I Became a Law School Genius – 110



I Became a Genius Law School Student Episode 105

“Then let’s begin the first criminal round of the Jain Court Argument Competition.”

The stage curtain has risen.

“Omit the recognition statement and notice of right to refuse statement. “I will listen to the prosecutor’s full statement first.”

A recognition interrogation is a procedure to confirm whether the indicted defendant and the person present at trial are the same person. You will be asked about your name occupation and place of residence.

In the case of the argument contest the defendant Kim Gap-dong is naturally omitted because he is a fictional character.

“I will tell you everything.”

I stood up from the examination table.

“Defendant Kim Gap-dong broke into the kitchen of the restaurant where he worked on Monday and took away his kitchen knife which he usually used in the restaurant. He then hid in the women’s bathroom in the same building and stabbed victim A to death with a knife.”

The incriminating parts of Kim Gap-dong’s actions are briefly summarized in order.

“After that he fled in a car that was parked in front of the building and while driving he hit the wall of a single-family house damaging the wall and the front bumper of the car. “When Na Pi-hae a surprised resident came to stop him he stabbed him in the shoulder with a kitchen knife causing a six-week stab wound.”

Once all the facts have been confirmed it is time to read the crime and applicable laws.

“Accordingly this prosecutor argues that defendant Kim Gap-dong should be punished for Article 250 of the Criminal Act murder Article 258-2 special injury Article 320 trespassing into a special dwelling Article 331-2 illegal use of automobile lights and Article 369 of the Criminal Act special damage.”

“Do you acknowledge the facts of the defendant’s indictment?”

The judge asked Ha Gyu-min’s team sitting at the defense table. Since the defendant did not actually exist it was enough for those acting as defense attorneys to answer.

“I don’t admit it.”

And Ha Gyu-min answered as if it was obvious.

“It is true that the defendant committed the same acts as the indictment but at the time the defendant was in a state of mental and physical loss due to severe symptoms of schizophrenia.”

‘It’s a set procedure up to this point.’

“This falls under the grounds for partial liability stipulated in Article 10 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act and therefore this defense attorney asserts that the defendant is not guilty.”

Everyone knows that mental and physical loss is an issue. It was natural for Ha Gyu-min to claim this.

The problem is only whether the claim is accepted or not.

“Ask for evidence.”

Following the judge’s instructions I handed the newly prepared evidence list to the waiting court staff.

The staff member is responsible for delivering this list of evidence to the judge and defense attorney.

“…!”

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However the judge’s eyes widened significantly as he glanced over the list of evidence I submitted.

“…Please state your opinion on the defense attorney’s evidence.”

Ha Gyu-min seeing that paused for a moment looked at the evidence list and made an uncertain expression.

However after much thought the answer that came out of his mouth was this.

“There is no evidence to disagree.”

There is certain evidence that cannot be used at trial unless the defendant or defense attorney agrees. Refusing to use it is evidentiary disagreement.

‘For example hearsay evidence that records someone’s statement.’

In the case of this case this could include the suspect interrogation record containing Kim Gap-dong’s statement or the affidavit recording the testimony of psychiatrists.

However there was no evidence that Ha Gyu-min actually disagreed. They probably think that there is no need to waste their energy fighting each other because the other parts are not issues anyway.

Judging by the expression on his face he seemed to have noticed something strange but that was it.

Judging by the fact that he did not consent to evidence Ha Gyu-min did not realize my true intention.

‘I guess so. ‘I made it so that you couldn’t tell just by looking at it.’

“Next are the witness examination and evidence investigation procedures.”

The evidence requested by the prosecution will be examined first and then the evidence requested by the defense will be examined.

Here too Ha Gyu-min did not raise any objection.

CCTV footage of the kitchen knife crime with Kim Gap-dong’s fingerprints on it including the car that Kim Gap-dong kicked and ran away. A situation in which clear physical evidence and related statements prove all of Kim Gap-dong’s crimes.

Trying to argue about something clear will only worsen the impression you give to the evaluator.

“I request to interrogate witnesses.”

“What kind of witness is this?”

“These are nurse ‘Kim Gan-ho’ and psychiatrist ‘specialist’ at the hospital where the defendant was previously admitted.”

“All right.”

The judge nodded.

“In the case of this legal argument competition the ‘witness interrogation’ will be replaced with a pre-recorded video. Please play the video of ‘Kim Gan-ho’ testimony.”

Since the ‘witness’ is not a real person they cannot be summoned to court and interrogated. There is no choice but to replace it with a created video.

This was the moment when the court staff was about to play the video on the wall according to instructions.

“wait a minute.”

Suddenly Ha Gyu-min stood up from his seat.

“I also listened to ‘Kim Gan-ho’s’ testimony in VR. That would certainly have been advantageous evidence in proving mental and physical loss. Why is the prosecution applying as a witness?”

Ha Gyu-min’s question was natural. The two witnesses I just mentioned. All of their testimonies were evidence that proved how severe Kim Gap-dong’s medical condition was in other words supporting his mental and physical loss.

‘That’s not all.’

Aside from these the list of evidence I submitted contained a lot of evidence that seemed favorable to the defense.

It’s as if he’s helping the other side.

“Is there a law that says you can’t do that?”

“What?”

“I’m asking whether there is a law that says prosecutors cannot request witnesses or evidence favorable to the defendant.”

“No it’s not like that but…”

“Then there’s no problem.”

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I shrugged my shoulders.

“Among the duties of a prosecutor there is also something called the duty of objectivity. This means that as a representative of the public interest the legitimate interests of the defendant must be protected. “There is no reason not to submit even evidence favorable to the defendant if it is necessary to discover the substantive truth.”

The judge also nodded.

“Please proceed with the procedure.”

Ha Gyu-min clicked his tongue and sat down.

He didn’t seem to understand my explanation. It was clear that he was up to something but he couldn’t figure out what it was and his expression was clearly showing that he was anxious.

‘I feel good.’

Ha Gyu-min’s intuition is accurate. There was another reason why I brought a large amount of evidence favorable to the defendant to the courtroom stage.

‘Then what are you going to do?’

It’s already too late. Now that Ha Gyu-min has come this far all he can do is suck his fingers and watch.

– This is ‘Kim Gan-ho’ the head nurse of the psychiatric department at 00 Hospital. I swear according to my conscience to tell the truth without concealing or adding to it and under penalty of perjury if I lie.

In the played video NPC ‘Kim Gan-ho’ began his testimony.

– Mr. Kim Gap-dong was admitted to the closed ward of our hospital on 0X/0X/200X. thereabouts….

Kim Gan-ho’s testimony was the same as what he gave me. Ha Gyu-min’s side probably already heard the same story in virtual reality.

“As you can see the defendant has been suffering from severe schizophrenia.”

I explained after the video finished playing.

“He even attempted to murder someone he was close to when he was unable to take medication to relieve his symptoms. “Isn’t it very similar to this incident?”

And he added it in a very meaningful tone.

“It was to the point where ‘anyone could have known’ that the defendant’s symptoms were sufficient to lead to murder.”

“Whatever that is…!”

I lightly cut off Ha Gyu-min’s cheek.

“If you keep watching you’ll find out what’s going on. The following is the testimony of the witness ‘expert.’”

– I am a ‘specialist’ in psychiatry at 00 Hospital.

It’s a new thought but the court’s unique naming sense was truly bizarre. The victim escaped and the nurse was Kim Gan-ho. Even a specialist is just a specialist.

I heard that this naming was a kind of consideration. When reading records if the name of the victim or criminal overlaps with your own or someone around you you may feel uncomfortable or lose focus.

That is why only names that may never exist are chosen and given.

‘I think even a name like this would be quite a hindrance.’

In fact aren’t these pointless thoughts coming to mind even during this important final competition?

