I Became a Law School Genius – 15



I Became a Genius Law School Student Episode 15

When I opened the door and went in there was a face I had seen somewhere before.

It was a guy named Yoo Tae-woon who was harassed by Professor Jang Yong-hwan on the day the contents of the second evaluation were announced.

Yoo Taewoon waved his hand with a simple smile.

“Oh Mr. Park Yoo-seung? Do you want to take the test here?”

“Speak comfortably. “We’re the same age anyway.”

“okay. “He’s more affable than he looks.”

It’s not that he wasn’t but Park Yoo-seung’s appearance at the top was quite average but he was a typical gangster who gave off a somewhat mean-spirited impression.

It was not an appearance that was easy to like.

“You’re lucky.”

Yoo Taewoon shrugged his shoulders and said.

“Lucky?”

“This test. “The most important thing is to find the answer yourself but even if the other person answers correctly you can take advantage of it.”

Taewoon Yoo continued.

“You’re good at it. “The presentation last time was also amazing.”

“Some people say that presentation and study skills are separate things.”

“How is that different? Because you have skills you can perform well. And I saw it.”

“what?”

“You study law every day these days until late at night. There’s no way someone who works so hard doesn’t have skills.”

Come to think of it every time I went to the law library Taewoon Yoo was always sitting in a corner studying.

To recognize the sincerity of others you had to be sincere yourself.

‘Compared to my honesty I don’t get good grades.’

Taewoon Yoo received a low-to-mid grade in the first evaluation.

Of course it wasn’t a situation for me to argue as I ranked 139th but he wasn’t the type of person who was rewarded for his efforts anyway.

In the original work his sincerity only shined after he graduated.

After working for a corporation for a year or two he soon opened his own business and set up his own office.

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His unique simplicity and honesty must have given great trust to his clients and there was no shortage of appointments at Yoo Tae-woon’s office.

The small office grew into a fairly solid law firm in just a few years.

For me if I had to divide my opinion between likes and dislikes it was a likeable character.

There was no particular reason to pretend.

Moreover despite Park Yoo-seung’s notoriety which is rare he readily acknowledged my efforts.

“Let’s do our best together.”

That’s why I reached out to Yoo Tae-un and asked him to shake his hand and he gladly obliged.

Tick.

The hands of the clock moved and showed 9:55 am.

The sound of shoe footsteps was heard in the hallway and soon Professor Yong-Hwan Jang holding a heavy briefcase opened the door and appeared.

Taewoon Yoo flinched as if he had PTSD.

“We will start at 10 o’clock sharp. “Don’t open it until then.”

The professor opened his briefcase took out two laptops and handed one to Taewoon Yoo.

Next an answer sheet and a copy of the law book were distributed to each person.

‘Is it just one piece?’

A real written exam should take two and a half pages.

The answer sheet for the law exam consists of 4 pages per sheet so there are a total of 10 pages.

Since audio-visual materials are included the burden of writing answers may have been alleviated.

“Before that we need to decide on the distribution of positions.”

Professor Yong-Hwan Jang said.

“The prosecution side should argue for as severe a sentence as possible and the defense attorney should argue for as light a sentence as possible. Is there a position you would like to take on?”

I glanced back at Yoo Tae-un but Yoo Tae-un just shook his head.

I said I thought it was an opportunity.

“I want to take charge of the prosecution side.”

“Why?”

“Personally my goal is to become a prosecutor… more than anything.”

I grinned.

“It is rare to have the opportunity to act as a prosecutor without discussing the burden of proof.”

“…Hmm.”

In principle in criminal proceedings the burden of proof lies with the prosecutor.

This is because the principle of presumption of innocence applies to the defendant.

Prosecutors must do their best to present evidence and prove that this evidence is legal and reliable.

If they fail to do so the defendant is acquitted without much effort.

However in this exam they said they would not ask any questions related to litigation law.

This means that there is no need to dispute the value of evidence.

It was no different from offering to reduce the prosecutor’s inherent penalty.

‘It’s stupid not to do it.’

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Since most of the evidence in case records is collected by investigative agencies to prove guilt prosecutors inevitably have more weapons at their disposal than defense attorneys.

It is a role with no risk and only return.

So giving a choice was in itself a kind of test.

Are you aware of this fact?

“Did you also study litigation law?”

“It’s just a little bit like listening.”

“good night. “Then it would be okay for Park Yoo-seung to be on the prosecutor’s side and Yoo Tae-woon on the defense side.”

I had the illusion that the corners of Jang Yong-hwan’s mouth rose slightly.

-Tick.

