Chapter 97 Making it an ironclad case

There was still some time before Jimmy Williams' trial, so Mu Xin called Jessica to his office.

Outside the window, the sky was gray, with clouds hanging low—the kind of weather that felt like rain was about to fall but never did.

Mu Xin stood in front of the whiteboard, which was covered in names and arrows. He had drawn and redrawn the relationship chart of the Williams Family so many times that it looked like a dense spiderweb.

When Jessica pushed the door open, she was holding a cup of coffee. Seeing the content on the whiteboard, she paused for a moment.

"Are you still thinking about the Williams Family?" She placed the coffee on the table and sat on the sofa. "Old Williams has no cards left to play."

"It is precisely because he has no cards left to play that we must be careful," Mu Xin said, leaning against the whiteboard with his arms crossed. "A person near death is capable of anything."

Jimmy's trial was next week. Between the attempted arson and the previous DUI hit-and-run, the combined charges carried a minimum sentence of twenty years.

However, Mu Xin was uneasy—not because the evidence was insufficient, but because there were too many variables in the American judicial system.

A good lawyer could drag out proceedings for years; a good judge could manipulate sentencing; and a good jury could be swayed by a story rather than convinced by evidence.

Mu Xin didn't want to leave any loopholes for the Williams Family.

"Who is the presiding judge for Jimmy's case?"

Jessica took a notebook out of her bag and flipped through a few pages. "The judge in Butler County is named Catherine Hayes. She's fifty-six, a member of the Republican Party, and was appointed by Governor DeWine."

"One of Governor DeWine's people?" Mu Xin raised an eyebrow.

"She was appointed by Governor DeWine, but that doesn't mean she listens to him," Jessica said, her tone cautious.

"Judge Hayes is known for being strict. In her courtroom, neither the prosecution nor the defense gets an easy ride."

"What is her stance on bail?" Mu Xin asked.

"Very conservative. Especially in cases involving violent crimes, she rarely grants bail," Jessica said, closing her notebook.

"But Jimmy's legal team has definitely prepared a reason. They will most likely apply for bail based on health issues or family care needs."

"Old Williams is already eighty-seven. They will argue that Jimmy needs to take care of Old Williams."

Mu Xin rubbed his fingers; they were sore from writing too much.

"I need you to do something."

Jessica looked up.

"Go see Judge Hayes," Mu Xin said, weighing his words.

"Not to pull strings, and not to offer a bribe. You are to submit supplementary materials regarding the social danger posed by Jimmy Williams, in your capacity as the attorney representing the victim in the Jimmy case."

"The attorney representing the victim?" Jessica frowned. "Richard Miller is the victim's family member. He is the victim's representative."

"Which is why you can represent Richard." Mu Xin took a document from his drawer and pushed it toward Jessica.

"This is a power of attorney signed by Richard, authorizing you to act as his legal counsel and handle all legal matters related to the Jimmy case."

Jessica picked up the document and scanned it. The signature was real, and the date was today. "When did you have Richard sign this?"

"A few days ago, when he came to report on his campaign progress."

Jessica placed the document back on the table and looked at Mu Xin. "What materials do you want me to submit?"

Mu Xin picked up a thick kraft paper envelope from the table and handed it to her.

Jessica opened the envelope, took out the documents, and flipped through them page by page.

Her expression shifted from curiosity to surprise, and then to gravity.

The first page contained Jimmy Williams' record of violent behavior over the past decade, including five drunken brawls, two instances of threatening others, and one incident of assault with a weapon.

Most of these records had been hushed up by the Williams Family using money, but Mu Xin had obtained the original police reports through Tobias.

The second page featured screenshots of Jimmy's social media posts before the arson case, containing statements like "Some people deserve to be burned to death" and "The Water Plant is mine; whoever takes it, I will destroy."

The third page was a psychological expert evaluation report, concluding that Jimmy Williams possessed high tendencies toward violence and antisocial personality traits, and that if granted bail, he was highly likely to commit further acts of violence or flee.

The fourth page was an assessment of Old Williams' current health status, which showed that it was not that Jimmy needed to care for his father, but rather that Old Williams had a team of full-time nurses caring for him and did not need Jimmy.

On the fifth and final page, Jessica's hand paused as she turned to it.

