According to the law, a defender shall be appointed in the following cases:
1 If the defendant is blind, deaf, dumb or a minor and has not entrusted a defender,
2. Minors under the age of 18 at the time of trial,
3. The defendant may be sentenced to death without entrusting a defender.
Related knowledge:
Comparison between appointed defense and entrusted defense
According to Article 15 1 of the Criminal Procedure Law, after the people's court decides to hold a hearing, it shall send a copy of the people's procuratorate to the defendant 10 at the latest before the hearing. The defendant did not entrust a defender. Inform the defendant that he can entrust a defender or, if necessary, appoint a lawyer who undertakes the obligation of legal aid to propose three ways of defense for him. Among them, entrusted defense is more effective than the two ways, and it is the main and important way for criminal suspects and defendants to realize their right to defense.
Compared with appointed defense, entrusted defense has a limited scope of application. The law stipulates that designated defense only applies to specific situations, and these ranges account for a limited proportion in criminal cases. Therefore, the scope of application of designated defense is small. In contrast, the scope of application of entrusted defense is infinite and extremely extensive. Secondly, the application stage of appointed defense is limited. According to the law, the scope of appointed defense only exists in the trial stage of the case, and criminal proceedings have entered the later stage. However, entrusted defense can be carried out since the criminal case entered, and from the point of view of the degree of participation in criminal proceedings, entrusted defense is earlier than designated defense. Third, the range of people who can act as entrusted defenders according to law is greater than those who can act as appointed defenders. According to the law, only lawyers can accept the appointment of the people's court as the defender of the defendant, but according to the law, those who accept the entrustment as the defender of criminal suspects and defendants can learn the highest level of disability appraisal except lawyers. There are also people's organizations or personnel recommended by the unit where the criminal suspect or defendant works, as well as guardians, relatives and friends of the criminal suspect or defendant.
Applicable circumstances of designated defense
The appointed defense in China's criminal proceedings only applies to the trial stage of criminal cases, and the defenders appointed by the people's courts can only be lawyers who undertake legal aid obligations according to law. Therefore, designated defense, also known as criminal legal aid, is applicable to the following situations:
1. If the defendant fails to entrust a defender due to financial difficulties or other reasons, the people's court may appoint a lawyer who undertakes the obligation of legal aid to defend him.
2. If the defendant is blind, deaf, dumb or a minor and has not entrusted a defender, the people's court shall appoint a lawyer who undertakes the obligation of legal aid to defend him.
3. If the defendant may be sentenced to death without entrusting a defender, the people's court shall appoint a lawyer who undertakes the obligation of legal aid to defend him.
In addition, the Supreme People's Court's judicial interpretation further stipulates the designated defense. According to the regulations, the people's court shall appoint a defender for the defendant in any of the following circumstances:
1. People who are blind, deaf, dumb or have limited capacity;
2. Under the age of 18 at the time of hearing;
3. People who may be sentenced to death.
The judicial interpretation also stipulates that the people's court may appoint a defender for the defendant in any of the following circumstances:
1. conforms to the economic hardship standard stipulated by the local government;
2. I really have no financial resources, and my family's economic situation cannot be ascertained;
3. I really have no financial resources, and my family members are still unwilling to bear the expenses of defense lawyers after repeated persuasion;
4. In the case, other defendants have entrusted defenders;
5. Have foreign nationality;
6. Cases with significant social impact;
7. The people's court believes that the procuratorial opinions and the obtained case evidence materials may affect the correct conviction and sentencing.
Legal basis:
Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 35 If a criminal suspect or defendant fails to appoint a defender due to financial difficulties or other reasons, he or his close relatives may apply to a legal aid institution. To meet the conditions of legal aid, legal aid institutions shall appoint lawyers to defend them.
If the criminal suspect or defendant is a mental patient who is blind, deaf, dumb or has not completely lost the ability to identify or control his own behavior, and has not entrusted a defender, the people's court, the people's procuratorate and the public security organ shall notify the legal aid institution to appoint a lawyer to defend him.
If a criminal suspect or defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death without entrusting a defender, the people's court, the people's procuratorate and the public security organ shall notify the legal aid institution to appoint a lawyer to defend him.