America 1982-Chapter 209 - 75: Judgment_5
The courtroom erupted with its first gasp; onlookers, both men and women, turned to stare at Jason White as if he were some kind of monster. My God, saving up for legal fees by shooting adult films?
Even if that club were swung until it fell apart, it might not save enough for one lawsuit’s expenses—how much confidence did this guy have in his physical abilities?
Amidst the shock of the entire courtroom, Jason spoke passionately, "Tommy found out about this news I hoped to keep secret. He’s my roommate, noticed my abnormal reaction, and that I was weary and disinterested in work and in women during that period. Tommy was moved but also reprimanded me fiercely, saying I shouldn’t destroy myself for a cause. Eventually, he decided to abandon the plan of releasing OSS software for free and charged for the first hundred thousand sets instead, to raise legal fees. I also received payment for the films, wanted to invest it in the company, but Tommy suggested I treat my apathy. The doctors advised a treatment plan involving attractive company girls to help in my full recovery—that’s why I have so many consumption records."
It wasn’t just the opposing lawyers who were stunned— even the five judges on the bench were speechless. Two of them even unconsciously glanced at the other members of the Stanford legal team beside Delia, their eyes betraying a sense of astonishment that seemed to say, "The comprehensive development of students at your institution is indeed commendable."
Several Stanford Law School dignitaries bowed their heads to avoid eye contact with anyone.
"Plaintiff’s attorney, Mr. Jason White has already responded to your question. Do you have anything else you wish to ask?" The judge regained composure and kindly reminded the plaintiff’s attorney.
Jon Meyer shook his head repeatedly, "No, Your Honor, but I doubt the authenticity of his answer."
"I have submitted the film tapes of the shoots to the court. You can view them without disclosing anything," Jason White, flustered that this old man doubted his heartfelt speech, added dissatisfiedly.
Jon Meyer looked at Jason speechlessly, "Thank you, after hearing your last statement, I choose to believe you, Mr. White."
Although Tommy Hawk wasn’t present today, the two parties who were, despite being young, were far from ordinary students.
One didn’t care about his scandals being exposed and purposely used provocative language to infuriate character witnesses.
The other was even more outrageous, shamelessly equating solicitation with treatment, even suggesting, "If you don’t believe me, go watch my adult film."
Setting aside one’s age and whether one could handle watching that kind of intense adult film, if a leak happened one day, and the court was held responsible, having seen it myself, I would inevitably be involved. The court should only confirm the authenticity of the tape, and I have no interest in such videos.
What followed was Mitch Kapor and Jonathan Sachs, who clearly had been meticulously coached by their lawyers. As witnesses, they were watertight, not giving Delia Case on the defense any opportunities to retaliate.
Delia sighed. The evidence and testimony from both sides had mostly been presented, and it looked like they would soon be moving to the final arguments and then to the verdict.
"Keep an eye on Jim Manzi."
As Jim Manzi took the stand wearing a baseball cap, Delia suddenly remembered Tommy’s words from a prior discussion about the trial. Tommy had advised Delia to ask Jim Manzi a few questions, noting that if there was a chance to score points with the judge, it would be through Jim. That guy had endured bookish types for so long; he surely wanted to throw his own log onto the fire.
"Mr. Manzi, does your resignation have anything to do with this lawsuit?" Delia began.
"No, I prefer more challenging work. Lotus Corporation was stable, and I lacked motivation, so I chose to resign."
"You previously engaged in formal discussions with Actor Corporation, and suggested a settlement that included acquiring Lotus. Why did that plan fall through?"
"During internal discussions, it was felt that Actor Corporation’s technical level wasn’t worth acquiring, so the proposal was abandoned." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"Was it you who assessed Actor Corporation’s technical level or someone else?"
"Mitch and Jonathan. I don’t understand technology; they are the technical geniuses, so naturally, it was for them to decide."
"I have here a software update plan log provided by an anonymous source from Lotus Corporation. It shows that soon after receiving the OSS software, Lotus started demanding that Lotus 1-2-3 implement some of the features found in OSS. When I asked Mitch Kapor and Jonathan Sachs, they stated these were your decisions during your tenure, and they immediately canceled the development of those features upon discovery. Yet, the log suggests the code for these features was almost copied from OSS."
"Me?" Jim Manzi looked at Mitch Kapor and Jonathan Sachs in shock.
The two of them were still smiling at him, which made Jim internally curse. Did these idiots really think just because he left Lotus peacefully, there was no bitterness in his heart?
Indeed, it was he who had urged them, but he wasn’t prepared to admit it at that moment.
Jim Manzi said to Delia, "I don’t understand technology, no matter what is added or removed... I don’t understand software; I’m just in charge of selling it. If there’s any issue with the development of the software, I’m not really familiar with it."
