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Reporter: As far as I know, after the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law, lawyers can intervene in criminal cases in advance. At the same time, the procedural law also has some provisions to protect the rights of lawyers. Why do you think it is more difficult for lawyers to handle cases?
Zhao Li: Actually, you only saw one side of the story. It is very difficult for lawyers to handle criminal cases. The first problem is that it is difficult to meet. This is widely reflected by many lawyers, and it has been reflected since the revision of the Criminal Procedure Law in 1996, but this problem has not been completely solved until now.
Reporter: Isn't it stipulated by law?
Zhao Li: No, the law is very clear. A criminal suspect may hire a lawyer after the first interrogation by the investigation organ or from the date when compulsory measures are taken. The entrusted lawyer has the right to know about the crime accused by the criminal suspect from the investigation organ, and can meet with the criminal suspect in custody to learn about the relevant case. However, it is still difficult for a lawyer to meet the client during the investigation stage. Later, in 1998, six ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Procuratorate and the NPC Law Committee, jointly issued the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law, which specifically pointed out that in the investigation stage, if a lawyer requests to meet with a criminal suspect, the case-handling organ should arrange a meeting within 48 hours, and for a major and complicated case with the same crime, it should arrange a meeting within 5 days. Even with such regulations, it is difficult for lawyers to meet their clients at the investigation stage. I have even encountered such a situation. The client was detained in the detention center, and I asked the public security organ to meet the client. The case-handling organ refused to see him on the grounds that the investigation was confidential. When I showed him the Criminal Procedure Law and the regulations of six ministries and commissions, he said that he would ask the director in charge, but the director in charge actually said on the phone that he didn't know about this regulation. This happened in 2000, and the Criminal Procedure Law was amended four years later. After many twists and turns, the parties in custody finally met, but I am also entangled in physical and mental fatigue. This is just the first time we met. If you want to meet for the second time during the investigation stage, the investigation organ will not allow lawyers to meet on the grounds that you have already met and there is nothing new. Either you will be locked out forever, or the case handler is absent, or you will have a meeting, or you will find a leader to criticize, and the leader is absent. Anyway, you will try to set up obstacles with only one purpose, that is, to prevent the client from meeting the lawyer. This is a difficult problem, and another problem is that it is difficult to read the paper. ...