I Became a Law School Genius

Chapter 45

『 Translator – Divinity 』

The next evening, I was in the familiar study room.

It had been unavailable for a while due to renovations, but the construction had finished this morning.

The reason I came here today was to prepare for the Mock Trial Competition.

Han Seol was sitting next to me, and beyond her was the last member of our team for this competition.

“So,”

I massaged my forehead.

“It’s her after all?”

Across from Han Seol, Lee Ha-ru was sipping coffee through a straw from a disposable cup.

I never expected this, as I hadn’t even considered asking her, thinking she would absolutely refuse.

“I need data,”

Lee Ha-ru explained.

The search and summarization program she developed, ‘Effortless’, was still showing decent performance.

But that wasn’t enough.

When she input various documents and materials that could be used in practice, it would sometimes produce clumsy results like other AI models.

Lee Ha-ru’s goal was to collect more data to tune and improve the model.

“So I’m going to create a prototype at a level where I can sell it.”

Legal tech was a business item that many people were interested in.

Legal services were generally very expensive, but they didn’t require any special equipment or infrastructure.

The reason they were expensive was simply that legal professionals were expensive.

If there was a program that could help one lawyer do the work of ten, simply put, the cost of service could be lowered accordingly.

It would be a win-win situation, as the lawyer’s workload would also be reduced.

Legal tech, the dream business.

If a reasonably convincing product was combined with Lee Ha-ru’s credentials as a graduate of Korea’s top research university and law school, attracting investment would be a piece of cake.

“So,”

Lee Ha-ru puffed out her chest and declared her grand ambition,

“I’m going to become a rich and unemployed person who can play games at home all day.”

Lee Ha-ru’s eyes glazed over as she imagined her happy future.

“So that’s it, huh?”

She was saying she would work a little harder now to be even lazier later.

Should I see this as progress or not?

But her motivation was understandable.

The Mock Trial Competition required reading vast and complex materials and constructing arguments within a short time.

It meant that it would provide the necessary data for improving ‘Effortless’.

Moreover, the competition materials were confidential.

Although information from those who secretly reviewed the materials circulated among students, the accuracy was questionable due to the sheer volume.

The only way to obtain the materials was to participate directly.

‘Well, she is the type to work hard when she has a goal…’

“And I also asked if we could use ‘Effortless’ at the venue. Since internet searches are allowed, they said it was okay to use it.”

Han Seol added. As expected, she was thorough.

Being able to use “Effortless” at the venue would be a significant advantage. I had to agree.

“Alright. Let’s go with these three.”

The team was decided.

The problem was how to prepare.

“Listen carefully. We have to study Criminal Procedure from now on.”

I said as I took out a thick book from my bag.

It was a Criminal Procedure textbook written by a famous lecturer in the exam preparation industry.

“…All of this?”

Lee Ha-ru asked with a cloudy expression.

The in-school preliminaries for the Mock Trial Competition were scheduled for next week.

It was an impossible amount to cover even if we started studying diligently right now.

“Should we pull all-nighters again?”

“No. Even if we do that, we won’t be able to finish it all. Even if we did, we would have to pull all-nighters every day, and by the time the preliminaries arrive, we’ll be lying side by side in the morgue instead of the competition venue.”

I shook my head at Han Seol’s question.

“We can’t do all of this.”

And I suggested,

“So, let’s just do what’s absolutely necessary.”

“…Absolutely necessary?”

Of course, there was nothing unnecessary in Criminal Procedure.

Ultimately, we needed to know the entire scope by the finals in the summer, after advancing to the main competition.

But we couldn’t prepare like that right now.

Then, we had no choice but to conquer the most important parts first, the parts with a high chance of appearing in the competition.

“The criminal procedure progresses like this.”

I stood up and started writing on the whiteboard.

Preliminary investigation.

Investigation.

Conclusion of the investigation.

Trial.

Appeal and Supreme Court appeal.

