I bought a prison in the United States.

Two days later, Lingo had largely resolved the issues within the prison, and the reporters who had come to interview him left satisfied.

Sitting in his office, he took out the three rectification notices again and read them carefully.

Hammond wanted to incite the prisoners to destroy the prison, but he did not expect his ability to control people's minds, and therefore failed.

But Lin Ge wouldn't suffer this loss in silence. That guy wanted to stay hidden behind the scenes? Dream on!

He looked at it for about two minutes, then put the notice in the drawer, picked up the phone and dialed Eleanor's number, because he had an idea.

"I want to apply for a temporary injunction from the federal court on the grounds that the county government's administrative inspection is suspected of malicious selective enforcement. Can you draft a motion for me?"

Eleanor on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat surprised:

"How did you come up with this idea?"

"I read about a case in the newspaper."

Ringo had previously read a report about a factory that used a federal ban to circumvent OSHA raids.

The report was sandwiched between the Category GG and Real Estate sections; he wouldn't have noticed it at all if the title hadn't contained the word "ban."

Eleanor thought for a moment and said:

"That's a business matter. What you need to do now is use the approach in civil rights litigation, using federal procedure law to counter the abuse of administrative actions. These two approaches are different."

"Procedural law, civil rights law, whatever the case, I won't let that judge have an easy time!"

Lingo said in a cold and hard tone:

"He summoned three groups of people to issue rectification notices to the prison at the same time. This timing is evidence, and anyone with a sound mind would find it suspicious."

Eleanor was sitting in her office, toying with a pen in her hand, and said slowly and deliberately:

"The timeline is indeed suspicious enough, but it's not enough to constitute an accusation. To break through this barrier, you'll probably need to spend a lot of money."

Lingo took out his checkbook from the drawer, turned to a new page, held the pen above the paper, and calmly asked:

"How much?"

Seeing that Ringo's tone showed no hesitation and seemed to indicate he was serious, Eleanor's eyes also revealed a hint of interest:

"A preliminary injunction application requires a security deposit to be paid to the court. The amount is at the judge's discretion, usually between ten thousand and fifty thousand, depending on the potential damages you claim."

"You argue that if the rectification order continues to be enforced, your prison will suffer irreparable economic losses... such as order defaults and customer loss."

"Adding all of these together, the deposit would be around $30,000."

Lingo nodded, his fingertips tracing the edge of the checkbook for a moment.

With a deposit of 30,000, plus lawyer fees and miscellaneous expenses, this trip will cost at least 50,000 to 60,000, but he said:

"I'll give you 10."

"Hey, when did you become so rich and powerful?"

Eleanor's voice suddenly rose, filled with obvious disbelief.

She had just seen Ling Ge's financial statements last week and knew that he only had a little over 10 yuan left in liquid assets, which was practically his last savings.

"5 is your fee, another 5 is for operations, and there are also expenses for you to maintain relationships in Oklahoma City."

Lin Ge's voice came through the receiver, decisive and resolute:

"I don't care about this expense as long as it can bring Hammond down."

A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone; Eleanor could tell that Ringo was going all in.

Accountants are concerned about every penny, but those who fight are only concerned with whether the shells have landed on the enemy's positions.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony with you."

Eleanor immediately agreed, her pen scratching across the notebook:

"Send the check to my office, and I'll go to Oklahoma City first thing tomorrow morning."

"The federal court is in the jurisdiction of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. I know two clerks there who can help advance the motion."

"However, before the ban is approved, you have to superficially deal with those rectification requirements."

She paused, her tone becoming more serious:

"Let me think... The width of the corridor probably can't be changed, but the freezer can be replaced, and that electrical safety assessment report can also be obtained."

"When a judge issues an injunction, he will consider your attitude. No matter how unreasonable those rectifications may be, they are still issued by the government, so you have to keep a respectable appearance."

"If you do nothing and just drag things out with an injunction, the judge won't support you."

"Okay, I understand."

Ringo responded, reached for a brown envelope from the corner of the table, wrote Eleanor's office address on the cover, and folded the check he had just filled out into a neat rectangle and stuffed it inside.

Eleanor held the phone to her ear, picked up a blank document with her other hand, and began writing a work plan:

"I submitted the motion on Monday, and I could receive the temporary restraining order as early as Wednesday."

"The court will hold a hearing within ten days to decide whether to issue an injunction."

"You will have to appear in court to testify at the hearing and explain how these rectification notices have affected your business."

"Many judges prefer to hear the parties involved speak for themselves rather than hear their lawyers relay their statements."

"no problem."

Lin Ge immediately agreed and then sealed the envelope.

"There's one more thing."

Eleanor suddenly said, "I found that bailiff."

"There is indeed a qualified bailiff in Tulsa County Court named Leonard Collins, who is 41 years old."

"This person previously worked in the McLean County Sheriff's Office, three years after Hammond was elected judge."

"The two met during that period, and their relationship has never ended."

"What about his financial situation?" Ringo asked.

"On the surface, everything seems normal. His annual salary hasn't increased for several years. His wife works as a cashier at a supermarket, and their two children are in middle school."

"The house they live in now was bought eight years ago, and they are still paying off the mortgage."

"The car was bought a few years ago, an ordinary Dodge. It looks like an ordinary working-class family, living a frugal life, nothing unusual."

"Wasn't Hammond's favor to him delivered in cash?"

Lin Ge frowned and tapped his knuckles lightly on the table.

"Not necessarily. Cash may not be recorded, but it can still be spent."

Eleanor analyzed:

"If a bailiff with an annual salary of less than 20,000 yuan suddenly pays off his mortgage or buys a new car, the bank and the car dealership will keep a record."

"He's not in that situation. If Hammond's benefits weren't in money, they were probably in other ways."

"For example, finding a place for his child to attend school, or helping his wife find an easier job."

"Of course, I'm more inclined to believe another possibility: the money hasn't arrived yet, and Hammond is waiting for an opportunity when he won't be suspected."

"...It seems there's no point in investigating this lead."

Lin Ge placed the envelope on the table and picked up a pen to draw a small mark in the corner of the envelope.

"By the way, what's going on with Montes?"

Eleanor changed the subject and asked about the prisoner in the technical team.

"I let him continue working in the technical research and development group, but his points were reset to zero, and he had to start accumulating them from scratch. His solitary confinement was canceled, and he was moved back to a regular cell."

Lin Ge listed them one by one, seemingly not taking them seriously at all.

"He didn't resist?"

Eleanor was somewhat surprised; any other prisoner would have thrown a huge commotion if they had faced this kind of punishment.

"He signed a confession and showed a good attitude in admitting his mistakes, so I let him go."

Ringo recalled how Montes signed the document:

"He said he was willing to bear all the consequences, as long as he could continue to participate in the research and development of the surveillance system."

Eleanor was a little confused.

Who will let whom go?

Who forgave whom?

This world is stranger than I imagined.

Eleanor felt she needed to re-examine her understanding of the "prisoners" group.

The world was stranger than she had imagined.

"Your prison is really... different."

She finally sighed.

"Alright, that's all for now."

Lin Ge put down the phone. Phone calls were quite expensive these days, and there was no need to say anything more.