Volume 1: First Arrival Chapter 77 Something is fishy
There is no doubt about the matter up to this point.
Perhaps the only regret is that the police were unable to obtain a confession from the suspect, as Fisher denied committing the crime to the end.
The key point is that Fisher said he was drunk and did not remember the crime, but this is not strong evidence to prove his innocence.
Perhaps, Fisher did have a blackout and did something off track while drunk, and he had no recollection of the crime afterwards; perhaps, alcohol was just the catalyst that caused Fisher to go off track, allowing the evil deep in his soul to take over and committing a crime under impulse.
Fisher's self-defense is untenable and may even become indirect evidence to prove the crime.
Just as Nate said, this is a case with solid evidence, from witnesses to physical evidence, everything is available, it is basically a done deal.
This is a very simple case, and it can be easily handled. From the police to the prosecutors and even the jury, there should not be any special difficulties.
So, before going to court today, the prosecutorial team was full of confidence.
However.
Judging from Kirk's expression when he saw Nate and the prosecutor just now, things have taken a turn -
If it's not the defense lawyer finding the key witness or key evidence to overturn the entire case, then what is it?
Thinking of this, Kirk spoke up, interrupting Nate for the first time, "What happened before going to court today?"
Nate was a little surprised. "How do you know it's before the court session, not during or after the trial?"
Kirk, "You just said that the prosecutors found the evidence, and it is very likely before the trial. I am just guessing, 33% chance."
Then, Kirk raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "It's just pure luck."
Nate: @#￥％&…
call.
Nate rubbed his cheeks vigorously. His thoughts were indeed so confused that he had a short circuit.
"Indeed, before the trial, we received a piece of surveillance video evidence."
Ah, the surveillance video I just mentioned, turns out to be here!
Originally, Kirk thought that the surveillance video evidence had existed from the beginning; but now it seems that the police and prosecutors have been waiting for this evidence.
"During the initial investigation, the police tried to retrieve the TV station's surveillance video because the incident happened in McDonald's live studio."
"That's a TV station, there are cameras in every corner."
"However, there was a power outage at the TV station that night, and only one surveillance camera was working, so the police needed to confirm the validity of the surveillance video."
"The police sent the evidence to the Crime Scene Division for verification. As you just said, we need to verify the evidence to confirm that it has not been tampered with or contaminated."
"During the pre-trial stage, we submitted this evidence to the judge, but it was rejected by the judge because it was not verified by the crime scene department."
"But we don't really care because we have enough evidence to convict, and this surveillance video is not as important as we thought."
"Until today, the Crime Scene Division finally handed over the verification report and the original surveillance video to us."
"However, we cannot use this evidence casually. We need to apply to the judge first and then notify the defense lawyer that new evidence has emerged. Only after this can we submit the evidence."
In movies and TV series, it is common for the prosecution or defense lawyer to use a trump card at the last minute and turn the tables with a new piece of evidence.
Such situations do exist objectively in real life, but they are very rare. As Nate said, it mainly depends on the attitude of the judge, whether it is allowed to present new evidence without notifying both parties and disrupt the trial process; in most cases, the judge will not allow it.
Kirk, "So, did you submit your application?"
Nate nodded. "The prosecutor hopes to submit this evidence to get the suspect to plead guilty. In this way, we don't need to continue the trial. The subsequent procedures can be simplified. We have reached We don't need a jury. We can just hand it over to the judge for review and judgment."
The United States is a maritime law system.
That is to say, unless the legislation for a certain project needs to be enacted as a written law due to objective circumstances or in order to resolve disputes, otherwise, it is only necessary to assess what is right and wrong based on past local judgments on the project.
Common law is a law of precedent rather than a law of enactment. It is a legal system applicable to the entire society that is formed by judges summarizing and generalizing local customary law.
In more popular terms, it is called "case law."
This legal system judges right and wrong based on the public order and good morals formed in people's daily lives. It does not attach importance to academic qualifications or prestige, and uses civilians to form juries. Even if there are no explicit regulations, it is illegal as long as it does not conform to the jury's concept of judging right and wrong.
Simply put, only a small number of cases require judges to make decisions based on the law, and most of the time the decision is made by a jury.
The judge plays the role of maintaining order, guiding the procedures, and making the final decision.
In terms of the sentencing process, the first step is for the jury to determine whether the defendant is guilty. The second step is sentencing. In this regard, different states have different laws:
In some states, the jury recommends the sentence and the judge confirms the sentence, such as Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, etc.; in some states, the jury recommends and determines the sentence , such as Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, etc.
In addition, in most states, prosecutors recommend sentencing and judges confirm it. New York is one of these states.
In the case at hand, once the surveillance video is released, Fisher will have almost no chance of turning things around, and because he refuses to repent and admit his mistakes, his crimes are extremely serious, so there will be no suspense if the jury finds him guilty. At the same time, because of the serious circumstances, the prosecutor may also recommend the maximum sentence.
but!
If Fisher pleads guilty, the prosecution will not need to submit surveillance video evidence, nor will it need a subsequent trial. It can skip a series of tedious and complicated processes and directly use the prosecution's recommended sentencing, and the judge will make the final judgment. Things will be much simpler. Moreover, the prosecution will also reduce the sentence because of Fisher's good attitude.
The whole thing is very clear and very simple.
However.
Precisely because simple things could not be carried out smoothly, things suddenly became complicated.
"Fisher refuses to plead guilty?" Kirk grasped the point, which Nate had just said.
"Fisher pleads not guilty." Nate nodded in affirmation.
I just can't figure it out.
If Fisher had refused to plead guilty because he had lost his memory due to drunkenness before the surveillance video came out, it would be understandable; but after confirming the surveillance video with his own eyes, Fisher was still so sure that he had not committed the crime, and things became strange.
Who gave her the courage to overturn all evidence and remain steadfast in her belief that she would not commit a crime even when she was drunk and unconscious?
What kind of shoes are these? Are they brainwashing?
"Maybe... she just holds on to a belief and refuses to admit her mistakes and refuses to believe in reality, that's all?"
Nate, I don't understand.
