First, the role of lawyers in the investigation stage.
Many people were put on file for investigation by the investigation organ for breaking the law. Once a person is detained, his relatives are often in a state of fear and panic and at a loss. They don't know why their relatives were taken away. Therefore, the most urgent desire of family members or relatives at this time is to meet and understand the case. However, according to the provisions of China's criminal procedure law, family members are not allowed to meet with criminal suspects during the investigation stage, unless the case investigation needs it, and the investigation organ takes the initiative to arrange it. This also cut off the possibility of family members meeting with criminal suspects to communicate and understand the situation. So some family members go to "find someone", walk around, inquire about the situation, and even spend a lot of money to understand the situation. As a result, many people were deceived for this.
In fact, many family members may also think of asking for a lawyer at the first time, but they may be influenced by the remarks made by investigators who think that it is meaningless to ask for a lawyer. They have always believed in "relationships" and think that lawyers can't play any role. They don't understand what lawyers can do and what role they can play in the investigation stage.
What rights do lawyers have in the investigation stage? According to China's Criminal Procedure Law and the newly promulgated Lawyers Law, lawyers have the right to meet, communicate, learn the charges from the investigation organs, copy legal documents, investigate and apply for bail pending trial. The right to meet is one of the most important and core rights.
In the investigation stage, the role of lawyers meeting with criminal suspects mainly includes:
1. You can learn the most real case. Before meeting the criminal suspect, the lawyer's understanding is always based on the family's narrative and some hearsay, which is generally incomplete and inaccurate. Therefore, lawyers will get the truest and most comprehensive information when meeting criminal suspects, and judge the severity of crimes and cases according to these facts. Prior to this, although lawyers could roughly infer the charges from the information provided by the families of criminal suspects, it was not necessarily accurate. Some charges should be determined according to the specific circumstances and evidence of the case. Experienced lawyers can judge the charges after meeting, and at the same time, they can judge whether the charges set by the investigation organ are accurate, so the lawyers can decide whether to raise objections. When the charges may be in doubt or controversy, the investigation organ tends to give the criminal suspect a heavier charge, and different charges directly affect the sentencing. Therefore, the most important role of lawyers at this stage is to raise objections to the charges set by the investigation organs and put forward legal basis by meeting and understanding the case.
2. Provide legal help directly to criminal suspects through interviews. Once a criminal suspect is detained in criminal detention, he will feel extremely nervous, lonely and helpless, and have no knowledge of the law. He is particularly concerned about when he can go out. In this case, he may make a statement that is unfavorable to himself or even contrary to the facts under the threat and inducement of some investigators. Once the lawyer meets, he will explain the relevant rights stipulated by law to the criminal suspect in detail, and let him know what the investigation agency is doing is legal and what is illegal. If it is illegal, the criminal suspect can refuse and resist, and will not bear the responsibility that he should not bear because of the illegal operation of the investigation organ.
3. Through interviews, find out what evidence the investigation organ has, and finally determine the focus of investigation and evidence collection. This is very important. Whether a crime is committed or not ultimately depends on evidence. Without evidence, no organ can convict. Experienced lawyers can know what questions the investigation organ asked and how the suspect answered through interviews, so as to judge what evidence the investigation organ has and what evidence it has, and even judge the investigation direction and thinking of the investigation organ in the next step. This is very important for lawyers' targeted defense, and it may also determine the effect of defense and agency. The new "Lawyers Law" gives lawyers the right to investigate and collect evidence. If lawyers want to achieve results, they must investigate the facts that can best explain the problem and are the most critical to the case. What are the most critical facts that need to be met before they can be realized?
4. Submit legal opinions to the investigation organ. Through the interview, we can know whether the behavior of the investigation organ is legal. If the investigation organ is found to have extorted a confession by torture, detained for an extended period of time, convicted wrongly, and the circumstances are obviously minor, it may submit it to the investigation organ in the form of a legal opinion, asking it to correct it, or report it to the relevant organ. In the investigation stage, because of the complicated situation, it is a common phenomenon that the investigation organ fails to investigate clearly, makes mistakes in judgment and draws wrong conclusions. However, the investigation organ will have doubts about the criminal suspect's own confession. Lawyers put forward pertinent opinions through objective and rational statements, analysis and reasoning to protect the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects.
5. Apply for bail pending trial for the criminal suspect. Bail pending trial is a criminal compulsory measure under the condition of not being detained, but subject to supervision and investigation by relevant authorities. It can be divided into PICC and property insurance, which are generally property insurance. Lawyers apply for bail pending trial because lawyers have legal rights from the day the suspect is first questioned or compulsory measures are taken, unlike many people who say that they can apply for bail pending trial if they approve the arrest of the latter. However, in practice, as long as lawyers meet the conditions of bail pending trial, they will submit them to the investigation organ or advise their families to do so.
