490 I’m Owning You Guys (1/2)
Wilfrid casually threw Reese's research documents to his assistant. Even Dai Li could tell that Wilfrid didn't really care about them.
Wilfrid explained, ”Since Nick Reese dared to just hand over this document to us, there is no need for us to doubt the truthfulness and professionalism of this document. It would be a waste of time to focus on them. We are not experts in psychology, and there is no way for us to find any problems or loopholes within these documents in such a short amount of time.”
After Wilfrid finished speaking, he looked towards Dai Li and asked, ”Mr. Li, please tell me honestly, do you have a tendency for violence?”
”No.” Dai Li shook his head firmly. ”Although I haven't gone through any psychological test, I am considered rather calm when I handle things.”
”If it is possible, we might have to really have you undergo a psychological test to prove that you do not have a tendency for violence, so that we may deny Reese's charges. Later in court, I will try to bring it up,” Wilfrid said.
At that moment, Prosecutor Nick Reese walked over from afar.
”Mr. Wilfrid, you've reviewed the documents that I gave you, right? If there's any part that requires clarification, please do allow me to explain it to you.” Reese went ahead and sat beside Wilfrid as he spoke.
”Prosecutor Reese, it can't be that you came all this way just to explain the content of this document to me, right?” Wilfrid asked while staring at Reese.
Reese smiled and lowered his voice. ”I can't hide anything from you after all. Mr. Wilfrid and Mr. Li, I hope that you seriously consider my previous suggestion.”
”You still want to advise my client to plead guilty?” Wilfrid laughed coldly.
”Yes. If Mr. Li is willing to plead guilty to the intentional assault and police assault charges, I can withdraw the charge on an attempted first-degree murder,” Reese said.
Before Wilfrid could answer, Dai Li shook his head first. ”I'm innocent.”
”Mr. Li, whether you are guilty or not depends on the decision given by the jury.” Reese displayed an expression of helplessness, then went on to say, ”How they will decide, I don't know, but I really hope that I can help you.”
”Help me? Prosecutor Reese, are you joking? I sure don't feel like you are helping me,” Dai Li said mockingly.
Reese said instead, ”Mr. Li, you are now charged with first-degree murder. Although it is only attempted murder, you have to know that if you were found guilty, what kind of punishment awaits you? You will go to prison, five years, ten years, or even more than ten years! You have to know, prison isn't a comfortable place. It's full of villains, scum, scoundrels, and there are even perverts who like f*cking people in the as*!”
”But if you are willing to plead guilty, with just intentional assault and police assault, your sentence will be much lighter. As a prosecutor, I can apply for you to have a lighter sentence, and you might not even need to go to prison. I can help get you on probation for three to five years, with an added 1000 hours of community service. What do you think?”
”Not great. I'm innocent, why should I plead guilty?” Dai Li shook his head.
”Looks like Mr. Li still doesn't understand the situation,” Reese smiled and said. ”Mr. Li, I think you should have discovered by now that there are some members of the jury who agree with my points, which means that based on this trend, you might be convicted of an attempted first-degree murder. You might have to go to prison. Of course, I don't know what the probability for this is. Perhaps 10-20%? 30-40%? Or maybe 50-60%? I guess everyone will have their own assessment. Mr. Wilfrid should also be able to give you more professional advice.”
”But the important thing is, do you want to gamble on the probability of being convicted? Even if there is only a 10% chance for you to be found guilty, that means that there's a 10% chance that you will have to stay ten years in prison! Can you guarantee 100% that you have such good luck, and that you won't encounter that 10% chance? Don't you feel that even if it were just a 10% chance, it is a high risk? Not to mention when it comes time to finally make the judgment, your chance of getting convicted might not be only 10%, right? That's because I still have cards I haven't played.”
”I don't know how you view this, but if it were me, I definitely wouldn't want to bear any risk of going to prison. And now, there is an option right in front of you where you don't have to bear any risk. As long as you confess and plead guilty to intentional assault and the police assault charges, you don't have to go to prison. I've seen your data; you don't have any criminal record after coming to the US. I believe that a few years of probation shouldn't be too tough for you. And using some time in community service to remove the risk of going to prison, I think this is a very good deal.”
”So Mr. Li, I know you have a chain of physical fitness centers. It's a huge business, and it brings you a lot of income every year. But if you go to prison, can you still maintain all this? At least when you're in prison, you'll lose all these. There's a phrase that says, if there's life, there's hope. That is why I hope that you will seriously consider my offer.”
Dai Li did not answer. Wilfrid was the one who spoke instead, ”Prosecutor Reese, the probation you mentioned, does it include intensive probation?”
Reese shook his head. ”I don't think there's a need for reinforced probation, but if the probation period is too long, perhaps there might be six months to a year's intensive probation.”
Wilfrid fell into a deep state of reflection. Prosecutor Reese felt that he was in business, so he stood up. ”Mr. Li, Mr. Wilfrid, you can discuss this first. I shall take my leave. I hope I will hear your good news soon.”
...
There were different kinds of probation in the US. The first type was the unsupervised probation, also called informal probation. During the probationary period, the convict didn't need to be directly supervised by a probation officer. It was mostly used on criminals convicted of minor crimes.
The second type was the supervised probation, also called the formal probation. During the probationary period, the criminal was required to report to the probation officer on a regular basis. The criminal could also be asked to participate in consultation services, and they had to accept spot checks for drugs and alcohol.
The third was intensive probation. It was suitable for criminals who had committed more serious crimes. During the probationary period, the criminal had to also report to the probation officer regularly, as well as accept consultation. If it were a particular crime, such as drug dealing or sexual offenses, there would be additional conditions. For example, mental and physical treatment, and also registration in the local crime registrar.
The consultation services mentioned referred to legal and psychological consultation services. The legal consultation services were the equivalent of letting the convict learn more about the law; it was a process of studying law. As for psychological consultation services, those who had watched the movie ”Internal Affairs” should have a clearer and better understanding. The protagonist of the movie, Chan Wing Yan, had to go through a lengthy psychological consultation period because he committed a crime.
Apart from that, during the probationary period, criminals normally had to complete a fixed amount of community service. For those who committed less serious crimes, the court would also directly sentence them to community service as the most fundamental punishment measure.
Wilfrid explained all this to Dai Li and said, ”You can't commit another crime during the probation period, and you have to report to the probation officer twice a week. You will be restricted when leaving the country. You can only leave the US after the state court's approval. At the same time, according to the law of California, convicts under probation have a curfew, that means that you are not allowed to venture outside at night, you can only stay at home.”
Dai Li nodded and said, ”Mr. Wilfrid, I'd like your professional advice.”
”From the perspective of law, our chances for winning this lawsuit is great, as our discussions and opinions are more persuasive. However, as your lawyer, what I am supposed to do is to safeguard your personal benefits to the best of my ability. It is as the prosecutor said just now; we don't have a 100% chance of winning, there is a chance for you to be found guilty. If we continue with this lawsuit, you have to be prepared to face a prison sentence. Even if the chances are low, it is still a risk. On this, the prosecutor did not lie to us,” Wilfrid said.
”So, do you think I should accept the prosecutor's advice and plead guilty to the intentional assault and police assault charges?” Dai Li asked with a frown.
”This depends on your willingness to bear the risk of going to prison.” Wilfrid's expression turned serious. ”If you plan on continuing with this lawsuit, I will do all I can to help you win, but if you are willing to accept the conditions of the prosecutor, I will also negotiate with the prosecutor and help you get the best possible deal.”