What are the situations in which lawyers are entrusted to defend criminal cases?

People's courts, people's procuratorates and public security organs shall notify legal aid institutions to appoint lawyers to defend criminal suspects and defendants, which can be divided into four situations: (1) The criminal suspects and defendants are minors; (2) The criminal suspect or defendant is blind, deaf or dumb; (3) The criminal suspect or defendant is a mental patient who has not completely lost the ability to identify or control his own behavior; (4) Criminal suspects and defendants are people who may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death. If the above-mentioned four kinds of people have not entrusted defenders, the public security organs, people's procuratorates and people's courts shall, within 3 days from the date of discovering the situation, notify the legal aid institutions affiliated to the judicial administrative organs at the same level to appoint lawyers to defend them. The main body of assigning lawyers to defend is legal aid institutions. Whether legal aid institutions should appoint lawyers to defend criminal suspects and defendants can be divided into two situations. The application can be made by the criminal suspect, the defendant himself and his near relatives, or the people's court, the people's procuratorate and the public security organ can notify the legal aid institution to appoint a lawyer to provide defense. Criminal suspects, defendants and their close relatives apply. Article 34 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that 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. In criminal cases, if the criminal suspect or defendant has not entrusted a defender, he may apply for legal aid under any of the following circumstances: (1) There is evidence to prove that the criminal suspect or defendant belongs to the first-degree or second-degree mental disability; (2) *** In the same criminal case, other criminal suspects and defendants have entrusted defenders; (3) The people's procuratorate lodged a protest; (4) The case has a significant social impact. To sum up, for some suspects in specific cases, lawyers can be appointed to defend them. Of course, the defended party can also refuse to defend, but for minors or some disabled people, it is impossible to refuse the defender. Defenders still play a very important role in the whole case.