Second, the role of lawyers in the review and prosecution stage.
According to Article 33 of China's Criminal Procedure Law: "A criminal suspect has the right to entrust a defender from the date when the case is transferred for review." In other words, in the stage of examination and prosecution, lawyers began to appear as "defenders". At this stage, except for criminal suspects who are under surveillance, the Criminal Procedure Law does not restrict defense lawyers from meeting criminal suspects. As long as he is a defense lawyer, he has the right to meet the criminal suspect in custody, without the approval of the procuratorial organ, and the procuratorial organ should not send personnel to meet at the scene. As for the content of the interview, as long as it is necessary to perform defense duties according to law, you can talk about it without restrictions. In addition, you can communicate with criminal suspects, and the content they communicate should not be checked and arbitrarily detained.
In the stage of examination and prosecution, the role of defense lawyers in meeting criminal suspects includes the following aspects:
1. Ask about the facts of the case and listen to the statements and excuses of the criminal suspect. If the facts stated by the criminal suspect are different from those stated in the public prosecution opinion, the defense lawyer should ask clearly, even if there are differences in details.
2. Check the materials and opinions that prove that the criminal suspect is innocent, the crime is light, or the criminal responsibility is reduced or exempted, and ask whether the criminal suspect has new witnesses, physical evidence and evidence clues.
3. Inform them of their litigation rights and obligations at the stage of review and prosecution. For example, when the case-handling personnel of the procuratorate interrogate him, he has the right to apply for withdrawal, the right to defense, the right to request re-appraisal, and the right to appeal against the prosecution decision.
4. Ask about the case. Ask about the duration of his detention, whether the case-handling personnel have carried out illegal acts such as extorting a confession by torture and detaining him in disguised form, and whether they have seized or frozen property with the case. According to the contents of the above-mentioned meeting, defense lawyers can put forward defense opinions to the people's procuratorate to prove the criminal suspect's innocence, light crime or reduce his criminal responsibility. If criminal responsibility should not be investigated, or if the evidence is insufficient and does not meet the conditions for prosecution, or if the circumstances of the crime are minor, it is not necessary to sentence or be exempted from punishment according to the provisions of the Criminal Law, it should be suggested that the People's Procuratorate make a decision not to prosecute. If the criminal suspect refuses to accept the decision to plead guilty and repent, the defense lawyer may appeal to the people's procuratorate on his behalf; If the case has sealed up or frozen property, it may request the people's procuratorate to terminate it after making a decision not to prosecute. If the detention period has exceeded the time limit prescribed by law, he may request the cancellation or change of compulsory measures on behalf of the criminal suspect; If the case-handling personnel commit illegal acts such as extorting confessions by torture or detaining them in disguised form, they may prosecute on their behalf.
Third, the role of lawyers in the trial stage.
The trial stage will produce an authoritative and final conclusion on the defendant's criminal responsibility (except for cases sentenced to immediate execution), which is the core stage of criminal proceedings and the key stage for criminal defense lawyers to play their roles. A series of important work of criminal defense lawyers will be carried out at this stage, and lawyers meeting defendants is one of the basic work of lawyers' defense work. The working objectives of criminal defense lawyers in different stages of criminal proceedings are different, and the meeting in the trial stage is also different from the meeting in the investigation, examination and prosecution stage. In the trial stage, lawyers can communicate with the defendant alone, and generally on the basis of lawyers reading the papers, which is more conducive to comprehensive, specific and targeted communication between lawyers and defendants.
In the trial stage, the role of lawyers meeting with defendants mainly includes:
1. Before meeting the defendant, the lawyer had carefully reviewed all the case files, summarized the doubtful points and difficulties of the case, found the key to the defense, and then adopted strategies to find his client.
2. Listen to the defendant's opinions on the indictment, further communicate with the defendant according to the marking situation, check the facts of the case, and effectively filter the illogical links in the whole case.
3. Listen to the defendant's self-defense opinions, explain the defense opinions initially formed by lawyers to the defendant and ask for their opinions.
4. Inform the defendant of the trial process in detail.
5. Teach the defendant trial skills.
6. Teach the defendant how to defend himself effectively.
7. Inquire and check the materials and opinions that prove the defendant's innocence, light crime, or reduce or exempt him from criminal responsibility again.
8. Ask the defendant again if he has any new evidence and clues.
9. Ask the defendant's opinion on the incidental civil action.
10. If the defendant has not committed a crime, encourage him to retract his confession bravely, and don't be afraid of being accused of "the crime of guilty attitude".
1 1. Give the defendant other legal help.