In the process of handling criminal cases, lawyer Wang found two core issues that family members are most concerned about. One is what we lawyers can do, that is, the so-called value and role; One is how our lawyers charge. So, what role can lawyers play in criminal cases to meet the theme of this article?
According to China's latest criminal procedure law, lawyers can mainly do the following things or rights: the right to meet, the right to correspond with criminal suspects, the right to appeal and accuse on their behalf, the right to provide legal advice to criminal suspects and their families, the right to know the basic information of suspected crimes and cases from investigation organs, the right to investigate and collect evidence, the right to put forward defense opinions, the right to apply for changing compulsory measures against criminal suspects, and the right to consult, extract and copy case files. Then this is the basic right given to our criminal defense lawyers by the law. While enjoying the rights, we should also realize the rights in the defense process. I will talk about the role of lawyers in criminal cases from three stages: investigation stage, prosecution stage and trial stage:
I. Investigation stage
In the investigation stage, the case-handling organs in the investigation stage include public security organs or procuratorial organs. Public security organs handle cases other than those handled by procuratorial organs, and the cases handled by procuratorial organs mainly include 1, corruption and bribery crimes. 2. The crime of dereliction of duty by state staff. 3. Crimes against citizens' personal rights and criminal cases against citizens' democratic rights committed by state functionaries by taking advantage of their powers; Specifically, it includes: illegal detention cases, illegal search cases, cases of extorting confessions by torture, cases of obtaining evidence by violence, cases of corporal punishment, cases of abusing detainees, cases of retaliation and framing, and cases of sabotaging elections. 4. Other major criminal cases committed by the staff of state organs by taking advantage of their functions and powers need to be directly accepted by the people's procuratorate, and may be filed for investigation upon the decision of the people's procuratorate at or above the provincial level. The last section introduced how the cases in the investigation stage were managed and distributed. In the investigation stage, the lawyer's primary task is to understand the charges charged by the criminal suspect, the specific investigation organ and the relevant situation of the case from the periphery. After understanding the basic content, lawyers began to study the relevant legal provisions of the crime and local sentencing guidance. Meeting is one of the important tasks of criminal defense lawyers. After full preparation, arrange time to meet with the suspect immediately, restore the crime scene and specific state at that time through meeting, and grasp the role played by the suspect at that time. When we meet for the first time, it is very important to gain the trust of the criminal suspect, inform the relevant rights and obligations, and show that the purpose is to provide legal help. Understand whether there are other cases that infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects, such as extorting confessions by torture, beating and cursing or threatening to seduce; Understand whether it is voluntary surrender or passive capture, and whether there are statutory lighter or mitigated punishment circumstances such as surrender and confession; Whether the legal documents are read or served; Whether there is any objection to the fees charged by the public security; Whether there are any personal problems unrelated to the case to inform. Meeting helps to protect the legitimate rights of criminal suspects, understand the situation of the case and supervise the investigation organs to handle cases according to law. In line with the statutory circumstances, submit written legal opinions and apply for bail pending trial. There is an important link in the investigation stage, which is the stage of examining whether to approve the arrest. The investigation organ will transfer the case file to the prosecutor who has examined and approved the arrest, and the procuratorate will decide whether to arrest. If a lawyer finds that it does not constitute the conditions for arrest, he may apply for not approving the arrest and explain the reasons. Lawyers follow up the progress of the case, communicate the case to the investigation organ, and understand the direction and time limit of the case handlers. In addition, if objective facts exist, lawyers can investigate and collect evidence through legal procedures or apply for investigation and collection according to law to obtain evidence of the suspect's innocence and guilt.
Second, the stage of review and prosecution.
The investigation organ will transfer the case decided to arrest to the procuratorate. After receiving a case, the case receiving and dispatching management section of the procuratorate will assign it to the prosecutor of a specific public prosecution department according to the type and difficulty of the case. Lawyers will prepare entrustment procedures and relevant official letters, go to the procuratorate to learn about the basic case of the suspect involved, know about the prosecutor, assistant and contact information of the suspect in charge of public prosecution, know about the specific time when the suspect was arrested, and know whether the suspect's case has been returned for supplementary investigation. Then choose whether you can make an appointment to apply for marking according to the actual situation. Can apply for marking, apply according to law. After the prosecutor informs, go to the case management department of the procuratorate to read the papers. After reading the file, the lawyer began to understand all the evidence materials and documents of the case, conducted in-depth and meticulous research, and formulated defense strategies. After consulting and analyzing the whole volume, combined with my usual experience in handling cases, I drafted a written legal opinion and served it to the prosecutor, and then kept in communication with the prosecutor on the case process. Apply for bail pending trial in time according to the specific circumstances.
Third, the trial stage.
This is an important link to determine whether a criminal suspect is guilty, innocent and light. Before the trial, lawyers can clarify the direction of litigation through the investigation stage and the review and prosecution stage. Is it innocence defense or misdemeanor defense? Then, if the defendant is innocent, the lawyer will analyze the witness's confession and the suspect's confession according to the overall situation of the case, and judge many contradictions between the evidence and the probative force of the evidence in combination with the types of evidence and various characteristics of other types of cases. Then, if you choose the crime of pleading guilty lightly, the lawyer will look for confessions and excuses that are beneficial to the criminal suspect and defendant according to the evidence loopholes of the investigation organ, and find the sentencing point that enjoys legal circumstances and discretionary circumstances when sentencing. During the trial, the defense opinions should be analyzed and demonstrated from different aspects such as whether the facts are clear, whether the evidence is sufficient, whether the applicable law is accurate, and whether the proceedings are legal, and put forward opinions and reasons for the conviction and sentencing of the case. Fully combine the theory of criminal law with the practice of handling cases, crush the indictment viewpoint and guilty evidence of the public prosecution agency, win the recognition of the lawyer's defense viewpoint by the judge, and obtain the criminal judgment of innocence and commutation. The right to defense is a basic right of criminal suspects and defendants, and it is also a basic constitutional right. Justice should not only be realized, but also be realized in a visible way, which is a kind of procedural justice. Therefore, it is particularly necessary for lawyers to supervise the public security organs in handling criminal cases, protect the rights of criminal suspects and defendants to obtain defense, and know whether the criminal suspects have been tortured to extract confessions.
Conclusion: Criminal defense is the most basic and core litigation right enjoyed by criminal suspects and defendants. The lawyer's involvement in the case at the first time is conducive to helping the criminal suspect and the defendant get an effective defense and helping the criminal suspect refute black and white. Through in-depth and meticulous research, lawyers wander outside the case and in the case, looking for clues from the evidence and handling contradictions from the confession. Don't let go of every opportunity in the case that is beneficial to the suspect and the defendant, so as to achieve the state of integration of the person and the case and fully safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties.