Chapter 213 The Shocked City

Shortlisted?

Shortlisted!

"This is no joke, Lao Shi. Are you sure there was nothing wrong with Elder Chen’s scoring!?"

The reply came the instant he finished speaking.

"I’m sure."

Shishan nodded.

"I’ve run the numbers. The score he gave wasn’t high, nor was it low, but it was just enough to meet the threshold for the shortlist."

"This year, Qingwu Province has a total of 60 spots for the shortlist. These two cases are ranked around 50th, so they absolutely qualify..."

It was normal for cases to be shortlisted.

But what wasn’t normal was that these two cases, which should have been unanimously rejected, had made the cut!

This...

"What’s the plan?"

Someone asked hesitantly.

If these two cases were shortlisted, they would have to be discussed openly. And if they were selected as classic cases...

That would directly impact the entire judicial system of Qingwu Province.

It would directly affect a hundred million people!

The impact was too great, the ramifications too broad. Coupled with the nature of the cases and Xu De’s methods—which were not supported by the judicial system—it was why they had initially wanted to keep them off the shortlist.

And as it happened, while other people had given high scores, there were also many low scores. Factoring in the abstentions from the Lusen City locals, the case’s overall score had been brought down, which was how they had avoided being shortlisted before.

But now...

The entire office fell silent.

Everyone frowned, lost in thought, as if they had encountered a difficult problem.

A long moment passed.

Shishan suddenly took a deep breath.

"It’s just the shortlist. The impact isn’t that big."

"The classic cases still have to be selected, and the judicial system isn’t going to be led astray by a single shortlisted case!"

The purpose of a classic case was to guide the direction of the judiciary.

If Yanjing said that "not guilty" verdicts and "justifiable defense" could be used more freely...

...then the provinces below would gradually begin to activate dormant clauses.

The same was true at the provincial level.

The dozen or so classic cases selected each year... surely no one actually thought this stuff was just about handing out an award and seeing what cases came up this year, right?

No!

It was to let the judges and prosecutors in the province’s many intermediate courts and Basic Courts know how they should rule when faced with similar cases!

For cases they were unsure about, they were now being given a result to copy!

That was a classic case.

It was practically the judiciary’s answer key, packed with value. Its influence affected the life-or-death application of the law for a hundred million people!

"The directors of those three Wutong City law firms will be part of the judging panel."

"Nationwide, these three firms would rank in the top twenty."

"Lanhua, Gao Zheng, and Jinyang. You could say none of them are pushovers. Between the three firms, they hold a full four spots on the shortlist."

"They’ll definitely try to give their own cases high scores and drag down the others."

"..."

Shishan said.

When selecting classic cases, you also needed resources.

The three firms had vast resources, and their managing partners held high positions in the bar association. Most lawyers would follow their lead.

With the bar association won over, the university professors would also likely side with them.

Under these circumstances...

Would they be willing to let a lawyer with no resources, who was holding two shortlisted cases right after his debut, have one selected as a classic case!?

No.

Absolutely not!

Never mind how much of a slap in the face a situation like Xu De’s was for them, or how red and swollen their faces would be from the sting.

It was a direct encroachment on their interests!

"This year, only five criminal cases will be selected in total."

"It’s already a case of too many monks and not enough porridge. There’s no way they’ll let him get a classic case."

Shishan spoke slowly, his words blunt in front of his colleagues.

These things were all out in the open.

Political resources were also a form of strength in the selection process!

"Not to mention..."

"After being shortlisted, he’ll have to come to Wutong City in person and be questioned in front of everyone!"

"Who were the case handlers for these two cases again?"

Shishan asked.

His colleague sitting opposite him thought for a moment and said, "Huang Shi and Zhang Bingxin from Lusen City. Zhang Bingxin is a veteran."

Shishan shook his head.

"No, I’m talking about the lawyer."

"The lawyer?"

Everyone paused, looks of hesitation on their faces.

They remembered the officials clearly, but as for the lawyer...

"Was his name Xu De?"

"Yes, Xu De. I think he opened a firm called... the Moral Law Firm? He must think he’s quite virtuous."

"How old is he?"

"Twenty-five... Twenty-five!?"

After saying it, the person’s face was suddenly filled with shock.

Twenty-five years old, with two shortlisted cases? And criminal cases at that!!!

You couldn’t find another record like that in the entire country. Most lawyers, never mind at twenty-five, might not have a single case shortlisted even if they practiced until they died. At twenty-five, they were probably still struggling to land consultations.

Of course.

This also indirectly confirmed...

"He’s a very young lawyer, the kind with no background or resources," Shishan said.

A young lawyer with no background or resources...

That could only mean he was inexperienced... or rather, that he hadn’t met many bigwigs.

Both of his cases were handled in an intermediate court. The highest-ranking official he encountered during the lawsuits was only at the department level.

But what about the provincial department’s selection panel?

"This time, it’s being organized and led by the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission."

"The people coming are from the Provincial High Court, the Provincial High Procuratorate, the Police Department, the Department of Justice..."

"Those provincial-level figures you’d never even see in the city will all gather on-site to participate in the review personally. They’ll be chairing the meeting, too!"

"Even the lowest-ranking attendees will be at the department level. It’ll be a sea of people," Shishan said.

Being led by the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, it carried a lot of weight.

But at the same time, the person being evaluated would face immense psychological pressure!

Let’s put it this way.

Most people might not have participated in a school’s New Year’s Gala or welcome party.