It was an Federal Bureau of Investigation statistical report on recidivism rates while on bail, along with a comparative analysis of Jimmy Williams' behavioral patterns against those of convicted violent criminals.

"These things..." Jessica looked up at Mu Xin. "Where did you get these?"

"I hired the psychological expert, John took the social media screenshots, and Tobias provided the police records," Mu Xin said, his tone light.

"The health assessment of Old Williams was obtained from his private doctor. It cost a little money, not much."

"And the Federal Bureau of Investigation data?"

"Publicly available. I downloaded it from their official website and had a professional perform the comparative analysis," Mu Xin shrugged.

"All the materials are legal, verifiable, and can withstand cross-examination."

Jessica took a deep breath and put the documents back into the envelope.

"Mr. Mu, what you want is to instill a deep-seated impression in the judge that this person cannot be released."

"Smart!" Mu Xin nodded. "Bail is just a door, and I want to seal it shut."

"And sentencing," Jessica reminded him.

"Sentencing is a matter for later," Mu Xin said, standing up and walking to the window. "Let's handle the bail first."

"As long as Jimmy stays in prison until the trial, he won't have any chance to cause trouble outside."

"Old Williams' money cannot save him."

Jessica was silent for a few seconds, then asked a very practical question: "If Judge Hayes asks about the source of these materials, how should I answer?"

"Tell the truth," Mu Xin turned around. "You are Richard Miller's legal counsel, and these materials were collected during your due diligence process."

"All materials have legal sources; not a single one was obtained through illegal means."

"Then what if she asks who is supporting Richard behind the scenes?" Jessica asked after thinking for a moment.

"Then say you don't know," Mu Xin smiled. "You are just the lawyer. Your client is Richard, and Richard's source of funds has nothing to do with you."

Jessica looked at him, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. "Mr. Mu, you are teaching me how to lie."

"How can you call that lying!" Mu Xin shook his head. "I'm teaching you how to keep what needs to be hidden, hidden, without actually lying."

Jessica put the envelope into her bag and stood up. "I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning and submit these materials to Judge Hayes before the defense files their bail application."

"No rush," Mu Xin waved his hand. "Wait for the defense to submit their bail application first, then submit your opposition materials."

"This way, Judge Hayes will see the defense's reasons first, and then your rebuttal. The contrast will be much sharper."

"Plus, you can present it in person in court, which will have more impact than written materials."

Jessica thought for a moment, then nodded. "Then I will wait until the defense submits their application before I go."

"One more thing." Mu Xin picked up another document from the table and handed it to Jessica. "This is a transcript of Jimmy Williams' conversations with his cellmate while in custody. The cellmate is an informant, and it was recorded."

Jessica took the document, which recorded what Jimmy had said to his cellmate: "When I get out, the first person I'm going to deal with is that Chinese kid. Does he think that just because he got me locked up, it's over? I still have people on the outside."

"Also, even though the old man is almost done for, he still has money. As long as the money is there, there's nothing that can't be done."

Jessica closed the document and looked at Mu Xin.

"This piece of information is more useful than all the previous five combined," she said, her voice light.

"A criminal suspect in custody, openly talking about taking revenge after being released, and hinting at having outside accomplices—when Judge Hayes sees this, she will absolutely not grant bail."

"That's why I told you to wait for the defense to submit their application first," Mu Xin smiled.

"The defense lawyer will definitely claim in their application that Jimmy poses no social danger, has no flight risk, and is willing to cooperate with the judicial process."

"Then you submit these things, and after Judge Hayes reads them, all of the defense lawyer's arguments will become a joke."

"Furthermore, this recording can be submitted as evidence to the prosecution to initiate an investigation into the outside accomplices."

"Who is that outside accomplice?" Jessica asked.

"I don't know," Mu Xin shook his head. "But if Jimmy says there is, then there certainly is."

"As for who it is, let the prosecution investigate. If they find someone, it's a bonus; if they don't, it doesn't matter. At the very least, the judge will know that Jimmy still has people on the outside."

"Mr. Mu, you are pushing Jimmy into a dead end step by step," Jessica sighed.

"It's not me pushing him," Mu Xin said, his tone calm. "He pushed himself to this point."

"From the moment he climbed over the wall behind the Water Plant carrying a gasoline canister, he no longer had a way out."

"I'm just helping him speed it up."