2. Legal basis: legal aid regulations
Eleventh in criminal proceedings, under any of the following circumstances, citizens can apply for legal aid from legal aid institutions:
(1) The criminal suspect fails to hire a lawyer due to financial difficulties after being interrogated for the first time by the investigation organ or from the date when compulsory measures are taken;
(2) The victim of a public prosecution case and his legal representative or close relatives have not entrusted an agent ad litem due to financial difficulties since the date when the case was transferred for examination and prosecution;
(three) since the case of private prosecution was accepted by the people's court, the private prosecutor and his legal representative have not entrusted an agent ad litem due to financial difficulties.
Article 12 In a case where a public prosecutor appears in court for public prosecution, if the defendant fails to entrust a defender due to financial difficulties or other reasons, and the people's court appoints a defender for the defendant, the legal aid institution shall provide legal aid.
If the defendant is blind, deaf, dumb or a minor without a defender, or if the defendant may be sentenced to death without a defender, when the people's court appoints a defender for the defendant, the legal aid institution shall provide legal aid without examining the defendant's financial situation.
Article 13 The standards of citizens' financial difficulties mentioned in these Regulations shall be formulated by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government according to the needs of economic development and legal aid in their respective administrative regions.
Where the standard of financial hardship of the applicant's domicile is inconsistent with that of the legal aid institution that accepts the application, the standard of financial hardship of the legal aid institution that accepts the application shall prevail.
Legal basis:
Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Law:
1. 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.
2. For those who meet the conditions of legal aid, the legal aid institution shall appoint a lawyer to defend them.
3. 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.
4. 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.