1. Do you need to hire a defense lawyer for the review and prosecution of criminal cases?
It is generally necessary to hire a defense lawyer to review the prosecution. In criminal cases, the duty of a lawyer as a defender is to provide materials and opinions on whether a criminal suspect or defendant is innocent, light or relieved of criminal responsibility according to facts and laws, and to safeguard the litigation rights and other legitimate rights and interests of the criminal suspect or defendant. A criminal suspect has the right to entrust a defender from the day when he is interrogated for the first time by the investigation organ or compulsory measures are taken, but whether to entrust him or not shall be decided according to the wishes of the criminal suspect.
According to the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC)
Article 33 A criminal suspect or defendant may, in addition to exercising the right of defense, entrust one or two persons as defenders. The following persons may be entrusted as defenders:
(1) lawyers;
(2) A person recommended by a people's organization or the unit to which the criminal suspect or defendant belongs;
(3) Guardians, relatives and friends of criminal suspects and defendants.
A person who has been sentenced to punishment according to law or deprived of or restricted personal freedom shall not act as a defender.
A person who has been dismissed from public office or has his lawyer's or notary's practice certificate revoked may not act as a defender, except the guardian or near relative of the criminal suspect or defendant.
Second, review the time of prosecution.
Article 169 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that the people's procuratorate shall make a decision within 1 month on the case transferred for prosecution by the investigation organ, and the major and complicated case may be extended by half a month.
If the people's procuratorate examines and prosecutes a case and changes its jurisdiction, the time limit for examination and prosecution shall be counted from the date when the changed people's procuratorate receives the case. This article clearly stipulates the time limit for examination and prosecution and the calculation of the time limit for examination and prosecution after changing jurisdiction. This provision is a summary of long-term review and prosecution experience, which meets the requirements of accurate and timely handling of cases.
According to the third paragraph of Article 171 of the Criminal Procedure Law, after the supplementary investigation is terminated and transferred to the people's procuratorate, the time limit for examination and prosecution by the people's procuratorate is recalculated.
In fact, the vast majority of criminal suspects will not wait until the case of prosecution is reviewed before hiring a defense lawyer. Generally, they start to hire defense lawyers after the public security organ 1 inquires, because it is impossible for a defense lawyer to defend without knowing the case after accepting the entrustment, and the lawyer must be fully prepared before defending.