Chapter 264: He's Getting Anxious, He's Getting Anxious!
In court.
The judge spoke, and the case immediately became a matter of fact-finding.
Specifically, did Max Henson, the radio host, know that his malicious lie was a lie when he uttered it?
This was exactly what the suited Harvey had expected.
So he smiled slightly and stood up: "Your Honor, the defendant claims he didn't know he was lying and defaming, but the fact is he did. We have a recording as evidence, recorded without his knowledge."
He handed over a USB drive.
"Objection."
Lawyer Emily immediately stood up to object: "The recording was made without the client's consent; it's illegal and cannot be used as evidence."
"Your Honor, they were recording a program at the time, which means they consented to being recorded. Therefore, the recording is legal, and the plaintiff requests its admission."
The suited Harvey countered.
"Objection!"
Lawyer Emily glanced at Max Henson, whose expression had slightly changed, and firmly objected.
The two began another heated debate.
"Alright!"
The judge, rubbing his temples in exasperation, stopped them both, then said after a moment's thought, "Play the recording."
"Thank you, Your Honor."
The suited Harvey thanked the judge, then glanced at lawyer Emily and Max Henson with a knowing smile.
Liberal judges do indeed love compromise—they're masters at finding middle ground and diplomatic language.
But even an outsider like Max Henson can manipulate this tendency; how could a professional like him not?
Unless the judge completely abandons all pretense of fairness, he's guaranteed to win this case!
After the court staff plugged the USB drive into the player, the suited Harvey pressed play.
"Boss, what do we do now? This situation is getting pretty bad."
"It's not bad. No matter what that stone-faced guy says, they have no evidence. And what I know is that as long as I talk, people will listen, and that's enough."
"Boss is right. It's just a shame about Max. With a body like that, the name is perfect. It's all that expressionless bastard's fault; she turned on him before he even made his move."
"Little Willie, what's wrong? Missing your mama?"
The suited Harvey paused the recording, looking around at everyone: "This is the defendant chatting privately with his partner after the latest episode ended. The staff outside didn't turn off the recording in time due to a technical issue, so it was captured.
'As long as I talk, people will listen, and that's enough'?
Clearly, the defendant has a distorted view of the First Amendment's right to free speech and completely ignores defamation laws!
If we let someone like him continue to arbitrarily invoke the First Amendment to protect himself, that would be a mockery of the Constitution!"
"Objection!"
Lawyer Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn't a direct admission; there was still room to maneuver. She immediately stood up to counter, "My client is simply expressing the philosophy of a radio host. He doesn't need much; as long as there's one listener, he'll continue the show, that's all."
"Like this very attractive female listener, MAX?"
the suited Harvey mocked. "Are you sure he only wants her to listen?"
The spectators smiled knowingly.
"Objection! This is irrelevant to the case!"
Lawyer Emily became a relentless objection machine.
"You can only hope it's irrelevant,"
Harvey said seriously. "As far as I know, this MAX, whom they say has a better figure than your client and is more deserving of the name MAX, is just a teenage girl!"
The spectators who had been chuckling immediately fell silent.
Making suggestive comments about an adult woman in public might elicit knowing smiles, but when that woman is actually a minor, it's a completely different matter.
While the enforcement of juvenile protection laws in the United States isn't perfect, they are at least very strict at the legal level.
"Is the plaintiff's counsel going to file a new lawsuit?"
lawyer Emily asked rhetorically.
She was worried—after all, these guys' private conversations revealed their utter disregard for the law, and their idea of respecting fans was simply trying to hook up with them—truly outrageous!
This girl MAX hadn't fallen for it, but what about the others?
As the saying goes: when you see one cockroach in the house, it only means one thing—there's a whole infestation.
If this were exposed, it would likely trigger a wave of 'MeToo' allegations.
But she wasn't Max Henson's personal lawyer; she was the corporate counsel hired by the radio station. Her client was the station, not Max Henson, and right now she was only handling this specific lawsuit.
