From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 356 Emergency Bill to Rehabilitate Kennedy

Chapter 356 Emergency Bill to Rehabilitate Kennedy

The court hearing will begin promptly at 8:20 a.m.

At this time, the Anglo-American legal system adhered to the principle of open trials, and all criminal trials were open to the public, which was also the cornerstone of the Anglo-American legal system.

However, courtroom capacity is limited; the Suffolk County Courthouse can only accommodate approximately 120 people. This includes the jury, lawyers, witnesses, and others.

Therefore, the number of seats available for ordinary people to attend court hearings is not very large. When bailiffs open the gates in the early morning, priority is given to journalists, lawyers, and family members of those involved in the case.

Larry, holding the press pass he had just obtained, swaggered into the courtroom and even sat in the front row of the press section.

On the Irish side, all of the deceased's immediate family members appeared in court. On the Chinese side, leaders of Chinatown and the head of the New York Wing Wah Church also arrived at the court.

In addition, several prominent local gentlemen from Boston also came to the courtroom, ready to observe this unprecedented case.

There were very few spots left for the general public to visit. After a few lucky members of the public lined up to enter, the bailiffs dispersed the people behind them.

However, now inside the courtroom, from the judge to the jury and the audience, everyone has heard the bustling noise coming from outside the courthouse and knows that many immigrants have come to watch.

This put unprecedented pressure on the judge and jury, who were certainly not afraid of the courtroom being stormed. But on such a high-profile stage, saying the wrong thing could easily lead to being besieged by the crowd; at the very least, it could result in immediate social humiliation.

Inside the courtroom, Yung Wing and all the Chinese people were dressed in proper three-piece suits, looking exactly like the other Americans.

Yung Wing stared intently at Prosecutor Barrett, his face expressionless.

Prosecutor Barrett glared back at the other person.

As the court hearing drew near, camera flashes went off intermittently as reporters documented the moment.

Despite the clear blue sky outside the window, the air inside and outside the courtroom seemed to freeze.

The defendant, Huang Meitang, was brought to the dock. He was also wearing a suit and his face was calm.

Of course, he still subconsciously glanced at the courtroom, his gaze sweeping between the local Chinese leaders and his lawyer, Mr. Yung Wing, before finally settling on Larry's face in the press box.

The two looked at each other in silence.

Judge Edward Howe sat on the platform, struck the gavel, and announced the start of the trial.

Local prosecutor Barrett walked slowly toward the witness stand, carrying a glass jar containing a wad of blood-stained burlap.

"Gentlemen of the jury!" he said in a deep voice, "For some time now, we've heard a lot of nice talk about 'self-defense,' so today we'll talk about science—"

As he spoke, the prosecutor opened the glass jar, used long tweezers to pick out the blood-stained piece of coarse linen, and held it up for everyone to see.

"Preliminary forensic examination confirms that the bloodstains on this linen are human blood. Furthermore, the pattern of the bloodstains matches that on the deceased's clothing. Defendant—"

As he spoke, Barrett pointed at Huang Meitang and raised his voice to continue, "—The defendant argued that the deceased, Tom, died from a self-inflicted collision. If he were telling the truth, then the blood should have splattered on the wall, not concentrated at the bottom of the recess."

But the fact is, this piece of evidence I'm holding up is what the police collected from the bottom of the recess. What does this prove? The victim may have indeed hit the table corner, but it also proves that his head was forcefully pressed down and remained on the table corner! This is murder!

Barrett's words elicited a low gasp from the audience. According to the prosecutor's description, it was easy to imagine the scene: a deranged Chinese man slamming the victim's head against a table corner—

Among the Harvard observers, criminal law professor James Thayer frowned. This type of evidence hadn't appeared in previous trials. In past judicial proceedings, experienced detectives would determine whether blood droplets were splattered based on their shape and coagulation.

However, since this is new evidence and has been out of date, it is impossible to match individuals based on blood type. Therefore, this consistency, whether it comes from the prosecutor or the detective, is a subjective inference.

This is not perfect evidence, but this half-true, half-false science is enough to intimidate the jury.

Sure enough, the gentlemen on the jury all focused their attention on the defendant Huang Meitang's face, their eyes filled with doubt.

Barrett pressed on, "We can imagine the scene. If Tom had really fallen on his own, the blood would have splattered like stars. But the blood here is thick and concentrated, with no dragging at the edges—which indicates that his head was held down after the impact—"

defendant!"

