Empire of Shadows

The supervising lawyer looked at the apprentice. He had spoken with the apprentice, telling him what to say to obtain a lenient outcome in the case.

He spoke truthfully, recounting how Johnny had exploited his labor, extorted his money, and humiliated him and his mother.

Such things... honestly, they don't particularly move the judge to pity, because there are even more foolish and pitiable situations. Initially, he certainly had kindness and compassion, but after encountering various terrible things, he became less easily angered and less easily empathetic towards the weak.

"It sounds indeed terrible," he said, turning to Johnny. "Since you don't have a defense lawyer, you must defend yourself. I need to tell you that you must be responsible for every word you say, and every word you say will determine the direction of some things."

"Now, tell me, is what he said true?"

Johnny stammered for a long time, not knowing what to say. Finally, he said, "But he wanted to learn my recipe. Working for me for free and paying me fees every month was the price."

He seemed to think of something. "Everyone knows my bread is the best, so I don't think that's excessive."

The judge noncommittally nodded. "What about his mother?"

"That was her own free will!"

The judge raised an eyebrow. Anthony immediately raised his hand, drawing the judge's attention. "Your Honor, I have a question for the plaintiff, Mr. Johnny."

The judge nodded, as this was in accordance with the rules. "You may proceed."

"First, you say these were the fees he paid you to learn your recipe. Did you teach him any recipes or techniques?"

Johnny was silent, because he hadn't taught him anything. But he still勉强辯解道, "I taught him how to knead dough."

Anthony's lips curled into a smile. "Everyone knows how to knead dough. That's not why your bread is delicious. So you didn't teach him any techniques, even after he actually paid you the price."

Johnny didn't speak. He couldn't lie about such a thing in front of the apprentice.

"Mr. Johnny, did you deliberately use malicious words to provoke my client... in order to deliberately humiliate him?"

"Did you deliberately leave a crack in the bedroom door and make the... lady shout loudly?"

"Everything you did was actually for the sake of a more intense and stimulating humiliation!"

"Before you answer yes or no, I hope you can think clearly and not lie to the court and the judge, because we can request his mother to come here and testify at any time."

"We are not inviting her now only out of respect and protection for women, but if you lie, trying to deceive the judge and the court, perhaps we will have her confront you."

Johnny's heart raced, and he was covered in sweat. He did indeed have such thoughts. He just wanted to see if constantly provoking the apprentice would make him... He didn't know what kind of weird habit it was, but he only felt stimulated and happy when he did that.

But now, facing the judge, he couldn't say it.

And his continuous silence also made the judge and the lawyer understand what he wanted to express.

"Your Honor, I have finished my questioning."

The judge casually wrote something on the paper in front of him, which no one could see.

After about twenty or thirty seconds, he raised his head. "The case is indeed simple, but also somewhat complicated. I originally thought this was just a simple case of burglary and violence for money, but I didn't expect so many unexpected things to come to light."

"Do either of you have anything else to ask or any new evidence to present?"

"No, Your Honor."

Johnny was somewhat at a loss, but he quickly shook his head. "I have nothing else to say either, Your Honor."

Originally, he felt he was very reasonable, but after the opposing lawyer's nonsense, he suddenly felt that he was the heinous one!

Clearly, he was the victim!

The judge sighed softly. "Closing arguments."

Johnny looked blank, but Anthony was already well prepared.

He "reconstructed" the case itself from various angles: a young man who had been exploited, oppressed, and severely humiliated, turned to his friends for help in seeking justice when there was no other way, and ultimately injured Johnny.

As for the money taken?

That was just a manifestation of the young people's immaturity. They were willing to return the stolen money and actively plead guilty.

Several young men took the initiative to stand up and apologize to Johnny, including the apprentice, who said that he should have dealt with these issues more rationally, instead of resorting to violence with all his emotions.

A serious case of burglary turned into retaliation. Retaliation and burglary are two different things.

Revenge-ism is very prevalent in the Federation, thriving under the integration of multiple ethnicities, so the judge even agreed with their ideas to some extent, but did not agree with their methods.

That is to say, he also felt that Johnny should be retaliated against, but it should be done in a reasonable, appropriate, and legal way, and not... beat him up and take some money along the way.

Anthony's closing argument was to hope that the judge would consider that these young people had no prior convictions, had actively contributed to society, and were willing to compensate, and give them a lenient sentence.

At the same time, he also hoped that the court could consider the apprentice's psychological state when making these decisions, some of the problems he was facing, and, combining the practical factors, give him a chance to admit his mistake and correct it.

As for Johnny?

The judge glanced at him and asked, "What are your thoughts now?"

"That is to say, what are your demands, what do you want them to do?"

