132: Am I innocent now?

“Oh, mainly I’m worried… Wait, Lawyer Zhou, what did you say? Mainly worried about yourself not being able to control yourself?”

The Police Officer leader was a bit confused and thought he had misheard.

Zhou Yun smiled again, “You didn’t mishear. It’s just that I’m worried the other party might provoke me, and then I won’t be able to control myself and will want to hit them.”

“I was born with great strength, and it wouldn’t be good if I accidentally injured the other party.”

The Police Officer leader finally reacted, “Lawyer Zhou, you… ”

After so many years, it was the first time he had heard such words.

He started as a grassroots Police Officer and had been doing it for so many years; what kind of situation hadn't he encountered?

Litigants, lawyers, judges, etc., had all told them to stand guard in advance, all worried about being beaten.

Never once had someone, like this Lawyer Zhou, worried about themselves injuring the other party…

Seeing that the other party seemed to not quite believe him, Zhou Yun looked around, then walked to a nearby office chair, took out his phone, started recording, and placed it on the desk.

“If you don’t believe me, would you like a demonstration?”

The Police Officer leader subconsciously nodded, “Lawyer Zhou, feel free.”

Then, Zhou Yun placed his hand on the back of the chair and, with a strong tug, a piece of wood from the chair back was directly pulled off!

The Police Officer leader’s eyes widened. He looked at the chair missing a piece of wood, then at Zhou Yun’s hand, completely speechless.

Zhou Yun picked up his phone and said, “Leader, we must keep our word. I’ve already gotten your consent, so can I leave now?”

The Police Officer leader nodded silently. After Zhou Yun left, he looked around to see no one, closed the door, and then stepped forward, extending his hand to vigorously pull at the chair back…

Men, even if they become leaders, it’s the same; there’s always some inexplicable desire to win.

Even as children, when peeing, they’d compare who could pee further. In school, if you could throw a drink bottle into the trash can, then I had to throw it in too!

However, three minutes later, the leader stopped, sweating profusely, took out his phone, and dialed a number, “Hello, Xiao Zhang, take a few people to stand guard outside Courtroom Eight. Yes.”

“I know it’s a civil case. Just go and stand guard when I tell you to. Bring anti-riot equipment.”

After hanging up, the leader suddenly seemed to realize something: what about this chair!

Replacing it was impossible; office supplies were too troublesome to replace, and it wasn’t broken, so there was no reason to apply for a replacement.

But to repair it… should he glue this back on?

Zhou Yun naturally didn’t know about these things. He had already arrived at Courtroom Eight.

It felt good to appropriately display his natural divine strength. If you don't understand the law, then this Lawyer also knows a bit of fisticuffs.

It turned out that Liu Jiale had indeed come with a belly full of anger today.

He felt that the Court was unfair, definitely because that Zhou Yun was famous, so they all sided with him.

The Court bullied him, and the Lawyer also bullied him, so he wanted to make a good fuss today.

Anyway, he wanted to make things difficult for them.

Then, as soon as he arrived at the Court entrance, he saw four Police Officers standing there, with some anti-riot forks and other things placed beside them.

For some reason, after seeing the Police Officers, Liu Jiale suddenly calmed down.

When the second instance began, Liu Jiale would be warned by the judge after saying a few words because what he said was all useless nonsense.

The most common problem for ordinary people suing themselves is an overactive desire to express, desperately wanting to say many things to prove their point.

When speaking too quickly, they might even feel why the judge doesn't support them.

But in fact, there’s no need for that. Just clearly list your evidence, clarify the logic, and then you’re done. The rest is for the judge to decide.

Zhou Yun barely spoke because there was no need. If the other party didn’t present new arguments in the second instance, the chance of a reversal was almost zero.

Sure enough, with the fall of the gavel, the Jinghai City Intermediate Peoples Court pronounced judgment in Court, rejecting the appeal and upholding the original judgment.

The judgment was handed down, and Liu Jiale’s eyes were bloodshot, but there was nothing he could do.

Fifty thousand yuan! He had clearly already given thirty thousand, why!

And the key was that Zhang Yunfan could also be released without guilt… This was truly messed up!

In fact, being able to pronounce judgment in Court basically meant that the Court had already reached a conclusion before the trial…

This situation is very common. For experienced old judges, after reviewing the materials transferred from the case filing division, they basically have a conclusion in mind.

Some can even write the judgment in advance, then revise it a bit after the trial and stamp it for issuance.

Ultimately, it's about evidence. Without evidence, no matter how eloquent you are, it's useless.

