1. What's the difference between hiring a lawyer and hiring one yourself?
The difference between entrusting a lawyer and hiring one's own lawyer is that the entrusted lawyer is free, and the lawyer needs to pay the lawyer's fee, but the judicial organ will not assign a lawyer to the suspect at will.
Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 35
If a criminal suspect or defendant fails to entrust a defender due to financial difficulties or other reasons, he or his close relatives may apply to a legal aid institution. To meet the conditions of legal aid, legal aid institutions shall appoint lawyers to defend them.
If the criminal suspect or defendant is a mental patient who is blind, deaf, dumb or has not completely lost the ability to identify or control his own behavior, and has not entrusted a defender, the people's court, the people's procuratorate and the public security organ shall notify the legal aid institution to appoint a lawyer to defend him.
If a criminal suspect or defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death without entrusting a defender, the people's court, the people's procuratorate and the public security organ shall notify the legal aid institution to appoint a lawyer to defend him.
Second, what is the cost of hiring a lawyer in criminal cases?
Legal fees are illegal, and the main factors to be considered in legal fees are:
1, working time spent;
2, the difficulty of legal affairs;
3. The number of lawyers required to handle legal affairs and the professional ability of lawyers;
4, the client's affordability and local social and economic development;
5. Risks and responsibilities that lawyers may bear;
6, the lawyer's social reputation and work level;
7. Other necessary expenses for handling cases.
3. What rights do defense lawyers have?
1. Providing legal advice to criminal suspects, representing complaints and accusations,
2. Apply for bail pending trial for the arrested criminal suspect.
3. If the entrusted matter is illegal, the client uses the services provided by the lawyer to engage in illegal activities, or the client deliberately conceals important facts related to the case, the lawyer has the right to refuse to defend.
4. Since the criminal suspect is interrogated by the investigation organ for the first time or compulsory measures are taken, the entrusted lawyer has the right to meet the criminal suspect and defendant with the lawyer's practice certificate, the certificate of law firm, the power of attorney or the official letter of legal aid to learn about the relevant case.
5. Lawyers meet with criminal suspects and defendants without being monitored.
6. The entrusted lawyer has the right to consult, extract and copy the litigation documents and files related to this case from the date of case review and prosecution.
7. The entrusted lawyer has the right to consult, extract and copy all materials related to the case from the date when the people's court accepts the case.
8. The entrusted lawyer may, according to the needs of the case, apply to the people's procuratorate or the people's court to collect and obtain evidence or apply to the people's court to notify witnesses to testify in court.
9. A lawyer may, on the strength of his lawyer's practice certificate and law firm's certificate, investigate the situation related to undertaking legal affairs to the relevant units or individuals on his own.
10. If a lawyer acts as a defender, his right to defense is guaranteed according to law.
To sum up, the difference between appointing a lawyer and hiring one's own lawyer is mainly the issue of fees. However, although the appointed lawyer belongs to the nature of legal aid, the appointed lawyer will not perfunctory the defense work because he has not charged the suspect. Even lawyers hired by themselves can only carry out relevant defense work within the scope permitted by law.