statement from a judicial police officer who was dispatched to the scene of a murder.

A medical certificate and prescription record written by a psychiatrist.

Just by looking at this much I was able to get the basics of the story.

The problem was which side to take.

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“Uhm. “It’s difficult.”

Han Seol also looked deeply worried.

“According to the diagnosis it is clear that he has schizophrenia. “If it’s this serious wouldn’t mental and physical loss be recognized?”

Article 10 (Persons with mental and physical disabilities) ① The acts of a person who is incapable of discriminating between objects or making decisions due to mental or physical disabilities shall not be punished.

In order to punish an act it must first fall under a crime prescribed by criminal law. If you kill someone it’s murder; if you hit someone it’s assault. If you steal something it is theft. In this way it must fit the crime stated in the law.

If it constitutes a crime its illegality must be reviewed. He killed someone but couldn’t it have been self-defense?

Also it would not be possible to discipline the father’s love for his son who became a juvenile delinquent as assault.

If it is a crime and there is also illegality is that the end? Not so.

Lastly we must consider the question of whether the actor is ‘responsible’.

In fact responsibility is a very complex concept. If you trace its roots very difficult discourses in ethics or philosophy of mind pop up.

However the standards for measuring responsibility in modern criminal law were relatively simple.

There are many different types in detail but ultimately it boils down to just one question.

– Could the actor be expected to act lawfully?

For example imagine a situation where a robber is holding a gun to your head.

He threatens me to go into the house next door and steal the safe. I know that would constitute trespassing and theft but that doesn’t mean I can resist the order.

‘Because as soon as you refuse there will be a hole in your head.’

In this situation it would be too much to arrest me for theft just because I followed the robber’s orders.

In cases where it was unavoidable from anyone’s perspective that is in situations where there is no ‘possibility of lawful action’ liability is not imposed.

Or in some cases it may not be possible to recognize that an action is wrong at all. For example a child who knows nothing.

Just because a one-year-old baby grabs and eats candy off a display shelf does not constitute theft.

The baby does not know that it is wrong and cannot control its own behavior. That is why we cannot be held responsible.

The same logic operates in the provisions of Article 10 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act. If we cannot punish babies then we should not punish the actions of people who like babies have lost the ability to take responsibility.

People with severe mental illness.

idiot.

People who have lost their judgment due to the influence of drugs or alcohol etc.

In fact it was quite at odds with ordinary people’s feelings about the law.

So what about the anger and sadness of people who have lost their loved ones at the hands of a mentally ill person?

If the assaulter who left a young man paralyzed is acquitted on the grounds that he was drunk and incapable of taking responsibility who will take responsibility for the victim’s ruined life?

It was not an easy question to answer.

‘It is a necessary regulation… but it can also be easily abused.’

Where there is no responsibility there is no punishment. Although it was theoretically understandable there were too many people who abused it.

If you look at the news right now isn’t it common to see cases of violent criminals trying to escape the law by complaining of mental illness or intoxication?

– Law is not a complete order in itself.

The line in the last episode of ‘In the Law School’ which I was reading right before I was possessed also had that exact meaning.

The law is not perfect. In order for it to work properly in reality knowledgeable lawyers had to work hard.

‘That’s why I want to become a prosecutor.’

Making the world a more reasonable place.

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Natural disasters are unavoidable but at least the rules created and enforced by people can be fair to everyone.

“…two things.”

In that context we had to look more closely at whether loss of mind and body could actually be applied to this case as well.

“There is something that bothers me.”

“What part bothers you?”

“One is this. “The part about ‘hiding’ in the women’s bathroom.”

I waved the suspect interrogation report.

“Doesn’t this smell a bit like a planned crime?”

It is clear that Kim Gap-dong was a patient with severe schizophrenia. Even before the incident he received regular psychiatric treatment and the doctor who diagnosed him after the incident also left an opinion that he was in a state where he was completely unable to discern between right and wrong.

However whether he was in a state of mental and physical loss at the time of actually committing the crime is a matter that needs to be considered further. Medical opinion is only a reference material.

The judge must gather the specific circumstances of the crime and various evidence to determine whether the person suffered mental or physical loss based on his or her own conscience and reason.