The prosecutor pointed at Huang Meitang again, "How could someone your size (5 feet 4 inches) possibly do this? Unless you planned it all along!"

As he spoke, he held the blood-stained linen cloth high in the air. The jury stared at the dried blood as if they were witnessing the scene of violence.

Huang Meitang's lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a word.

Without waiting for an answer, Barrett summoned a new witness.

This person is actually Chinese!

Upon seeing the newcomer, Master Ye abruptly stood up, his eyes widening. "What? It's you? Lai Shenglin!"

"Sit down! Keep the courtroom quiet," the judge said authoritatively.

The Chinese man named Lai Shenglin didn't dare to look at everyone. Instead, he stood quietly in the witness stand, his body trembling slightly, his eyes fixed on the table in front of him.

"This witness was invited to testify by the defendant's lawyer during the first trial. Therefore, his identity has been recognized by the opposing side—okay, now I'll ask. Witness, what exactly happened at that time?" Prosecutor Barrett walked to the witness stand, his eyes fixed intently on Lai Shenglin.

"I...I dare not say the whole story—" Lai Shenglin said in broken English, "That day, Tom cursed 'yellow-skinned monkey,' and Huang Meitang immediately drew a short knife from his waist! The real situation was that Tom was afraid Huang Meitang would use the knife against him, so he lunged at him to take the knife—but he was pushed hard, so his head hit the copper corner—"

Yung Wing abruptly stood up. "Objection! This testimony completely contradicts the previous records and testimonies!"

The judge frowned and asked, "Why are you only speaking now?"

Lai Shenglin lowered his head, his voice trembling: "I...I was threatened that if I didn't do as they said—they would kill me. Only now, after the prosecutor promised to protect my safety, have I dared to tell the truth—"

The courtroom erupted in commotion once again. The jury members nodded in agreement.

If this Chinese person committed perjury out of fear, and then the "truth" was brought to light because of the protection they received from the white person, this is the logic that the jury would find most convincing.

The judge did not dismiss the case, but simply declared, "The jury may determine the credibility of the testimony themselves!"

Rong Hong, sitting below the hall, suddenly pursed his lips.

Huang Meitang, sitting in the dock, sneered. He turned his head to look at Lai Shenglin, but the latter dared not look up to meet his gaze.

Larry, sitting in the press box, glanced at the expressions of the many jurors who thought they "knew the truth," and nervously clenched his handkerchief.

This witness must have been bribed by Adams or Barrett! This new witness recanting his testimony was something we hadn't anticipated. Now the biggest problem is that we have no evidence to expose him.

Despair washed over the debaters' seats like a tidal wave.

Almost at the same moment, bright chandeliers hung like icicles from the dome of the Massachusetts State House.

Under the dome, a group of lawmakers who had been urgently summoned were attending an emergency meeting of the Senate.

Adams sat in the front row of the audience, his black tuxedo impeccable, but the knuckles on his knees were slightly white.

He watched helplessly as his opponent—the unpredictable, cunning, and ruthless Democratic Senator Kennedy—stood on the podium.

The whispers of the councilors were all around.

"Colleagues!" Kennedy's voice wasn't loud, but it firmly suppressed the whispers in the room. "I'm submitting the Public Safety Transparency Act today because of a murder case currently under trial—the Huang Meitang case! This case is otherwise ordinary; however, there are various indications that certain forces are interfering with judicial fairness through despicable means—"

As he spoke, he paused, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping over Adams's location—

Adams kept a straight face, vaguely feeling that "just as expected," but this confirmation did not bring him relief. Instead, it made him even more panicked. What dirt on him did the other party have?

People like Kennedy always possess a confident air, a confidence that doesn't arise from nothing but from his accumulated experience in both the legitimate and criminal worlds. He is someone who is always prepared for the unknown.

Kennedy, speaking from the podium, continued, "You're probably all wondering what this is? What's hindering the fairness of justice? Well, here it is!"

As he spoke, Kennedy pulled out a stack of crudely printed gambling tickets from the bill, first displaying them to the members of parliament in the air, and then instructing his assistant to come down onto the stage so that the members of parliament could see the gambling tickets with their own eyes.

"According to reliable sources, over $20 in judicial betting tickets are circulating covertly, with bets overwhelmingly in favor of the defendant's guilt. What's even more worrying is that some of the holders have close ties to key municipal positions." Kennedy's face was serious as he looked at Adams again.

