Law America, the Devil's Agent

Benny quickly sat up, eager to hear Link's opinion.

Before this, Robin had simply accepted the task with a wave of his hand.

In reality, he had to solve all the remaining tasks on his own, and he was already overwhelmed by this matter.

"First of all, there are many unreasonable aspects to this case."

Link stood up and explained to Benny:

"The first issue is the right to obtain anesthetic induction agents."

The prosecution admitted that Hawthorne no longer had the authority after being transferred, but their explanation was that "he may have bypassed the system."

This is speculation, not evidence.

They did not investigate the actual flow of the anesthetics after Hawthorne's reassignment!

Did any other authorized personnel retrieve these medications? Are there any anomalies in the drug inventory records?

The prosecution did not provide answers to these questions.

Second, DNA evidence.

His finger moved to the second entry:

"Hawthorne explained that those things are standard medical contact in outpatient surgery."

These can be fully verified by surgical records and timelines.

If the hospital claims there are "abnormalities" in the surgical records but their authenticity cannot be confirmed, then we need to investigate the following:

  

What's wrong with this record? Who determined it to be invalid, when, and on what grounds?

He paused for a moment, then looked up.

"Third, this hospital's behavior pattern is abnormal."

When a normal hospital is accused of having a doctor who is a serial killer, its first reaction should be to protect the institution's reputation, control the risks of public opinion, cooperate with the investigation, and maintain legal prudence.

However, Philadelphia General Hospital voluntarily submitted Hawthorne's complete psychiatric records after his arrest.

This isn't cooperating with an investigation; it's offering yourself up unnecessarily.

Some people inside the hospital hoped that Hawthorne would be convicted.

Moreover, this person holds a very high position, high enough to use the hospital's official seal, high enough to get the head of the psychiatry department to issue a flawless diagnostic file, and high enough to intercept or tamper with a surgical record.

After listening, Benny nodded repeatedly, impressed by Link's ability to find such suspicious points in such a short time.

"So I have another question."

Link changed the subject and continued to ask:

"Who are the lawyers from the law firm who are now advocating for the victims to put Hawthorne to death?"

Is it the victim's family? Or is there a vague connection to a Philadelphia hospital?

Benny already knew this, and said:

"Team leader, our current adversary is the O'Mill legal team from the Vansk law firm."

The opposing party is a large law firm funded by Philadelphia General Hospital, while the main body of the advocacy is a group composed of the four victims.

Their current demand is that the court sentence Hawthorne to the maximum penalty as soon as possible.

Benny knew this so well because Hawthorne was a long-time client and member of the law firm, and his family had scraped together a very high amount of legal fees.

Eager to showcase his abilities and gain benefits, Robin took on this opportunity to challenge a top law firm and make a name for himself.

They gained fame and also had cases with substantial reward money.

Little did he know that this case was no less serious than the previous minor incidents.

And that immense pressure fell solely on Benny. Before the case was even fully resolved, the higher-ups had already vanished.

But then, as if remembering something, he whispered to Link:

"After your analysis of this case, team leader, I discovered many suspicious details."

Most of the problems likely lie within Philadelphia General Hospital itself, given the extremely complex web of interests and entanglements involved.

Or perhaps we should…

"Um?"

"How about we just drop this case? It's a mess Robbins left behind anyway, so it'll be easy for us to explain later. We can just say it's all Robbins' fault..."

Link remained silent upon hearing this.

He paced back and forth in the room, pondering for a long time, before finally saying:

"After some analysis, this seemingly absurd and ridiculous court request doesn't seem to be a difficult thing at all."

"Team leader, what's going on...?"

"This 'Hawthorne case' is the first case I've handled since I took over as a team leader lawyer."

Moreover, this was the first time I exercised my independent rights as the relevant team leader.

If I were to surrender without a fight in a case that everyone in the firm knows about, it would jeopardize my plans to prove my worth within the firm.

Benny was stunned when he heard this:

"Team leader, do you really want to take this contract and continue to get involved in this case?"

[One large case detected. Accept the call?]

Link took the case file back into his hands and examined it carefully.

This family clearly gets along very well.

His family, siblings, and parents were willing to pay him a six-figure sum.

They came to save their brother and son.

