Too Bad I Take Things Seriously

But one thing was certain: there must be many people watching the live broadcast right now. Although it was an obscure website, this incident of a chase leading to a death... had truly blown up. The internet had been abuzz for quite some time.

We should be able to win the case, right... She looked at the live broadcast and couldn't help but clench her fists. This judgment was about whether acting out of a sense of justice should entail any responsibility. If handled poorly... it would truly chill the hearts of countless people. With a precedent of someone being penalized for acting righteously, people might no longer dare to act out of a sense of justice in the future. They would have to consider the consequences even when doing a good deed. Even for a saint... they would probably think twice before acting.

「Jin City Court.」

「Second Criminal Court.」

Qin Mu's impassioned voice echoed throughout the courtroom.

At the plaintiff's seat, Yuan Cui Lian, her face flushed, could no longer hold back and retorted, "You're talking nonsense! Don't try to twist the facts! I... I'm saying it was because you weren't careful in your methods that you drove my son to his death!"

"My... my son was naturally timid. Chased by two fierce-looking men like you, he panicked and jaywalked!"

"Even the lawyer said your actions and this incident have a causal link!"

"If it weren't for you, this tragedy would never have happened!"

She grew more and more angry as she spoke. Buoyed by self-justification, she became increasingly convinced she was right.

Meanwhile, Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and looked back at her. He said coldly, "Now, for the third point: the causal relationship you mentioned is not established at all!"

The judgment of this case... indeed involves causality in criminal law. The crime of negligent homicide requires an act that leads to another's death, and a causal relationship must exist between the two.

"Legally, causality is divided into civil and criminal law!" Qin Mu elaborated. "In civil law, causality refers to the relationship between a person's breach of civil duty and the resulting harm. In this case, our pursuit of the robber did not breach any civil duty."

The expanded judicial interpretation actually details causality in both civil and criminal law, serving as a guide for sentencing and conviction. In civil law, for example, the cause of the resulting harm... must be a negative act, a breach of civil duty. And civil duties include those stipulated by law, by contract, or by established moral conventions, among others. These legal texts can be quite dry. If an act is positive and morally encouraged, it cannot simply be defined as having a causal relationship to harm in this context. In other words... from a civil law perspective, this causal link is not supported in civil proceedings.

"According to civil law," Qin Mu stated, his voice firm after a deep breath, "our act of pursuit theoretically would not cause any negative or immoral consequences; therefore, a causal link is naturally not established!

"In criminal law, causality refers to the relationship between a person's socially harmful act and the harmful outcome.

"I would like to ask the plaintiff: when Liang Chengbin and I were merely running on the street, did that act endanger anyone else?"

This rhetorical question left Yuan Cui Lian speechless once again. She hadn't anticipated his eloquence at all. He had only reached his third point and had already refuted most of her lawsuit's claims.

The problem was... what he said was all beyond her comprehension.

"Fourth, your claim that we lack remorse is even more absurd!" Qin Mu did not pause. Seizing the momentum, he continued his refutation: "After the incident, the driver at fault, Hua Li, did not flee. He immediately called the police and ambulance services.

"Afterward, we actively communicated with the police and cooperated in determining responsibility.

"After all, nobody wanted to see the accident happen.

"The remorse you speak of is merely what you perceive as remorse. You want us to apologize to you, to admit our 'mistakes.'"

"But..." Qin Mu sneered, "we did nothing wrong in the first place, so what is there to repent?

"I did nothing wrong, Liang Chengbin did nothing wrong! When a crime unfolds before our eyes, we cannot simply stand by and watch!

"Bai Xuelan did nothing wrong! Even if wearing a gold necklace in public was ostentatious, that's no excuse for someone to commit a crime against her!

"Hua Li was even less at fault! After the accident, he did everything he was supposed to do!

"In this entire incident, the only one at fault... was your son!

"If anyone should be repenting, it's him, repenting to us from the netherworld!"

His words, each one forceful, resonated through the courtroom.

In the courtroom, Qin Mu, for the first time, revealed his sharp intellect, mercilessly refuting all of Yuan Cui Lian's points.

Indeed. In this case, no one else was to blame. The only one at fault... was Yuan Cui Lian's son. If one were to truly speak of causality... had her son not committed robbery, none of the subsequent events would have occurred.

"You... you... My son is dead, and you still speak of him like that!"

Hearing this, Yuan Cui Lian could bear it no longer. Her face flushed red, she lunged from the plaintiff's seat, arms flailing, about to scratch Qin Mu.

The bailiffs, ever watchful of the courtroom, saw this and immediately stepped forward to restrain Yuan Cui Lian.

"Fighting and brawling are prohibited in the courtroom!" Zhou Quanmin, his face stern, stared at Yuan Cui Lian and warned in a deep voice.

"But he insulted my son!" Yuan Cui Lian retorted loudly, trembling with anger.

Zhou Quanmin frowned and ruled, "That was the statement phase. No insulting remarks were made; it was a normal presentation of viewpoints!"