I shook my head once and then focused on the video screen again.

– Mr. Kim Gap-dong was a patient with a very good prognosis.

The expert’s testimony was also the same as what I had heard.

– In particular drug treatment showed dramatic results. The efficacy of medication varies slightly from patient to patient but in Kim Gap-dong’s case the drug was very compatible with antipsychotic drugs.

– Lately except for a little bit of depression I’ve been close to normal in almost every way. I have a tendency to be somewhat timid and indecisive but these are just personality traits.

– Are you talking about a little depression? That’s… Mr. Kim Gap-dong agreed to provide information so it would be okay to talk about it. He said there was a woman he liked at the restaurant where he worked and he found out that she actually had a bad opinion of Kim Gap-dong.

– He also said that this was all because he was a patient and that he just wanted to quit everything. However it is common for people who have experienced a broken heart to express such levels of depression and self-destruction. It did not reach a level where it could be considered a disease.

– At least in my opinion Mr. Kim Gap-dong had completely normal cognitive and thinking abilities until the 14th the last day of consultation.

“I guess so.”

I pointed at the video proudly.

“According to the medical opinion of a specialist the defendant appears to have been in a normal mental state until the day before the incident.”

“But you don’t know what it was like that day do you?”

Ha Gyu-min countered.

“Rather it should be seen that it is highly likely that the symptoms of schizophrenia had recurred at the time of the crime. “It is highly improbable that someone who is normally so timid and indecisive would suddenly make such an extreme choice as murder while remaining sane.”

It was a valid point.

“If you think about Kim Gan-ho’s testimony about the defendant’s history and follow it up it becomes clearer. Normally the defendant is a person with a weak personality but when his condition worsens he is a person who is willing to kill people.”

If so Ha Gyu-min concluded.

“Isn’t it natural to believe that this crime was committed while the patient was in a state of severe illness?”

“Of course I do.”

“What does the prosecution say about this?”

“It is as you said. At least it is almost certain that the defendant was in a state of mental and physical loss at the time of the crime. “The evidence is the envelope and receipt of the medicine the defendant was taking.”

I took out the police evidence from the record and opened it.

“The defendant was prescribed medication on the 1st of the month when the incident occurred. The incident occurred on the 15th. “If the defendant took the medicine consistently there should be a total of 15 pills left since he takes the medicine once a day.”

But in reality that wasn’t the case. I pointed to the part in the material that described the condition of the medicine bag.

“There are actually 18 pills remaining. If we count backwards we conclude that the defendant has not taken the medication since the 13th.”

then.

“Not taking treatment for 3 days. “The defendant’s disease was very serious but considering that it was suppressed due to the effective drug treatment it is quite possible that the symptoms would relapse.”

“under.”

Ha Gyu-min burst into laughter as if he had lost his temper.

“I really don’t know what the prosecutors want to do.”

He looked straight at me and sarcastically.

“Didn’t the prosecutors clearly argue that the defendant should be punished according to the laws listed above? But what are you doing now? “Don’t you know that if mental and physical loss is recognized responsibility is assumed and punishment cannot be imposed?”

Ha Gyu-min is right.

According to Article 10 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act crimes committed while mentally impaired are not punished. Of course it is possible to order dispositions such as medical treatment and detention instead.

However this is only a security measure not a prison sentence. The defense’s condition for victory in this case was to ‘seek a sentence other than imprisonment’ so once the mental and physical loss is recognized Ha Gyu-min can achieve victory.

‘You might think…’

There is one exception.

“No I can punish you.”

That’s why I declared.

“All the evidence in this case strongly suggests that the defendant was mentally and physically impaired at the time of the crime. But… the defendant must nonetheless be punished for the crime charged.”

“What nonsense is that?”

Ha Gyu-min who responded in an irritated voice became as hard as a stone the moment he heard my answer.

“Atomic Row.”

“…!”

“This is because this case falls under the so-called ‘free act in terms of cause’ as defined in Article 10 Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Act.”