"That possibility can't be ruled out,"
the suited Harvey chuckled.
"Plaintiff's counsel, let's focus on this case now!"
The judge, seeing the possibility of a case within a case—one with particularly bad optics—immediately interrupted with a grimace.
"Yes, Your Honor."
The suited Harvey glanced at the judge's expression and smiled. "The recording clearly shows that the defendant and his partner knew they were lying!"
"Objection!"
lawyer Emily retorted. "As plaintiff's counsel said, this recording is the most recent one. It was after the police rescued Jamie, and my client only then realized that what he had believed was wrong.
This doesn't mean my client was lying!
It just means that at the time, my client believed what he knew to be true!"
"Then let him prove that!"
Harvey said.
"Objection!"
lawyer Emily retorted without expression. "This does not conform to legal procedure. Following the principle of presumption of innocence, the plaintiff needs to prove this, not have the defendant prove his innocence!"
"Plaintiff's counsel, don't forget the most basic legal principle."
The judge frowned and reminded him, "Do you have evidence to prove that the defendant knew beforehand that what he said was a lie?"
"In fact, I really do."
The suited Harvey chuckled. "Your Honor, we request to call a new witness."
"Objection!"
Lawyer Emily was startled and immediately objected. "We haven't been notified of any new witness."
"You claim your client is innocent, so what are you worried about with a new witness? If it's true, it can't be hidden. You can cross-examine the new witness afterward,"
Harvey chuckled.
"Your Honor,"
Emily looked at the judge.
"What do you expect me to do? This is the plaintiff's right,"
the judge shrugged helplessly at Emily, then said, "The plaintiff is permitted to call the new witness."
"Thank you,"
Harvey said, gesturing for the bailiff to bring in the new witness.
A young woman walked in nervously under the watchful eyes of the crowd and took her place in the witness stand.
"Please introduce yourself,"
Harvey approached, using his most charming smile to reassure the nervous young woman.
"My name is Erin Reagan,"
the young woman said.
"Ms. Reagan, do you know Max Henson?"
The suited Harvey stepped aside and gestured to Max Henson in the defendant's chair.
"Of course,"
Erin Reagan nodded. "I listen to his show often; it's very entertaining."
"And his website,"
Harvey added.
"Sometimes."
Erin Reagan nodded.
"On his personal website, there's a user with the handle 'RuleBreaker' who logged in 83 times. Are you 'RuleBreaker'?"
The suited Harvey asked.
"Yes, that's me,"
Erin Reagan nodded.
"83 times isn't just 'sometimes,'"
Harvey corrected. "Did you send emails to Max Henson?"
"A few,"
Erin Reagan replied sheepishly, glancing at Max Henson in the defendant's chair, whose expression had changed and who was now whispering urgently with his lawyer.
"Did you write in an email that Shelly Willens wanted a late-term abortion at your clinic?"
Harvey continued.
Erin Reagan hesitated.
"Ms. Reagan, this isn't a radio station, it's a courtroom. You've taken an oath; perjury is a felony."
Harvey stepped forward, drawing Erin Reagan's attention, then turned slightly, making her gaze immediately fall on her idol, Max Henson, whose face had gone pale in the defendant's chair.
"Yes, I sent that email,"
Erin Reagan could only tell the truth.
"Is the late-term abortion claim true?"
The suited Harvey asked the crucial question.
Everyone looked over.
This claim about late-term abortion was made by Max Henson, using it as the foundation for his narrative that 'not all mothers love their children,' asserting that a mother who lost her beloved daughter was actually the real killer.
If this claim itself was fabricated, then even the jurors who wanted to help him couldn't legitimately speak up for him or use it to argue that he wasn't maliciously slandering someone.
"No,"
Erin Reagan shook her head.
"Did Max Henson ask you to verify the truth of this claim?"
Harvey pressed. "Did the radio station contact you?"