“When a crime occurs, the investigative agency either directly recognizes the crime or receives a report and conducts an investigation. If the investigation results show that the case can be prosecuted, the investigation records are handed over to the prosecutor, and the prosecutor decides whether to indict or not.”

If the prosecutor thinks that the case is not serious enough to be brought to trial, the case is closed with a non-indictment. If they think that the person must be brought to trial, they indict, and a trial is held.

If both parties accept the result, the trial ends. If they disagree and appeal or file a Supreme Court appeal, the case proceeds to the second and third trials.

“Among these, what we need to know this time is here.”

I pointed to the investigation and trial sections in turn.

“Investigation, and trial.”

The Mock Trial Competition is conducted in the format of a mock trial.

But that doesn’t mean we’re actually conducting a real trial, or that we have to carry out all the procedures of a criminal trial ourselves.

“We’re only recreating the trial procedure, the process on the day of the trial. So, what’s required of us is to judge and prove whether the defendant is guilty or not.”

In other words, the actual judgment on the case determines victory or defeat.

“On the other hand, procedural law is about procedure. Most of the provisions exist to ensure that the parties involved in the trial can properly protect their rights procedurally, and they don’t directly affect the actual judgment.”

But despite that, there are crucial points of contact that can directly influence the actual judgment.

“Crucial points of contact?”

Han Seol asked.

“Think about it. What is the ‘actual judgment’ in court based on?”

“Hmm… In the end, isn’t it based on the evidence submitted? All facts and arguments have to be proven.”

“That’s exactly it.”

Judges only make judgments based on proven facts.

They don’t even pay attention to unproven claims, no matter how plausible they seem.

Investigation is the process of collecting ‘evidence’ needed for that proof. Therefore, the law regarding investigative procedures is ultimately procedural law regarding evidence, and it regulates ‘admissible evidence’ and ‘inadmissible evidence’ in court.

There’s also a section in the trial part that deals with evidence.

In the end, we have to master both of these to be able to address anything related that might come up.

“Specifically, in the investigation part, we need to know about the procedures for arrest, detention, field questioning, and search and seizure. For evidence, we need to know about illegally obtained evidence, hearsay evidence, impeachment evidence, and confessions.”

“Ugh…”

“Ahem. You clearly said you would do it. Let’s start right away.”

When I opened the book, Lee Ha-ru groaned, but there was no time to slack off.

Even though we were only focusing on the parts related to evidence, it was still the thickest and most voluminous part of Criminal Procedure.

Preparation for the Mock Trial Competition, begin.

***

Time flew by.

As usual, during the day, I continued studying the three main subjects – Civil Law, Criminal Law, and Constitutional Law – and in the evenings, we gathered and wrestled with Criminal Procedure.

“It’s only been a week since the midterms…”

Lee Ha-ru grumbled.

“It’s been a whole week. It’s time to get a move on.”

“By the way, when will our grades be out?”

Han Seol’s question made me wonder.

It had already been a week since the midterms.

It was a bit unexpected that those professors, who had graded so quickly during the pre-law program, still hadn’t announced the results.

I was confident that I had done well and given it my all, but I couldn’t be sure if that would translate into results.

Since I had boasted so much, I was a bit anxious.

‘I hope they come out soon.’

“They graded so quickly during the pre-law program,”

Han Seol grumbled, as if reading my mind.

But there was no point in worrying about exam scores that had already been submitted.

I had no choice but to focus on what I could do now.

“Let’s go. We have the preliminaries.”

Today was the day of the preliminaries. The moment to test the results of our hard work had arrived.

“Who’s our opponent?”

“We’ll find out when we get there. The match-ups will be revealed on-site.”

The Mock Trial Competition preliminaries were scheduled to be held in the mock courtroom in the basement of the law building.

We each packed our necessary belongings and headed to the mock courtroom.

“Let’s see…”

I checked the match-up list posted on the wall.

Our names were easy to find.