Johnny suddenly said loudly, "I hope they can be locked up for a few more years."

The judge's expression didn't change, but Anthony smiled. It really didn't take much effort to deal with such a fool.

Federal judges have great power, so to be a successful lawyer, you must grasp the emotional changes of the judge.

Throughout the trial, he was shaping a story of a "naive avenger." The revenge was not successful because they were young people.

The context of the matter was also very clear, and the story was told perfectly. If Johnny could show generosity and magnanimity, the judge might consider giving them a moderate sentence.

At least it wouldn't make Johnny feel wronged.

But his current approach instead made the acrimonious image that Anthony and the apprentice had created for him more three-dimensional, and the judge would naturally dislike this kind of person even more. After all, the judge is also a person, and people will have their own subjective likes and dislikes.

When the judge's position began to be non-neutral, the lawsuit was stable.

"Temporary recess, the results will be announced in ten minutes..."

Anthony looked very relaxed, which also relieved the young people and their families. Only Johnny was sullen, feeling that he had been tricked by the lawyer.

He should have hired a lawyer. He also felt that the judge in court seemed to... not be so respectful to him.

He knew he shouldn't use the word respect. What he wanted to express was that the judge's ass seemed to be crooked. Although the judge didn't show it, he could feel it.

That kind of look, expression, all indicated that he had an opinion on him.

Damn it!

Ten minutes passed quickly. After returning to the courtroom, the judge announced the results in court.

All six teenagers were first-time offenders, and had no previous records before this, nor did they show any harm to society. The two young men who mainly held the棍子 and broke Johnny's two arms were sentenced to nine months (the person who broke Johnny's second arm) and one year (the person who broke Johnny's first arm) of imprisonment, respectively, and sentenced to sixty hours of community service.

The other three were all sentenced to community service, all over one hundred hours.

In addition, the stolen money must be returned, and a portion of the expenses must be compensated.

Because Johnny did not have a lawyer to assert his compensation claims, the judge would only compensate according to what the judge himself could decide, which was a fee for mental distress, medical expenses, and nutritional expenses.

These things have standards and can be directly referred to. As for the others?

Johnny didn't have a lawyer, and he didn't make any claims himself, so the court certainly wouldn't help him.

And the core of the case, the apprentice, the judge considered that there was a reason for the incident, but it did indeed cause serious consequences, considering that the apprentice was actually the weaker party in the whole incident.

Therefore, the judge was particularly kind and only sentenced him to three and a half years, with two hundred hours of community service attached, after he was released.

A successful case. Anthony shook hands with the parties and their families. This result was actually the best result, and it could even be said that it exceeded his imagination.

The parents were very grateful to him and praised his ability. Of course, Anthony would also be modest, "This is actually thanks to Mr. Johnny for not hiring a lawyer. If he had hired a lawyer, it would have been very difficult for us to get such a result."

"It might even have been at least two years or more, but..." he gave a smile that could only be understood, "So this case is over. As for whether you want to continue to do anything, it has nothing to do with me."

Soon, lawyer Anthony left, but Johnny went to question the judge unhappily as to why the sentence was so light. But he was expelled from the courtroom after only shouting a few words.

After considering it for a long time, the apprentice decided to continue to retaliate against Johnny.

When discussing the case with the lawyer, the lawyer told him that he intended to use Johnny's tax evasion as a deal to reach an out-of-court settlement.

But Johnny refused.

They had obtained more than a thousand dollars from Johnny at once. Obviously, there was a problem with the money.

Even if there was no problem, the tax bureau could make it a problem. Who the hell puts so much cash at home for no reason?

You said there were no problems, very good. Now, please explain the source and flow of every penny. If you can't explain it clearly, then there is a problem!

But now that the case has achieved the most perfect outcome, Anthony will no longer continue to do unnecessary follow-up work. As for whether the apprentice and other young people will report it, that has nothing to do with him.

Unless someone needs him to continue to represent this case, but after reporting tax evasion to the tax bureau, he doesn't need to intervene anymore.

The Federal Revenue Service not only has powerful force, but also a powerful legal team!

"Respected Federal Tax Authority:"

"I am a worker at a bakery, and I suspect my boss..."

The crooked handwriting is not beautiful, but at least it allows people to understand what he is saying.

The letter, which was less than a third of a page, was checked by the bailiff, put into an envelope, and then dropped into the mailbox inside the court.

These kinds of letters reporting tax evasion do not need postage. Goldport City Tax Bureau has already informed the post office, and they will bear the postage costs.

This was the last thing he did before going to prison. At the same time, he also knew that his mother had already left Goldport City, and perhaps they would never meet again in this lifetime.

For a time, all of this made the apprentice feel relieved.