“Break into the kitchen and procure a weapon in advance. I identified the victim and went into hiding at a place where Ms. A was likely to visit. “It’s too systematic and planned to be considered committed by someone who is mentally ill and unable to discern between right and wrong.”

A planned crime serves as strong evidence suggesting that the criminal’s mental capacity was close to normal at the time of the crime.

“Oh I see.”

Han Seol who was lost in thought for a moment immediately raised a counterargument.

“But doesn’t a premeditated crime necessarily negate the loss of mind and body? Why is there a ‘Satan’ precedent? 90 degrees 1328.”

I also know about the ‘Satan’ precedent she speaks of.

It was a case where a criminal suffering from mental illness committed murder under the delusion that the pastor of the church he attended was Satan and that he would have to kill him to go to heaven.

In this case the criminal accurately remembered and stated the time of the crime.

The circumstances were quite planned and systematic including preparing a weapon in advance and targeting the pastor during a sermon when it was easy to approach him to kill him.

It was evidence that he had sufficient ability to recognize and control his own actions.

Nevertheless the Supreme Court ruled that the criminal was mentally and physically impaired.

The reason was that he was obsessed with delusions due to mental illness and had no ability to judge good and evil.

Even if one has the ability to act according to one’s will if the will itself cannot be formed normally due to a lack of discernment between self-interest and self-interest it is considered a loss of mind and body.

“It’s a valid point.”

I nodded and agreed.

“But we need to investigate further.”

“What about the other one?”

“That’s… I’ll tell you after I look at some more evidence.”

I stared at a certain point in the evidence list.

“If my thoughts are correct it would be more advantageous for this case to go to the prosecutor’s side.”

* * *

“…I will take the defense’s side.”

“We will take the prosecutor’s side.”

The decision to enter was made quickly and without much controversy. This is because Boseong University said it would choose a defense attorney first.

‘That’s not a strange choice either.’

It is obvious to both parties that the core issue is mental and physical loss.

The problem is the possibility of proof and in this case there was quite a bit of objective evidence that could prove mental loss or at least mental and physical weakness.

The decision to lean on this side was also understandable.

‘I just feel something is out of place…’

In fact I already knew the identity of the sense of discomfort.

‘This matter. No matter how you look at it it’s a reconstruction of an actual event.’

The criminal was suffering from serious mental illness and delusions of persecution.

He was working as an assistant at a restaurant and his method of crime was to hide in the bathroom with a knife and then murder a woman who came in.

These were all aspects that reminded me of a fairly famous incident that actually happened.

However there were many differences from the original.

The original case was an indiscriminate crime but in the case in question the victim and Kim Gap-dong are on the same page.

The criminal’s symptoms also changed from bizarre paranoia to hearing auditory hallucinations telling him to kill people.

‘If there is a part that has been modified there is definitely some kind of intention behind it.’

It was a proposition that I strongly believed in.

“then. Both parties are asked to return to the waiting room for 150 minutes to review the documents and write a written statement outlining the basis for their claims.”

The judge’s guidance continued.

“If necessary you may use the provided virtual reality device to investigate the submitted evidence or collect additional evidence.”

Accordingly we returned to the waiting room. I explained in front of the table with the documents and the VR device.

“There’s not enough time.”

“huh?”

Hanseol asked back.

“It is not possible to review all documents and write evidence investigation documents in 150 minutes.”

“Then what do you do?”

“Let’s divide the number of people.”

It was an inevitable proposal.

“I will examine the evidence in virtual reality. “Two people write it down.”

“…is it okay?”

“are you okay. The investigation will take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour at most. In the meantime you can write the clear parts first and finish writing the parts that need confirmation after I join.”

“okay. “I’ll try.”

I left the draft of the document to Hanseol and Lee Haru and climbed into the VR device. Still I got used to it after using it yesterday. After securing the body with the belt he picked up the helmet-type audio-visual device.

‘Of course. The key to this problem lies within this.’

Mistakes are not tolerated.

We had to find everything we needed within a set time.

With that determination I pressed the operation button and jumped into virtual reality.