Everything was settled. Zhou Yun then took the judgment and left the Intermediate Court. The second instance was the final instance, and the judgment became effective upon delivery.

Half an hour later, Zhou Yun had already arrived at Nanyun District Court. He needed to quickly file the divorce case.

Chang Zi Yi at the window looked at Zhou Yun with a mixture of happiness and helplessness.

Happy to see her idol, helpless because Lawyer Zhou was here again…

“Lawyer Zhou, what case is it today?”

Zhou Yun smiled and handed over the complaint and other materials, “Today is a divorce case. Here, the evidence is similar to before: the other party cheated for three years, and the marital relationship has substantially broken down.”

“And this, the judgment just printed, confirms the substantial breakdown of the marital relationship.”

It must be emphasized here that infidelity does not necessarily lead to divorce. Article 1079 of the Civil Code stipulates five situations:

First, bigamy or cohabitation; second, domestic violence or abuse, abandonment of family members; third, repeated gambling, drug addiction, or other bad habits; fourth, separation for two full years due to emotional discord.

And the fifth is a catch-all clause: other circumstances that lead to the breakdown of the marital relationship.

So you see, infidelity is not explicitly listed. As for cohabitation, according to the Supreme Peoples Court’s judicial interpretation of the Marriage and Family Code, cohabitation refers to: a spouse living continuously and stably with an opposite-sex person outside of marriage, not in the name of husband and wife.

So, how can a marital relationship be considered broken down? That is for the judge to determine.

Chang Zi Yi took the materials and then looked at the freshly issued judgment.

Just then, Zhou Yun suddenly smiled, “I almost forgot, I can’t give you the original. I still need it later. I saw you have a copier there. Please make a copy for me.”

Chang Zi Yi opened her mouth to say something but ultimately said nothing. She walked over and copied the complaint.

To quietly mention, the case filing window can actually make copies, provided you know how to talk.

For lawyers filing cases, if they are short on copies, they will be directly told to supplement them… because lawyers are professionals, and if you don’t bring all your documents, what kind of case are you filing?

But for ordinary people, if they are not missing much, and you are a bit sweet-tongued, the window staff will also help you print a copy, provided it’s not busy at the time.

After receiving the acceptance receipt, Zhou Yun turned and left. He was quite busy today; Prosecutor Li Huanshan was still waiting.

Fortunately, the Procuratorate is usually next to the Court. He arrived at the Procuratorate and handed the judgment and the newly written defense opinion to Procurator Li Huanshan.

“How is it, Prosecutor Li? This time, there shouldn't be any problems, right?”

Procurator Li Huanshan carefully read the judgment and finally nodded, “No problem. I’ll report it now. If all goes well, he can be released today.”

Normally, it wouldn’t be this fast, but this case was unusual. They had already prepared, and once the effective judgment was in place, they could proceed directly.

This was essentially the Court giving its endorsement in advance. Whether this money could be claimed was originally ambiguous.

But now that the Court had said it was an infringement of spousal rights and could be claimed, there was no problem.

If there were future troubles, it would be the Court’s trouble. This is why this judgment was absolutely necessary.

The Court didn't care. As long as the civil case was judged reasonably, there was no problem. No one could find fault with this case.

Time quickly passed to the afternoon, and the Procuratorate issued a decision not to prosecute.

At Nanyun District Detention Center, Zhang Yunfan had already gotten used to staying there during this period and had learned many things from the older inmates inside.

For example, one older inmate kept advising him that it was impossible to be innocent after being arrested.

“Old Zhang, stop pondering there. Look at me, brother, how long have I been locked up? It’s impossible to be innocent after arrest, so don’t even think about it.”

“How could those Prosecutors possibly slap themselves in the face? If you were truly innocent, they would have to take responsibility.”

The older inmate kept talking, while Zhang Yunfan next to him said nothing, because Zhou Yun had not informed him of the case progress, so he didn't know what the situation was like outside.

Now he himself felt there was probably no hope.

Just then, the Police Officer pushed open the door, “Zhang Yunfan, Zhang Yunfan, come out. Someone from the Procuratorate is here. You are acquitted today. Come and complete the procedures.”

Hmm… Ah? Zhang Yunfan stood up in a daze, “I, I’m acquitted just like that?”

But he still quickly walked out. Although he had gotten used to staying there, who would want to stay if they could leave?

The older inmate, who had been talking animatedly, watched Zhang Yunfan’s departing back, and his whole demeanor changed.

This… this didn’t conform to his common sense. He was arrested, and he could still be innocent?