Because his case had become an ironclad case in the eyes of countless people, but they still held onto hope.

They also included Hawthorne's biography, describing him as a humble and helpful doctor.

There was even a handwritten letter on it.

His handwriting was very childish and distorted; it came from his nine-year-old child.

He used up all his vocabulary to write a heartfelt letter, and at the end of the letter he wrote carefully.

"Dear lawyer, you are the embodiment of order and justice. May the Lord protect you. I beg you to save my father."

We are all waiting, waiting for a just trial.

Link put down the handwritten letter and rubbed his hands together noncommittally.

Seeing Link's silence, Benny hesitated for a moment, but then continued:

"Team leader, do you really think Hawthorne is innocent?"

"I don't know, Benny."

I haven't met him in person yet.

But I only know one thing.

He closed the file and put it back on the desktop:

"The police only saw one lead pointing to Hawthorne, so they stopped investigating in all other directions."

But a true chain of evidence shouldn't have only one leg.

It's now quite clear that someone is manipulating this lead.

Our job is not to prove his innocence; our job is to let the evidence speak for itself.

If the evidence proves him guilty, then he deserves to die.

If the evidence suggests that someone framed him, this would be a premeditated miscarriage of justice.

Once we, as lawyers, dispel this fog, the spotlight and attention will surely be on us!

[Receive]

Benny's eyes brightened; he understood what Link meant.

Being a lawyer involves more than just carefully weighing the pros and cons; it also requires boldly pursuing fame and fortune.

If you spend your whole life timid, cautious, and overly careful, wouldn't that be just as pathetic as submitting to Robin Ketchum?

Sensing Benny's emotional fluctuations, Link smiled and said, "Then let's show everyone who's hiding behind the evidence."

"Benny, you have three things to do right now."

Benny immediately sat up straight, turned to a new page in his notebook, and held his pen above the paper.

After the analysis just now, the anxiety on his face had dissipated.

After someone pointed him in the right direction, his sense of helplessness and confusion disappeared.

"The first thing is to arrange a visit. This is of utmost importance. Contact the Philadelphia Detention Center and schedule a meeting with Nathaniel Hawthorne. I need to see him in person as soon as possible."

Benny then looked up, his expression somewhat troubled.

"Team leader, I need to talk to you about the visitation arrangements in advance."

Last week, Robin and I went to the detention center. We waited in line for almost four hours, and the visitation time was reduced to half an hour.

The prison authorities' reasoning was:

Hawthorne is now a federal felon incarcerated man, under close scrutiny from the media and victims' families, and any visitation requires additional approval.

The next appointment will likely take three to four days, conservatively speaking.

"Not surprising."

Link nodded, his expression unchanged.

Four murders, cross-county body dumping, and federal death penalty cases.

For a suspect of this caliber, it's already considered lenient by the detention center not to put him in solitary confinement.

The media waited outside the detention center to photograph his prison van, the victims' families held up signs and cried on the courthouse steps, and the hospital was fueling the fire behind the scenes...

All of this pressure will ultimately be transmitted to the visitation procedures, tightening every link.

"As long as I can make an appointment with him, that's fine."

We still have time before the court hearing, so we just need to meet once.

But these few days can't be wasted; move on to the second thing.

"The second thing. Contact Hawthorne's family."

Currently, his personal freedom is completely restricted, and we cannot obtain much information that only he knows:

His surgical schedule, the specific timeline of his job transfer, and the details of every communication he had with the hospital after reporting it.

This information is scattered among his family members, so you need to have an in-depth conversation with them.

I need to understand him as a person!

It wasn't the suspect, Nathaniel Hawthorne, but the doctor, Nathaniel Hawthorne.

His medical career, his interpersonal relationships in the hospital, the changes in his mental state before and after his job transfer, and whether he mentioned to his family who was targeting him in the hospital.

All of this was compiled into a detailed background report on the individual.

Benny nodded, the pen nib scratching softly on the paper.

"Understood. Is there a third thing?"

Link paused. He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the Philadelphia winter skyline outside in silence for a moment.

"The third thing. Compile background information on the four victims:"

Name, age, occupation, family situation, medical records at Philadelphia General Hospital, etc.

Benny paused for a moment, then looked up.

"Should we contact the opposing legal team?"