“It’s 10 o’clock sharp. “Let’s get started.”

As soon as I could speak I opened my laptop.

There are only two icons on the desktop. All it had was a problem folder and a case law search engine.

‘First of all let’s start with the problem.’

When I opened the problem folder audio and video files image files and document files containing records were lined up like the example problem.

First you need to draw a general picture of the incident.

Let’s start by turning over the records.

[Seoul Central District Court Criminal Trial Record]

– Incident name

go. attempted theft

me. robbery injury

all. perjury

la. perjury teacher

– Prosecutor: Prosecutor Na

– Defendant: Kim Gap-dong

– Date of indictment: 2023.4.17

– Defense attorney: Lawyer King of Law Firm Light

[problem. Please review the guilt of ‘Kim Gap-dong.’]

It is an unfamiliar trial record format from the first page.

Naturally the names of the prosecutor defendant and defense attorney are all pseudonyms.

I heard that these names are also used in actual recorded problems.

‘What four crimes did you commit?’

Anyway I knew the crimes I needed to check.

You can flip through the records to get an overview of the case organize what evidence is connected to each crime and then check them one by one.

however….

‘Is the scroll bar the size of an ant’s claw?’

As expected from a court document the record was horribly long.

It was so long that the scroll bar used to move up and down was as small as a pea.

Prepare your mind and read the record.

10 minutes 20 minutes….

The sound of the clock ticking every time I turned the page was annoying.

By the time I had barely read the entire record once and finished organizing the facts about 60 minutes had already passed.

‘…an hour and a half to go.’

Still I got the outline.

To summarize in an easy-to-understand manner the details of this incident were as follows.

– ‘Kim Gap-dong’ received information that precious metals were stored at the house of his old friend A.

2023.3.12. ‘Kim Gap-dong’ went into the front door of the public house where A lived and reached the front door of A’s house but suddenly his stomach hurt so much that he gave up on the crime and returned.

– On the way back ‘Kim Gap-dong’ who joined the co-conspirator ‘Lee Eul-nam’ felt bad at the thought of having failed and looked for someone to vent his anger on.

Then in front of ‘Lee Eul-nam’ a passerby B was beaten up and his wallet was taken away.

– The police soon arrested ‘Kim Gap-dong’ and he was sent to trial. During this trial ‘Kim Gap-dong’ and ‘Lee Eul-nam’ falsely testified that they never hit B or stole his wallet.

As a result of further investigation it was revealed that ‘Kim Gap-dong’ paid ‘Lee Eul-nam’ and asked him to give false testimony.

Let’s organize it based on the sins listed on the first page of the record.

He went to steal A’s jewelry but failed which is an attempted theft.

He and Lee Eul-nam beat up a passerby B and took his wallet which was a crime of robbery.

The crime of perjury does not constitute perjury if you yourself give false testimony.

This is because Kim Gap-dong is a defendant in this trial and perjury is a crime that only a witness can commit.

However having Lee Eul-nam give false testimony could constitute a crime of perjury.

‘Oh.’

Even though I’ve only seen this far I’ve already noticed something strange.

‘…I missed one crime?’

Kim Gap-dong broke into the entrance of A’s public house with the intention of stealing.

If so the prosecutor in charge of this case naturally had to review the nature of the ‘home invasion crime’.

However even after a quick search the proposed crimes did not include home invasion.

‘Is it missing? Or a trap?’

Let’s just remember this.

Next it was time to check the evidence supporting each crime.

‘First the materials to prove the theft and home invasion are CCTV and KakaoTalk capture files.’

Click on the CCTV file to play it.

The first video was in black and white showing Kim Gap-dong entering the entrance of A’s public house.

The clock hanging in the hallway showed 2:10 and Kim Gap-dong approached as if he was watching something took out a wrench and smashed the doorway.

‘…What kind of picture quality is so bad?’

The picture quality was so bad that the only things that could be properly identified were the watch and Kim Gap-dong.

I frowned and played the next video.

This time it was Kim Gap-dong who hesitated in front of A’s front door then suddenly grabbed his stomach and ran away.

Likewise it was black and white.

‘Up to this point it matches the incident record.’

This time it is a KakaoTalk capture file.

[13:34] Kim Gap-dong: Let’s do something with me.

[13:35] Lee Eul-nam: What happened?

[13:35] Kim Gap-dong: I’m going to rob A’s house. When I bring out the goods you take them and exchange them for cash.

[13:36] Lee Eul-nam: Mr. A for the first time in a while I was sleeping well at home. What is the pay?

[13:36] Kim Gap-dong: 7 to 3. You are 3.

