New Gods of North America.

Chapter 582 Trial
A week has passed in the blink of an eye, and the workshop is now taking shape.

Within the perimeter of the wall, the shacks that needed to be leveled have been demolished, and the wooden houses of various sizes that needed to be built now at least have a framework.

Actually, if you don't include those multi-story heavy log cabins that look like villas, the construction time for ordinary log cabins in the United States these days is mainly spent on "laying the foundation."
Provided that there is enough manpower and materials, as long as the foundation is solid and the pillars are fixed, the remaining walls and floors can be finished in any style or style. It can be completed in just one or two days. However, if you want to live comfortably, you may need to make repairs and modifications all year round. This is usually a part of the daily life of the townspeople.

The workshop area is a mixed-use commercial and residential space. The several "workshops" follow a minimalist style, with bricks and stones laid directly on a leveled foundation to create the floor, and then four walls, a ceiling, and pillars in the middle.
The log cabins for living are a bit more elaborate. Just the flooring alone requires the same approach as the log cabins at headquarters: first, a section of the foundation is raised, and then wooden floorboards are nailed onto the frame to prevent water damage and isolate them from insects and dampness. The last two sentences are actually Wayne's own guess, because most of the decent log cabins in America these days are built this way.

The mill's renovation was the slowest; it was a brick and stone "cylinder," and creating a safe opening in the wall required technical expertise.
Modifying the windmill's transmission system is even more complicated. The original large grinding disc needs to be transformed into a "meat grinder" and "mixer." Many parts have to be processed in the factory, and if the dimensions are slightly off, they have to be taken back and modified.

Anyway, during the first trial run, the new equipment in the mill vibrated like a second-hand washing machine, accompanied by a series of "fingernails scraping a blackboard" sounds.

Wayne thought that even the less-than-stellar haunted houses probably weren't as creepy as this thing back then...

Fortunately, the technicians at the Brook factory were experienced. For minor details that could be fixed on-site, they would simply use tools like hammers or files. For areas where the assembly wasn't tight, they would try brute force after the bellows was red-hot. Only if all else failed would they send it back to the factory.

So, judging by the timeline, the construction period is indeed about the same as Miss Mary's brother had predicted. It will take about half a month before trial production can officially begin, which means it will take about another week.

The process of Willie suing the gang members actually went more smoothly.
With a prosecutor formally indicting the suspect, readily available witnesses and evidence, and the fact that the perpetrator remained in the area without fleeing, the trial was able to begin just one week later.

These days, most criminal trials are conducted in public, and the three partners of the detective agency even took the time to attend the first one.
Willie was sitting next to the prosecutor, dressed neatly in the detective agency's uniform, with an agent's badge pinned to his chest, and his hair styled like an adult's. It has to be said that at first glance, he really did look like an upright and decisive young police officer, worthy of being the "judge" of the detective agency.

In addition, Willie's demeanor still retains a touch of naiveté, which might make him seem somewhat "unprofessional" as a lawyer, but surprisingly, he comes across as "investigator" and "witness" as "very sincere."
At least most of the jury members seemed willing to believe in Willie's objectivity and impartiality, and even the judge tended to dismiss the defense lawyers' attempts to raise objections and questions.

"That's strange. I don't remember seeing court trials like this in the West... This case is so clear, how come the prosecutor and the defense attorney are still dragging it out for so long?"

When Lina heard the recess, she became restless. Although the facts of the gangster's crimes were fairly clear, the defense lawyer was quite professional, not only repeatedly questioning the witness on trivial matters but also constantly arguing with the prosecutor about the legal provisions.

If it weren't for Willie's "courtroom debut," Lina would probably have already quietly left by now.

As an experienced "insider," Wayne explained to Lina: "The American trial system was basically established back in the colonial era. This is the normal procedure. In the West, because the sophistry of outside criminals is generally not accepted, sometimes a verdict can be made based solely on the accusations of the townspeople, and lawyers are unlikely to delve into the legal details."