Upon hearing that this gambling scandal involved someone in the room, a commotion broke out among the crowd.

A Republican congressman tried to stand up and retort, but Kennedy raised his hand to stop him!

"Don't get agitated! I have no intention of accusing anyone. But if this kind of behavior is allowed to continue, the courts will become casinos, and justice will be sold for a price! This is a disgrace to the entire United States of America."

So my bill isn't targeting any big shot, but rather our fair environment!

As he spoke, Kennedy produced his draft of an emergency bill, held it up in his hand, and continued, "This bill only requires that any large-scale, legally related financial transactions be disclosed to Parliament. Regardless of their motives, those involved in such illegal financial activities must be brought to light. Even if they have perfectly righteous intentions—"

Because we believe that all evil spirits will be driven away under the sunlight!

After speaking, Kennedy waved his hand, and his assistants began distributing the draft bill to each member of parliament.

When Adams took the document, he subconsciously glanced at Kennedy and found that the other man was also looking at him, so he quickly lowered his eyes.

The paper was cool, yet it burned his palms, making them sweat.

Adams knew that Kennedy must have something—not just speculation or baseless accusations, but solid evidence that could ruin his reputation!

But what worried Adams most was that the other party hadn't revealed their hand. Why hadn't they? Why enact this emergency bill?

Adams pretended to turn a page, perusing the Public Safety Transparency Act. It was a very formulaic bill, politically correct to the letter, and seemingly flawless—for justice! Against the buying and selling of the judiciary!

Buying and selling? Justice cannot be bought and sold?

Adams suddenly remembered the sign held by the crowd outside the courthouse, which read, "Justice cannot be bought or sold!"

At the time, Shii was quite puzzled and even asked herself what the slogan meant.

The truth is now out! The other side has been planning this for a long time, and it's very likely that Kennedy's men will present some evidence in court that is detrimental to them, in order to support the placards outside the courthouse.

That would be a real problem!

Thinking of this, Adams' heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously looked up at Kennedy again, only to find that the other man was still staring at him.

"Damn it!" Adams cursed under his breath, then looked down again, pretending to look at the bill.

Outside the courtroom, the Democratic National Committee’s Northeast District Treasurer, Shii, sat quietly in a carriage, waiting.

He did not go to court because he was carrying out a more important mission.

Clear the area!

Shie has already made arrangements for the Boston Police Chief to meet with him immediately. He will also use his influence to force the police to issue an evict order against the crowd gathered outside the courthouse!

With his prestige and influence, he was not afraid that the other party would not comply.

This is a smokescreen arranged by Kennedy; I only need to extend a finger to expose it!

Footsteps approached, and a man knocked on the carriage door, whispering, "Sir, the police have responded—they say the assembly was legally registered and there are clergy members present, so it cannot be dispersed!"

Shii's expression changed drastically. "What? Who reported this?"

"—The names are from St. Patrick's Church, the Italian Mutual Aid Association, and the Chinatown Mutual Aid Association—"

"What? What? When did these damn associations come about?" Shii was extremely surprised.

"It's the Leviathan from before! The Leviathan controlled by Kennedy. He turned that original community security mutual aid organization into an immigrant association under the supervision of Catholic priests!" the other party replied.

"Damn it! Who gave him the right to do this? Changing Leviathan's organization so easily will mess up our Democratic Party's plans! — Besides, who gave him the right to set up that immigrant association?"

Shii flung open the door and stared at the subordinate who had brought him the bad news.

The other person trembled under his gaze, and said as if filled with grievance, "I don't know! But you see—since the police said we can't disperse them, what should we do?"

Before Shii could answer, another subordinate rushed over. "Sir! This is a letter from the police chief. He asked me to deliver it to you!"

Xi Yi hurriedly took the letter, opened it, and frowned deeply upon seeing the contents.

"Damn it!" Shii slammed his hand on his seat, tossing the letter aside. "Jenny Kennedy beat us to the punch! He sent a memo to the police. If a dispersal incident occurs today, he'll request the state government to issue an investigation order for police interference in the judicial process!"

After venting her anger, Shii's eyes flashed with a fierce light. "Patrick Kennedy! You want to play this game? Fine! I'll send a telegram to the Whip right now and have him deal with your crime of altering Leviathan without authorization!"

Immediately, Shii shouted, "Back to bank headquarters! I need to get back to send a telegram! Quickly!"