…(lower)…

This clearly proves that the intrusion was done with the intention of stealing.

The question is whether it is attempted theft.

An attempt refers to a case where a person begins to commit a crime but fails to complete it.

Kim Gap-dong tried to commit theft and ultimately failed.

Okay until there.

However the question remains as to whether he can be seen as committing a theft by running away from the front door because he said he had a stomachache rather than searching through a jewelry box or safe.

‘Does the precedent say… that we should have at least searched for property?’

For example you may enter a room looking for something to steal or put your hand on an object.

On the other hand if you are kicked out before even looking for the item the start of the execution itself is not recognized.

In light of the attitude of these precedents it cannot be said that the theft of money and valuables inside the house was initiated by simply giggling outside the front door.

Therefore it cannot be punished as an attempted crime.

Since he conspired with Lee Eul-nam to commit theft we can think of preparation or conspiracy as an act of preparation for the crime.

However theft is a crime without the penalty of preliminary conspiracy.

In the end there is no way to punish Kim Gap-dong for the theft.

‘good. First of all we conclude that theft is unpunished.’

It’s easier than you think.

There are no facts that are difficult to interpret and there are no cases where the evidence is unclear.

I gathered momentum and continued reviewing the remaining charges and evidence.

‘As for robbery… there is no doubt when you look at this black box video. It may be an issue whether Lee Eul-nam will also be punished as a co-principal but I didn’t ask.’

‘Perjury is a crime that only witnesses can commit. However if the defendant testifies falsely about his or her own case the crime of perjury does not constitute a crime because he is not in the position of a witness.’

‘However the charge of perjury against Lee Eul-nam is fully acknowledged. Because it is clear that Kim Gap-dong was bribed with money and had the intention to commit perjury.’

By the time I finished reviewing everything while sweating there were about 30 minutes left in the exam.

‘…no. ‘Is it really that easy?’

All that was left was to scribble on an answer sheet the details we had reviewed so far and answer orally based on them.

To be honest it was even easier than I expected.

If this was going to be the case I don’t know why they made such a big deal out of it by providing audio-visual materials evidence and records.

In fact it was easier than the test I normally took because I could solve it by looking up precedents.

There are also unique circumstances that do not fit with precedent.

There is also evidence that there may be conflicting opinions.

There was nothing.

‘It doesn’t matter if it’s just a case study.’

Of course it would not have been an open book back then so it would not have been possible to include criminal law theories that had not yet been taught in the scope of the test.

However it was difficult to understand that Jang Yong-hwan would go to such lengths to do just that.

Was the purpose of hiding the home invasion crime?

But anyone can find that just by looking at the legal text.

In fact if you are chased by the sheer volume of records and time pressure there will be people who miss out.

Still I felt uncomfortable.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was unnatural.

‘…but I don’t have time.’

30 minutes was a tight time just to write down the review process so far on the answer sheet.

There was no room for further thought.

I first started writing down the answer sheet.

Inside I keep thinking about what I missed.

“Let’s each present our answers. “Park Yoo-seung made the choice to enter so I will give Yoo Tae-un the right to speak first.”

Either way the process proceeded smoothly.

“Yes I will speak. When I saw it first of all…”

Taewoon Yoo showed good reading skills.

We have also properly reviewed the cases of robbery and perjury.

Like me he even discovered that the crime of trespassing was omitted.

“… Therefore it would be sufficient to punish only the concurrent offenders of home invasion robbery assault and perjury.”

Same conclusion.

But hearing it from someone else’s mouth made me feel even more uncomfortable.

Clearly I missed something.

And if there is anything I missed it is not a matter of law or precedent but the evidence.

Because this is the part that Jang Yong-hwan put the most effort into preparing.

We review all the submitted evidence.

Black and white CCTV with low quality images.

Capture of KakaoTalk file.

A black box in which the robbery scene was filmed at a slightly crooked angle.

A 3-week injury medical certificate submitted by passerby B.

Recorded testimony of passerby B and witness C.

All circumstances including the personal information of Kim Gap-dong and Lee Eul-nam recorded in the investigation records.

As I closed my eyes and thought for a while a bolt of lightning suddenly struck my head.

‘…! This is it!’

I realized.

What was I missing?

What is the correct answer?

And immediately I gritted my teeth towards Jang Yong-hwan.

‘What a cunning bastard you are. ‘I can’t believe you’re pulling such a ridiculous prank.’

“…the prosecution side. Do you agree with the defense attorney’s argument?”

“I don’t agree.”

I declared looking the professor straight in the eyes.

“The defendant’s guilt….”