"No,"
Erin Reagan shook her head.
"When Max Henson publicly announced your information on the radio to accuse Shelly Willens, were you surprised? Why?"
Harvey asked.
"Because I emailed him again, saying I made it up,"
Erin Reagan said.
The courtroom erupted in murmurs.
If this were true, it would definitively prove the most difficult question to answer: the issue of subjective knowledge.
"Come on!"
Max Henson, before his lawyer Emily could object, stood up and protested, "Am I supposed to read every single email?"
"He's getting anxious, he's getting anxious."
At the same moment, a soft voice rang out from the spectator gallery, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"It's the brilliant Chandler!"
"Bingo!"
Someone following the proceedings immediately recognized Chandler sitting in the corner of the gallery.
"Order!"
the judge called out. "Mr. Henson, return to your seat. And you, the one who spoke, do not speak again, or I will have you removed from this courtroom."
"Yes, Your Honor, I'm just here gathering material,"
Chandler said, rising with a smile. "I'm sure this trial will provide me with plenty of content. I promise I won't speak again."
He then made a zipping motion across his lips.
Hearing the murmurs of recognition from the crowd, the judge guessed that Chandler was probably some kind of media personality. After Chandler 'backed down,' he magnanimously let it go, turning to the suited Harvey and saying, "Plaintiff's counsel, please continue."
"Yes, Your Honor."
Harvey glanced at lawyer Emily and continued questioning Erin Reagan: "Why did you spread rumors and slander a mother who lost her beloved daughter?"
"I... I just wanted his attention,"
Erin Reagan said tearfully, "To be a part of his world! He's Max Henson!"
"Your Honor, I'm finished with this witness."
Harvey surveyed the courtroom, his gaze sweeping across the room with supreme confidence.
"Your Honor, we request a recess,"
lawyer Emily said, rising to her feet.
"Granted."
The judge agreed without hesitation.
He knew the defendant wanted to renegotiate a settlement with the plaintiff. Faced with an increasingly difficult case, he was eager to have it resolved privately without issuing a verdict.
The session ended.
Lawyer Emily approached. Seeing no one around, she smiled seductively at the suited Harvey. "My tattoo missed you."
"Really?"
Harvey smiled, unmoved. "Then tell it to be patient. Let's wait for a resounding victory first."
Emily's face darkened. "You think you've already won?"
"I've never lost,"
Harvey laughed. "Though that wasn't why Detective Chuck initially approached me."
"Don't get too cocky. Nobody wins forever!"
Emily said. "$3 million in damages, plus a public apology, and we're done."
"Like I said, Detective Chuck has drawn his line in the sand."
Harvey shook his head. "$5 million in damages, plus a public apology. He won't accept any compromise."
"Come on!"
Emily didn't believe it at all. "Everything's a negotiation. Everyone compromises. Don't tell me you don't know that."
"You're right,"
Harvey nodded. "That's gospel truth in our profession. I told Chuck that too, and he agreed."
"Well, there you go. We've already backed down several times—from only being willing to apologize privately to being willing to apologize publicly, and from $500,000 in compensation to $1 million, $1.5 million, $2 million, and now $3 million. This is our limit, and it's time for you to back down."
Lawyer Emily softened her expression: "Harvey, I know you can do it if you're willing."
"Don't rush to butter me up,"
the suited Harvey teased. "Everyone compromises. Chuck does agree with that professional truth, but there's something else he said that you didn't hear."
"What is it?"
Emily's face darkened, a sense of foreboding creeping over her.
"He said,"
Harvey said with a half-smile, "He agrees with that statement, which is why he sets the bottom line."
"..."
Emily's face went completely dark.
As a lawyer, and a highly successful one at that, her intelligence was sharp; she immediately grasped the true meaning of that statement.
In other words, everyone compromises—that's true! But Chuck only compromises on one thing: forcing others to constantly compromise with him!
(End of Chapter)
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