Will a lawyer represent me when I plead guilty and accept punishment?
The leniency system for plea guilty and punishment, which is premised on the defendant pleading guilty and accepting punishment, has impacted the traditional defense system and brought huge challenges and opportunities to lawyers' practice. Leniency for pleading guilty and accepting punishment is proposed by lawyers. Under the leniency system for pleading guilty and accepting punishment, effective defense by lawyers can ensure that the defendant voluntarily pleads guilty and strives for the best interests of the defendant. However, at this stage, the effective participation of lawyers is not enough. The reasons include unclear role positioning of lawyers, imperfect institutional environment, difficulty in lawyer defense, and increased agency risks. In future development, strict rules need to be introduced to implement lawyer participation and lawyers are required to improve their response capabilities.
1. The active role of lawyers (1) Ensure that the defendant pleads guilty and accepts punishment in compliance with the "three" requirements. The core content of "please plead guilty and accept punishment" is as follows. The core requirement of "please plead guilty and accept punishment" is to "truthfully confess his crime." , that is, the person being prosecuted voluntarily confesses the true circumstances of the act being prosecuted and admits that it constitutes a crime. It requires three elements to be met: first, the voluntariness of the guilty plea; second, the voluntariness of the guilty plea must be based on the authenticity of the confession; third, the defendant's understanding of whether the accused behavior constitutes a crime and the legal consequences of the guilty plea must meet the The wisdom of leniency for those who confess and legal punishment for crimes. The lawyer's primary role is to ensure that the defendant's guilty plea is voluntary, truthful, and sensible. Under normal circumstances, defendants do not have legal knowledge or have limited legal rights, and it is difficult to have an objective and accurate understanding and grasp of the factual basis and legal consequences of plea cases. Therefore, professional lawyers must be involved in plea cases. (2) Striving for the best interests of the defendant. If the defendant sacrifices legal rights such as court proceedings, he should obtain the substantial interests of the counterparty. Otherwise, it will not comply with the principle of equality of interests and rights. Therefore, criminal suspects and defendants who choose to plead guilty should be given corresponding benefits. Lawyers can effectively communicate with the investigative agencies, prosecutorial agencies, courts, and victims on behalf of the defendant, which can maximize the interests of the defendant, including applying relatively loose coercive measures during the investigation stage, and not prosecuting those who should be prosecuted during the review and prosecution stage. , not to deal with it if it should be dealt with, to be given a lighter punishment at the trial stage, to reach a settlement with the victim, to minimize the amount of compensation, etc. During the investigation stage, lawyers can make suggestions for changing the coercive measures. The author does not advocate the application of plea bargaining system during the investigation stage. Because the application of the leniency system for guilty pleas and punishments during the investigation stage may cause the investigative agencies to tend to make the defendants confess and neglect their obligation to investigate the truth of the case. However, criminal suspects and their defense lawyers may voluntarily plead guilty to the investigative agency during the investigation stage. Relatively speaking, criminal suspects who voluntarily plead guilty pose less personal risk and social harm. Lawyers can recommend that the investigative agency apply less intensive coercive measures. They can also make procuratorial suggestions when the investigation is completed and a public prosecution is launched, suggesting that the procuratorial agency investigate the crime. Leniency to the suspect. At the trial stage, effective defense by a lawyer can help obtain a favorable verdict for the defendant. Under the pilot program, lawyers can make suggestions on "review procedures for plea guilty and leniency cases." The application of different review procedures may in fact have a significant impact on the final outcome of the case. Especially when there may be doubts about substantive innocence or procedural innocence in the case, the case review process actually plays a final "gatekeeper" role. For example, when a case is on the verge of guilt or innocence, some persons being prosecuted will choose to believe that they have committed a crime from the perspective of general social evaluation and voluntarily plead guilty in order to reduce the punishment. Lawyers can participate based on the facts and evidence of the case. It is recommended that the case-handling agency choose the rules of ordinary procedures to strictly review the case to prevent innocent people from being criminally prosecuted.
Even if the lawyer knows that the person being prosecuted may have committed a crime, if there are problems such as unclear facts, insufficient evidence, and irregular procedures in the case, it is possible to obtain a not guilty verdict on the grounds of excusing guilt, excluding illegal evidence, etc. The lawyer can also It is recommended that the person being prosecuted should give up pleading guilty and accepting punishment, and choose not to plead guilty and accept punishment. In addition, the "Trial Measures" also stipulates that "for cases of guilty plea and punishment, when the court makes a judgment, it should generally adopt the prosecution's accusation and sentencing opinions, but the defendant does not commit a crime or should not be held criminally responsible, violates his will to plead guilty, and denies the accusation Exceptions include criminal facts, inconsistencies between the prosecution and the trial, and other circumstances that may affect a fair trial." This means that the case may still change before an effective judgment is handed down. Effective defense by lawyers can help judges discover doubts at the last moment and avoid wrong decisions. To sum up, the plea and punishment are made by lawyers. The role of lawyers in a case is very important. Defense lawyers can make statements to the judge based on the defendant’s legal behavior and relevant laws and regulations to minimize the burden on the defendant. human punishment. Through the lawyer's admission of guilt and punishment, the interests of the defendant can be better protected and the defendant can be understood by the law.