Me! A disgraced celebrity! Starting by seeking justice for impoverished students.

At this point, the viewers in the live stream were already in an uproar.

Netizens were full of ridicule.

Keep making things up! Why can't you keep going?

[Full of loopholes and flaws, how dare they appeal?]

The judge's questions were spot-on! Every single one hit the nail on the head!

[With this kind of mental fortitude, you think you can overturn the case? Hilarious! You panicked after just three questions!]

Seeing Pei Yanzhou's flustered appearance, Song Mingyuan had already made a judgment in his mind.

He stopped pressing the matter and announced in a deep voice, "The panel's questioning is now concluded. We will proceed with the presentation and examination of evidence."

"Do the appellant and their defense counsel have any new evidence to submit to the court in the second instance?"

"We have new evidence to submit!"

Wei Changfeng stood up in response and reached into the file to pull out three documents.

"Your Honor, the appellant has submitted three new sets of evidence in the second instance."

"First set: A recording of the signing ceremony of the Book of Understanding."

He held up the USB drive, his tone resolute, "This recording fully documented the entire negotiation and signing process. The victim was conscious and articulate throughout, and voluntarily agreed to sign the letter of understanding and accept compensation. There was no coercion or inducement involved."

"This is to prove that the first instance court's finding of 'coercion and inducement to sign, and non-genuine expression of intent' was an error in fact-finding, and the crime of obstructing testimony cannot be established."

Upon hearing this, Tao Yi's eyes widened instantly.

To everyone's surprise, they had prepared a recording when they got Tao Wanwan to sign the letter of understanding!

That's far too insidious!

"Second set of evidence: Three effective judgments from similar cases in this province in the past three years."

Wei Changfeng pulled out a printed document: "For rape cases with similar circumstances, the general sentence is between six and ten years. For obstruction of testimony that does not cause serious consequences, the sentence is usually less than three years."

"The first-instance judgment sentenced him to 15 years for rape and 8 years for obstructing testimony, for a combined sentence of 23 years, far exceeding the sentencing standards for similar cases, which is sufficient to prove that the original sentence was excessively harsh!"

"The third set: screenshots of online comments during the live broadcast of the first-instance trial, totaling twelve pages."

He handed the printout forward. "The comments were full of emotional rhetoric, overwhelmingly presuming the appellant guilty, and even resorting to personal attacks."

"This is sufficient proof that online public opinion is severely unbalanced. The original trial was conducted in a public, live-streamed environment, making it difficult to completely eliminate public interference. The fairness of the procedure is questionable, and this meets the legal conditions for remanding the case for retrial!"

The three sets of evidence were presented one by one, and Wei Changfeng calmly took his seat.

Pei Zhenbang, sitting in the audience, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and straightened his back a bit.

There are recordings, precedents, and screenshots of public opinion.

These three pieces of evidence look quite convincing, no wonder Wei Changfeng dared to charge exorbitant lawyer fees!

Viewers in the live stream, however, were not convinced, and the chat exploded with comments.

[A recording? It's not edited, is it? Only the parts that are advantageous to them are played!]

[Compare this to other cases? Why not compare it to those who voluntarily pleaded guilty and actively compensated the victims?]

[If online comments are considered procedural flaws, then there's no point in holding any public trials!]

[It's the same old trick: they only use things that are favorable to themselves as evidence, which only fools those who don't know anything about it!]

I'm curious, can my previous comments about the abuser now be considered evidence?

That's bad, we're all helping him provide evidence!

The presiding judge instructed the court clerk to hand over the evidence.

Soon, all three pieces of evidence were made public in court.

After the announcement was made public, the presiding judge immediately looked at the plaintiff's seat.

"The legal representative of the victim in the original trial, please provide your comments on the three sets of evidence submitted by the appellant."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yi and Jiang Chen exchanged a glance and nodded to each other.

Shen Yi was the first to stand up.

"Regarding the three sets of evidence submitted by the appellant, our comments on the evidence are as follows."

"First, regarding the so-called 'on-site recording,' we do not recognize its authenticity or legality!"

"The recording only included a two-minute segment before and after the signing, deliberately cutting out the preceding forty minutes of negotiation and pressure. It is an isolated piece of evidence that has been edited and cannot fully reflect the facts of the case."

"The victim signed the letter of understanding only after the appellant's family repeatedly visited and threatened him with 'false accusation and punishment' and 'affecting his studies,' and it was not a genuine voluntary act."

"The edited recording does not have full evidentiary value and cannot overturn the conviction for obstruction of testimony."

Upon hearing this, the viewers in the live stream went wild.

Holy crap! I told you it was edited!

What is this? Isn't this considered fabricating evidence?

[Hey bro, you've already started editing this recording!]

[This is a classic! Cut out whatever evidence you want yourself!]

I'm so curious, where did they find such an eccentric lawyer? I bet he was really expensive!

"Second, regarding the three similar judgments, their relevance is not recognized."

Shen Yi continued speaking.

"The cases selected by the appellant all involved defendants who voluntarily pleaded guilty, actively compensated victims, and obtained genuine forgiveness from the victims. These cases are completely different from the egregious circumstances in this case, where the defendant refused to plead guilty, bribed witnesses, and even turned around and accused the victims of extortion. Therefore, they are not comparable to these cases."

"The original trial imposed a heavier sentence within the legally prescribed range, which is in line with the principle of proportionality between crime and punishment, and there is no excessively severe sentencing."

Regarding sentencing, Shen Yi's perspective was even more unconventional.

The cases cited by the opposing side all involved defendants who actively pleaded guilty.

Unlike Pei Yanzhou, who not only refused to admit his guilt but also turned the tables and accused others!

The two sides cannot be generalized at all!

"Third, regarding the screenshots of online comments, their intended purpose as evidence is not accepted!"

"The appellant's claim of 'public opinion interfering with the judiciary' based solely on online comments lacks any direct evidence to prove that the collegial panel was influenced. This is purely subjective speculation and cannot be used as a basis for determining procedural illegality!"

Shen Yi had barely finished speaking.

Jiang Chen, who was standing nearby, stood up and added in a calm tone.

"We would like to add something."

"The recording submitted by the appellant has a clear editing break at 1 minute and 17 seconds, and the audio waveform is discontinuous."

"We request a forensic examination of the integrity of the recording."

"A piece of evidence that has been deliberately edited not only lacks probative value, but also confirms the appellant's malicious intent to deliberately conceal the facts and distort the truth!"

One sentence directly exposed the flaws in the recording.

The soldiers in the gallery remained silent, but they all nodded quietly.

Pei Zhenbang's face darkened instantly, and he subconsciously looked at Wei Changfeng.

Only one sentence is on my mind.

Hey Chovy, give me the evidence!

The presiding judge nodded slightly and turned to the prosecutor's seat: "Prosecutor, please give your comments on the appellant's new evidence."

Prosecutor Zhang Honglang stated in a clear voice: "The prosecutor appearing in court agrees with all the evidence presented by the victim's legal representative."

"The three sets of evidence submitted by the appellant are either incomplete, irrelevant, or purely subjective speculation. None of them can overturn the facts established in the original trial, nor can they prove that the original trial procedure was illegal or the sentence was excessively harsh!"