Inessa seemed to have some knowledge of this. "Now it's time for the jury to deliberate, so according to the normal procedure, we just need to wait for them to reach their conclusion, and then the judge will pronounce the verdict?"

“Yes.” Wayne nodded, then added, “The power to determine guilt or innocence legally belongs to the jury. Judges can only sentence those found guilty, or they can only acquit them. In return for this power, jury members are usually not allowed to speak in court, but are only permitted to remain silent or ask questions indirectly through the judge.”

Lina clearly wasn't interested in the legal details. "So how much longer do they need to deliberate? Both sides have already spent half the morning on the prosecution and defense. Surely the jury won't make us wait another half day?"

“That’s not necessarily true…” Wayne scratched his head. “In almost every state in the United States, a guilty verdict can only be handed down after the entire jury has reached a unanimous decision. In some cases, the verdict might be reached in a few minutes, but if even one jury member disagrees, the deliberation could drag on for an entire day.”

“There is no hard and fast time limit in this regard. In some cases, because the jury cannot reach a consensus, but the prosecution is very firm, the trial may be held repeatedly until the prosecution can no longer produce new evidence and has to drop the charges, or the defendant clearly admits guilt.” — In a sense, some cases with strong public opinion are eventually dragged out to result in acquittal, or the defendant can no longer withstand the excessively long detention and litigation and finally has to accept the “plea bargain” proposed by the prosecutor. Part of the root cause lies in this.

Lina's expression fell. "It takes this long for a mere small-time gangster? Don't you Americans have any life of your own? Or do you like to treat courtroom trials like stage plays?"

That comment is actually quite insightful.

The United States prides itself on being a nation founded on the rule of law, and at that time, Americans were indeed quite enthusiastic about participating in the development of the legal system.

Volunteering to register as a "jury candidate" is unpaid. The specific case for which a jury member will be selected is determined by the court through a lottery system, not by the jury members themselves. The final jury list must also be exclusively confirmed by the prosecution and defense lawyers to prevent the judgment from being influenced by the biases of any of the members.

Therefore, this is almost a "charity activity," not only is it difficult to make unexpected profits, but it also requires spending one's personal time and potential travel expenses.

But many American gentlemen are still very happy to participate.

There are often quite a few "spectators" watching court proceedings. Some are connected to one of the parties in the case, some are journalists, and some are newcomers or self-taught lawyers who want to pursue a career in law. However, the largest proportion of them are usually those who come "purely to watch the show."

—Anyway, their enthusiasm is strangely high; maybe they really are just here to watch a show.

“Looking on the bright side, really serious cases tend to follow a similar process.” Wayne could only shrug at this. “So now you know why, when I was a sheriff, I liked to just hand criminals over to the town judge and leave them alone.”

Lina's brows were still furrowed. "Now I know why you put Willie in charge of this... By the time he's prosecuted all those gang members, he'll probably be as old as you by then."

Wayne wasn't that heartless: "It's not that bad... Some cases can be tried by several criminals together. I think it should take about six months for Willie and the prosecutor to do a preliminary sweep of the dock area and send the easier gang members to prison."

"What about the rest? Is there nothing we can do?" Inessa asked.

"Well……"

Even Wayne found this question difficult to answer. "The remaining cases will probably be more troublesome... Look at James Damotic on the list of bishops of Tyrell. If he doesn't confess, the existing evidence might not be enough to bring him to trial."

Inesa thought for a moment, "So if the court can't bring it to a trial, we'll have to find a secret opportunity to take action?"

Wait, wait a minute...
Wayne was momentarily stunned by Inessa's question, and then he realized that he seemed to have a slight misunderstanding of the "order" maintained by the Hunter Association.

Inessa is indeed an "honest person," but the simple "good and evil" in the eyes of an honest person seems to be quite different from "guilty or innocent" in a legal sense...

(End of this chapter)