Park Yoo-seung, Lee Ha-ru, and Han Seol, listed far below.

And the opposing team listed next to us was…

“What? It’s Jeong Min-sik’s team.”

Jeong Min-sik, Bae Hyun-jung, and Hwang Gyu-ho, who had applied for our study group and been rejected, formed a team.

In terms of skill, Jeong Min-sik was clearly the ace… and I didn’t know how the rest of the team was formed.

Regardless of our connection, we had encountered a formidable opponent for our first match.

“What a coincidence. How did we end up facing another first-year team?”

I answered Han Seol’s question,

“It’s not a coincidence. In this competition, the match-ups are arranged so that first-year teams face other first-year teams, and second-year teams face other second-year teams.”

It was a consideration to prevent the first-year students from being slaughtered by the second-year students who had already studied procedural law in the regular curriculum.

It was to allow them to gain meaningful experience by competing against each other first.

There were four first-year criminal division teams.

So, from our perspective, there was a 1/3 chance of encountering Jeong Min-sik’s team.

‘And the person in charge of designing the competition is Vice Dean Choi Sung-chul.’

Although I couldn’t bring myself to like him, Choi Sung-chul was obsessed with achievements, so he was thorough when it came to nurturing outstanding students.

He wasn’t an incompetent person by any means.

“Anyway, that team is no pushover, so let’s be careful.”

Jeong Min-sik wasn’t just skilled, his tenacity and desire for recognition were truly frightening.

He would probably come at us with a vengeance. We couldn’t face him with a half-hearted attitude.

It was at that moment, as I was giving them a warning,

“Yes. We should be careful.”

A low voice with a chilling tone came from behind.

I turned around to see Jeong Min-sik glaring at us.

“Unlike you, who just got lucky and crawled your way up.”

“…Are we not strangers? Why are you speaking informally to me?”

Most of the students in our year entered law school right after graduating university.

Therefore, although most of us were the same age or similar, there were also those who retook the college entrance exam or the law school entrance exam, and those with work experience.

Regardless of age, wasn’t it basic to use honorifics when you didn’t know someone well?

Even Kim Seung-pil, who was on the borderline between “hyung” and “ajeossi,” used honorifics with me.

“It’s ridiculous for you to be lecturing me on etiquette.”

But that’s how Jeong Min-sik responded, and a light exchange of nerves ensued.

Honestly, I couldn’t understand why this guy hated me so much.

Why was he acting like this towards me when he should be clinging to Shin Seo-joon like in the original story?

“Because you’re annoying.”

‘Well, well.’

I had no intention of getting into an emotional fight.

Although it was sometimes necessary outside the courtroom, at least inside, a true showdown should unfold, fought only with logic and evidence.

That was the way to show respect for the sacred courtroom.

I let out a deep sigh.

“My neighbor has a small dog.”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I think it’s a Bichon Frise or a Poodle. Anyway, it barks like crazy whenever it sees me. At first, I thought it was trying to protect its owner, how brave. But that wasn’t it.”

When I talked to the owner, they said the dog barked louder the more scared it was.

As they say, barking dogs seldom bite.

It was a bluff, a show of force from those who knew they were weak and feared their enemy.

“How hurtful. Do I look that scary?”

“Your impression has improved lately.”

“Yeah. You look less like a gangster. These days, you even seem a bit handsome…”

Han Seol and Lee Ha-ru, who were listening, offered words of comfort.

It seemed that maintaining a healthy lifestyle had paid off.

Jeong Min-sik frowned and spat out,

“What are you trying to say?”

I shrugged and asked,

“Are you scared? Of losing to me?”

In other words, I was saying that his behavior was no different from a small dog barking out of fear.

If all he could do was yap while clinging to his owner, there was no reason to take him seriously.

“Y-you…!”

“If you have the will to bite, show it in there. With skills and logic.”

I grinned, pointing at the entrance to the mock courtroom.

“Or do you lack the confidence for that?”