Episode 47

"We will take on the defense for the accused."

At that moment, Jang Yong-hwan's eyebrows twitched. At the same time, Jung Min-shik, who was standing across from us, burst out laughing.

"Puhahaha! You, are you serious?"

He added, as if he couldn't believe it, "It seems like you haven't even read the case files."

"I did read them," I replied.

"Then you must be blind."

Jung Min-shik pointed his finger at me.

"There's a mountain of evidence to prove guilt, and even the accused himself confessed in the first trial. And yet, you're still going to choose the defense side?"

"Yeah."

"Unbelievable."

I let the barrage of criticism pass by one ear.

"Do you think I'm that easy just because you got first place once? That you can win even with the most disadvantageous conditions? Don't make me laugh."

Jung Min-shik gritted his teeth.

"That's not confidence, it's arrogance and recklessness. I'll make you regret looking down on me."

'Hmm, he's misunderstanding something.'

I didn't choose the disadvantageous side on purpose.

I wasn't in a position to do such dopamine-addict-like things with so much leeway.

I only chose this side because I thought it was much more advantageous and the way to victory.

'Well, there's no need to explain it.'

A battle with a rival is done with swords and bows.

In the arena of the courtroom, legal principles and facts are the weapons.

If that was the case, then that was all we needed to clash with.

Jung Min-shik was about to get even angrier, but unexpectedly, Bae Hyun-joong, who had been silently standing next to him, stopped him.

He cast a somewhat anxious glance in our direction, then whispered something to Jung Min-shik.

Jung Min-shik still had a displeased expression, but he eventually turned around with his teammates and headed to the waiting room.

"Just you wait!"

Leaving his shout behind, we also moved to our waiting room.

"What's up?"

As soon as the supervisor closed the door, Lee Ha-roo asked.

"You're really choosing the defense side? It seemed like he was definitely guilty to me."

"There must be something," Han Seol added, who was now used to my methods.

"When he does something that we can't understand, it's because he's found an answer. So, are you going to explain it now? What did you find out in that short amount of time that made you choose the defense side?"

"I don't know."

"?"

Seeing the question mark appear on Han Seol's face, I quickly added, "It's not that I chose it without any basis. It's true that this side has a much higher chance of being the right answer. However... to confirm if my guess is correct, we need to examine the materials in depth from now on."

I picked up the thick case files and shook them.

"This case is very unnatural."

"In what way?"

"Strictly speaking, this isn't a real case. It's a creation made for the moot court competition. If that's the case, then the general practice is to create it so that you can make convincing arguments no matter which side you choose."

You could think of a typical debate competition.

Wouldn't the topics be ones where both sides would fiercely oppose each other, and where each side could prepare valid reasons and rebuttals?

Issues such as the abolition of the death penalty, the permission of euthanasia, and the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Even a moot court competition wasn't much different.

Its essence was similar to a debate, and it shouldn't be heavily biased in favor of one side simply because a certain stance was chosen.

"But what about this case?"

All of the materials, to a bizarre extent, were leaning towards the guilt of the defendant, Kim Gap-dong.

Even the fact that he had changed his statement and appealed after admitting all the evidence and charges in the first trial was strange.

Even if I were a judge, I would probably be so annoyed that I wouldn't give him a break.

"...It is a bit strange, for sure."

"Didn't they say that choosing your side was also part of the skill? What if they intended for us to choose the advantageous side from the materials?" Lee Ha-roo made a fairly sharp point.

"That's right, you're right. I also think that's where the true intention of this case lies. But even when considering that, it's still strange that it's leaning so obviously. Even a layman, let alone a skilled law school student, would choose Kim Gap-dong's guilty side."

I came to a conclusion.

"This is a trap."

And it was a trap that was set out in the open, to make you fall into it.

"You can't see the details of all the evidence documents in the short time of 10 minutes. At best, you'll be able to skim the list or the first page of the documents related to each piece of evidence."

"...That's true."

"Yeah. It's definitely a problem that is asking if you can see through the hidden intention of the creator, which is hidden behind the surface, even in those circumstances."

"And what is that hidden intention?"

"We need to figure that out from now on."

The preliminary round problems were not created by the Ministry of Justice, which was in charge of the competition, but by the professors who were in charge of grading the preliminary rounds of each law school.

If it was criminal law, then it would naturally be Jang Yong-hwan who had created it at our school.

As I had already experienced with the exam problems, Jang Yong-hwan was second to none when it came to setting up dark traps.

However, he also designed problems so that they could be solved without excessive memorization if you had a solid understanding of the basic legal principles and approached them with a broad range of ideas.

Considering that style of his, there were some things that came to mind.

However, I needed some time to examine the materials directly in order to verify them.

"Let's start with the first piece of evidence."

[Kim Gap-dong's Blood Alcohol Measurement Record]

...(omitted)...At the time of measurement, the accused's face was red and his eyes were bloodshot, and if the 'Widmark formula' is applied, considering that 5 hours and 25 minutes had passed since the driving, it is estimated that the accused's blood alcohol concentration at the time of driving was 0.066%.

