American Justice - Chapter 5

Disclaimer: This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual individuals or events is purely coincidental.

‘Oppose?’

‘Raise objections?’

Brooklyn looked at Judge Anna.

She was looking through the evidence list. Judging by her slow page-turning speed, it was a well-prepared and rigorous evidence list, not something hastily put together.

An afternoon!

Less than ten hours!

An evidence list?

A perfect story?

Even if Hans Christian Andersen were alive, he couldn’t produce something so quickly!

Brooklyn felt a chill run through his body.

This was definitely not normal.

Opposing wouldn’t make a difference. As a judge, the due process of law was the most basic thing, and Judge Anna should have been well aware of that. If it weren’t for someone instructing her, she wouldn’t have dared to do something like this!

Brooklyn forced himself to calm down, sat back in his chair, and thought of a countermeasure.

“Brooklyn Lee?”

Judge Anna closed the evidence list and looked at Brooklyn.

“Your Honor, we currently have no evidence to submit.”

“Hmm.”

Judge Anna wasn’t surprised and nodded in response.

She banged the gavel and announced the end of the hearing for case 017-EDNY10-071. The next court session would be tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm, during which the selection of the jury members would take place.

….

….

After paying bail, Brooklyn walked out of the courtroom in silence.

At the entrance, he met the prosecutor who didn’t say anything but gave him a meaningful look.

Once out of the elevator, Brooklyn didn’t leave. He wandered around the courthouse because he still had an ace up his sleeve, which could invalidate all the on-site evidence presented by the prosecutor and bring the two sides to the same starting line. But he had to know who was behind all this.

The speed at which the case was progressing was so fast, and everything seemed to have been prepared in advance. If he didn’t quickly understand the person behind the scenes, even if he passed this hurdle, he would still fall into their hands sooner or later.

At first, Brooklyn thought Selena had committed suicide only to get back at him, but now it seems that everything Selena said and did was under someone’s instruction.

It was unlikely to be the Senate or the Supreme Court, as they could go through formal procedures, transfer themselves, or even be “fired.” It was also unlikely to be at the state level since the judicial branch was independent of the political system.

It could only be someone within the judicial system who didn’t have enough power to be “fired.”

Brooklyn’s gaze fell on E.D.N.Y., and he slowly walked around, encountering familiar and unfamiliar faces. Memories flooded back, some vague and some clear. He carefully reviewed his memories and found that the original owner of his body did not offend anyone. He only knew most people in passing.

He usually just sits in court or his office during work, goes home at the end of the day, and starts his nightlife.

This weak presence in the workplace is equivalent to waiting to die. Judges have job security and as long as they don’t make any major mistakes and don’t quit themselves, they can stay in this high-tech position until they die.

A federal district judge’s salary in the first year is $169,000, and that’s just the annual salary!

As the years go by, the salary will increase, and if they work for thirty years, they can start with at least $500,000.The original salary will increase as the years go by host did not need to offend anyone and could just lie down honestly.

Brooklyn walked around, and saw everything he needed to see and didn’t need to see, but still had no clue.

He pressed down the gloom in his heart and walked out of the courthouse.

…

…

Following his memory, Brooklyn easily returned home.

From entering the apartment building to entering the top-floor apartment, large sections of his memory resurfaced.

In his memory, he had come several times with someone, and they played cards recklessly in the house…

Clearing his mind from the memories, Brooklyn looked at the clean apartment and felt a little restless. He always felt like there were traces of cards everywhere…

Maybe I should go for a physical examination.

Brooklyn thought to himself as he picked through his old clothes.

He threw away his old clothes, bought new ones, made an appointment for a physical examination, stuffed the bed sheets into the washing machine, took a refreshing shower, and then sat by the window holding a computer, feeling quite ceremonial as he pressed the power button.

He browsed through the news and found that the “Federal judge kills girlfriend scandal” had become the hottest topic in New York state, and any news related to it would receive high attention.

His Twitter account gained 100,000+ followers in two days.

Brooklyn scrolled through his own account and found that he was quite a boring guy.

He doesn’t share anything about his life and there’s nothing about his work. His few social media posts are just opinions on high-profile federal cases.

The people he follows are also strange: Supreme Court justices, E.D.N.Y, Second Circuit Court of Appeals judges, and a few legal celebrities. [Note 1]

Among the unremarkable people he follows, Brooklyn found a conspicuous account: Selena’s!

Brooklyn opened Selena’s account and made an astonishing discovery: Selena is his judge’s assistant! Her latest post, three days ago, was about exposing Judge Brooklyn Lee’s small quirks. There were already tens of thousands of comments below the post, ranging from all sorts of things, making a mess. [Note 2]

Brooklyn carefully browsed Selena’s Twitter and gained a deeper understanding of this woman. He found that Selena is a typical federal employee who likes to share her life on Twitter and express her opinions and positions on anything.

Half of Selena’s tweets are various opinions and stances, while the other half are various fashion photos. Two of them were even taken in Brooklyn’s apartment. Although he didn’t appear in Selena’s tweets, his shadow could be seen everywhere on her Twitter account.

From Selena’s tweets, the two of them seemed like a couple in love. But why did this couple get into this situation? Brooklyn looked at his credit card statement and fell into contemplation.

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Note:

1. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over New York State

2. A judge’s assistant is equivalent to a judge’s secretary.