First, the importance of lawyers in civil litigation is self-evident.
The parties want to take civil action, either because of money or because of personal relationship, which belongs to the confrontation between equal civil subjects, that is, between people. Many times the judge does not participate, mainly depending on the performance of the parties. Therefore, there is an important principle in civil litigation, that is, in most cases, "whoever advocates it will give evidence." If you want to assert one thing, you have to produce evidence to convince the judge that what you said is true. We ordinary people have no legal expertise. As plaintiffs, we don't know what evidence to take to meet the conditions of proof, whether the evidence is legal or not, and whether it can be used as evidence. Third, if I don't have evidence at present, how can I get it? As a defendant, how did the other party question him when he produced the evidence? Should he also produce some evidence to refute it? In addition to the above questions, there is another matter that you want the court to support. Whether I can support you in the end, the judge asks you how to answer in court, and the other party asks you how to respond, and what you can and can't say will all affect the final result of the case. There are also trivial things such as writing a complaint, filing a case, submitting evidence, submitting defense opinions, signing documents, etc., including how to get into the court gate, what you can bring and what you can't bring. It's really embarrassing to have someone who knows how to take you. Therefore, it is necessary to find a lawyer in civil litigation.
Second, the role of lawyers in administrative litigation is more reflected in the procedure.
To put it bluntly, administrative litigation is a people's accusation. The public security bureau said that you would be detained for whoring, but you didn't accept that you were in free love. You give her a love red envelope of 1000 yuan, even if it only lasts for one night. At this time, you can first seek reconsideration from the superior public security department of the Public Security Bureau or the municipal government, or you can directly go to court to sue the Public Security Bureau. Just explain this to the judge. It's nothing difficult. As long as you have the punishment decision, the evidence in it is enough. The rest depends on the appearance of the public security bureau. The public security bureau needs to prove that their punishment for you is correct, including what happened when you were in love, whether their law enforcement officers were qualified to be temporary workers, whether the civilized law enforcement method scared you, and according to which law you were punished. You can sit there and watch them perform quietly. Of course, you can go up and talk to them if you want. Because you don't need to do anything in this lawsuit, it can be said that even if your reasons are irrelevant and the law is completely wrong, the judge will judge whether the behavior of the administrative organ is legal and reasonable according to his own authority and take your words as deflation. Therefore, the role of lawyers is more reflected in procedures, helping you to file a case, write a complaint, and issue an agency statement, giving you courage to boost morale and giving you common sense in communication. It is also excellent to have money to hire a lawyer.
Third, the role of criminal lawyers is limited.
I know that this title is likely to make many people in the industry dissatisfied, but it is true. Note that what I said is limited, which doesn't mean it's useless. Anyone who wants to argue should read my words before firing.
Let's talk about the role that lawyers can play in criminal proceedings.
The first is to meet the parties who have been put into the detention center. Tell him everything is fine at home. Don't worry. Tell me what's missing. I'll tell my family to send it to you. As a link to transmit information, it can alleviate the worries of the suspect's family.
The second is to apply for changing compulsory measures. Commonly known as fishing for people, it is mainly to apply to the case-handling organ for bail pending trial. In fact, the parties themselves and their families can do it, and it is getting harder and harder to apply for bail pending trial.
The third is to discuss solutions with family members. Mainly the injured party, will it lose money? How to reconcile? A good lawyer can achieve the effect of doing great things with less money, which is still very technical.
Let's talk about why the effect is limited.
Criminal punishment is the most severe punishment, and this power is strictly limited by the Constitution. If you want to convict a person, it can be said that it is very strict to go through three links: investigation by the public security organ, prosecution by the procuratorate and trial by the court. The procuratorate also has to supervise the whole litigation process. Similarly, in criminal proceedings, the defendant has nothing to do and is completely passive. The burden of proof is entirely on the prosecution, that is, the prosecutor of the procuratorate will prove to the judge what crime you have committed. If the judge thinks there is a problem, he will be asked to supplement the evidence. If not, he will be acquitted. When a product passes through Sandao Pass, its quality is definitely not low. The standard of evidence in criminal cases is the highest, and the responsibility of the case-handling organ is also the greatest. The problems that the Third Hospital can't see are all discovered by lawyers. Do you think this probability will happen to you? What did you do? You don't know? Of course, we can't say that there are no mistakes in the three organs of the public security law, but this is very rare. Maybe this is a little space for lawyers.
However, the implementation of the leniency system further reduces the space for criminal defense lawyers to display in litigation. The so-called leniency system means that you have committed a crime. As long as you plead guilty and repent, and admit the punishment of the judicial organs, you will be treated leniently. Under this system, the criminal suspects' obsession with resisting to the end will collapse instantly, and they have to reassess their interests. After the criminal suspect pleads guilty and admits punishment, the evidence chain of the public prosecution agency will be more complete, and the traditional role of lawyers in litigation, that is, the probability of obtaining commutation or even innocence through defense, will be greatly reduced.
There is another reason, which has nothing to do with whether lawyers can play a role, but it cannot be avoided. It is a problem that the overall level of criminal defense business is not high at present. Judging from the criminal defense business I have contacted, most lawyers conduct criminal defense in a routine way, mostly giving up the first few lines of defense, such as evidence acceptance, fact finding, legal application and policy grasp, on the grounds that "the defendant pleads guilty and repents, has no criminal record for the first time, truthfully confesses, and has rendered meritorious service in surrender". When a child makes a mistake, parents and teachers will say "I didn't do it" first, then "I didn't mean to", and finally admit "I won't dare it next time". Such a simple truth should also be the basic concept of criminal defense.
legal ground
People's Republic of China (PRC) Lawyers Law
Fifty-ninth measures for lawyers' fees shall be formulated by the competent price department of the State Council in conjunction with the judicial administrative department of the State Council.