According to the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), criminal defense is divided into:
1, justifiable defense, that is, criminal suspects and defendants defend themselves;
2. Entrusted defense, that is, the criminal suspect entrusts a lawyer or a close relative to defend;
3. Designated defense, that is, the defendant who may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death, or the defendant is blind, deaf, dumb or with limited capacity, and has not entrusted a defender, the court shall appoint a lawyer to defend him.
According to the defense direction, it can be divided into: innocence defense, misdemeanor defense and accusation defense.
What is the duty of a defender?
(1) Defenders shall safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects and defendants according to facts and laws. "Based on facts" refers to the materials and opinions that realistically put forward that the criminal suspect or defendant is innocent, the crime is light or the criminal responsibility is reduced or exempted. It must be based on facts, not speculation, speculation or even fabrication. "According to law" means taking law as the criterion and basis of defense on the basis of factual evidence. Whether it is innocence, guilt, light crime or heavy crime, it must be based on legal provisions. "According to facts and laws" is the code of conduct for defenders to defend criminal suspects and defendants and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. However, if a criminal suspect or defendant practices fraud and violates the law in order to avoid criminal investigation or mitigate punishment, it cannot be considered as safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the criminal suspect or defendant or performing their duties correctly.
(2) In order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects and defendants, defenders should provide materials and opinions to prove that criminal suspects and defendants are innocent, have a light crime or have their criminal responsibilities reduced or exempted. This is the main work that defenders should do, and it is also the only correct way for defenders to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects and defendants. "Put forward materials and opinions to prove that the criminal suspect or defendant is innocent, the crime is light or their criminal responsibility is reduced or exempted", that is, the defender understands the case from the criminal suspect or defendant and investigates the victim or other witnesses according to the procedures prescribed by law. When collecting relevant evidence materials, on the basis of respecting objective facts, we should pay attention to understanding and collecting all kinds of evidence that can prove that the suspect has not committed a criminal act, or that although he has committed a criminal act, he has circumstances that can be lightened, mitigated or exempted from punishment, such as whether the suspect is underage, whether he has performed, whether he plays a secondary role in it, etc. And put forward relevant evidence and defense opinions to the judicial organs.