"What is the Widmark formula?"

"Even if you measure the blood alcohol concentration of a drunk driver, it's not like they're always caught right after driving, right? Depending on the situation, there may be cases where they're caught and measured a few hours after driving."

"That's true."

"In cases where they're measured after time has passed like that, the alcohol in the body would have already been broken down to a certain degree. The calculation method that traces back the rate of breakdown to find the blood alcohol concentration at the time of driving is the Widmark formula."

"Ah, I see."

You didn't need to know the specific calculation method. You wouldn't have to calculate it yourself.

You only needed to know that something like that existed, and that when applying the Widmark formula, you had to accurately grasp and reflect the individual characteristics of the victim, such as their weight and health status as much as possible.

"Could there be a flaw in that part? There's also a Supreme Court precedent that says that you shouldn't just use an estimated value that's based on a random average."

"That's a good point, but it'll be difficult to use in this case. The specific information about the victim is well reflected, and it was even strictly proven after receiving an expert's review."

I had also thought of the part that Han Seol had pointed out, but unfortunately, in this case, the police officer who had recorded the blood alcohol measurement had investigated very thoroughly and had recorded an appropriate estimated value.

It seemed difficult to argue that the material itself was wrong.

"Hmm. Is there anything else..."

"Let's look at the circumstances of the blood alcohol measurement. There might be a clue there," I said, and continued to read the investigation record left by the police officer in charge of the blood alcohol measurement.

[...(omitted)...While patrolling at night, a report was received from a guest named B at the A Motel that there was a strange thumping sound from the upper floor, and the police were dispatched to the A Motel.

When the door of the corresponding room was knocked on, the suspect Kim Gap-dong shouted from inside, 'I'm tired since I just drove a long way, so come back later'.

Sensing something suspicious, the officer opened the door and entered the room, where a smell of alcohol was strong and Kim Gap-dong was standing, staggering, while drunk.

Accordingly, recognizing the possibility of drunk driving, a blood alcohol measurement was conducted, and as a result of reviewing the record sheet...(omitted)...]

"There it is."

A smile appeared on my lips as I read the record.

"Do you know something?"

"Yeah. This blood alcohol measurement record is 'illegally obtained evidence'."

"...Huh?"

Article 308-2 (Exclusion of Illegally Obtained Evidence) Evidence that was collected not in accordance with legal procedure cannot be used as evidence.

The investigation is the process of collecting evidence.

However, not all evidence obtained during the investigation can be used in court.

Only evidence collected through legal procedures is qualified to be used as evidence.

'It's to protect the basic rights of citizens from the investigative authority.'

Investigative authorities, such as the police and prosecutors, have immense power.

Even if they conduct an investigation in a somewhat illegal way, it's not easy for ordinary citizens to stop them.

In the first place, if you don't have legal knowledge, you might not even know that what the police are doing is an illegal investigation.

Entering a private residence without a warrant and seizing items at will, or threatening a detained suspect or lying that they will reduce the sentence if they confess.

That was why, in order to prevent this, evidence obtained through illegal means had to be blocked from being used so that the investigative authority wouldn't have a reason to conduct illegal investigations in the first place.

"The blood alcohol measurement itself isn't a problem. There's no record of Kim Gap-dong refusing the blood alcohol measurement, and even if he had refused, responding to a blood alcohol measurement is an obligation, so refusing would lead to an offense of non-compliance."

But.

"The fact that they entered after he said 'come back later' is the problem."

Under the Criminal Procedure Act, forcibly entering a private space and searching for something is classified as a forced investigation that can't be done without a warrant.

Of course, in urgent situations where a suspect who has committed a crime is being tracked, or if it's determined that the crime is being committed at the scene, a warrantless search may be allowed.

However, at the time, the police officer was just patrolling and had visited the A Motel after receiving a report that there was a 'loud sound'.

Of course, he hadn't received a search warrant, and he also didn't have proof that a crime was being committed.

"In the end, this police officer's search was illegal."

And all the other evidence that was additionally obtained during the course of that illegal search is illegally obtained evidence.

This is called the 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine. Just as the fruit that grows on a tree that is poisoned is also poisoned, the evidence that is obtained based on an illegal investigation is all contaminated by its illegality and cannot be used.

"So at least the evidence that proves the drunk driving is gone. Kim Gap-dong is innocent of the drunk driving charge."

"It really was a Criminal Procedure Law problem..."

"I told you I would come out."

This was probably not the only thing. Jang Yong-hwan, who had created this case file, now had a clear intention.

The tower of guilty evidence, which appeared to be so solid at first glance.

By shaking the credibility of each and every one of those cornerstones, it was a story of overturning the premise that 'Kim Gap-dong is guilty'.

"Han Seol, find and summarize all of the precedents related to the illegality of seizure, search, and verification. Lee Ha-roo, skim through the pages that I designate, summarize them, and check the results."

"Alright."

"Yes, sir."

'Now, let's go overturn the courtroom.'