The three important stages for a Chinese criminal defender playing and exerting in criminal case

● The stage of investigation

Refers to the period from the beginning of case filed and investigated by the public security organ to the end of investigation closed , which is transferred to the procuratorate for examination and prosecution. The criminal suspect is often detained in the detention center during the investigation stage, except for lawyers and investigators, other personnel, including family members, are not allowed to meet. In the investigation stage, the lawyer intervenes in the case to provide help for the criminal suspect, and can provide the following helps for the criminal suspect:

1. The lawyer can meet with the criminal suspect, report the concerns of the family members, relieve the anxiety of the criminal suspect and provide psychological comfort. When many people are restricted to personal freedom, their living environment, social status and psychological pressure changed dramatically.

2. When a lawyer meets with a suspect, he can explain the suspected charges and relevant legal knowledge to the suspect. Let the suspects have a clear understanding of the difficulties they are facing and know what to do and what not to do.

3. When a lawyer meets with a criminal suspect, he / she can learn the clues of his / her innocence or light crime from the criminal suspect, help to do some fixed and strong evidence work, and prepare for the successful defense in the future. Evidence is in danger of loss at any time. If we do not take care of it for a while, we will never get the favorable evidence.

4. Lawyer's meeting with criminal suspect can avoid the occurrence of extorting confession by torture to the greatest extent. Although the legal environment of our china is getting better and better, the phenomenon of extorting confession by torture still occurs from time to time. A criminal defender can bring a complaint or charge on behalf of the criminal suspect, thus effectively reducing the occurrence of these possibilities.

5. By meeting with the criminal suspect, the lawyer can help the criminal suspect to understand his behavior correctly, so as to strive for the opportunity of meritorious performance and thus obtain the lenient punishment.

6. The lawyer can help the criminal suspect to apply for a guarantor pending trial according to the case in the investigation stage, so as to solve the crisis well;

●The stage of examination and prosecution (i.e. Prosecution) generally refers to the stage when the case has been investigated and transferred to our procuratorate (the prosecution organ), and until the procuratorate prosecute the suspect to the court. At this stage, the family members of the criminal suspect can only see the criminal suspect through a lawyer. In the stage of examination and prosecution, lawyer can do the following work:

1. Meet with the criminal suspect and provide the above-mentioned assistance in the investigation stage for the criminal suspect, such as obtaining a guarantor pending trial.

2. A lawyer can learn more about the relevant cases from the Procuratorate's examination organ, including reading or copying the technical materials of forensic and examination involved in the case, prosecution opinions, etc;

3. A lawyer may put forward to the procuratorial organ the opinions on the innocence and lightness of the criminal suspect and the defense of misjudged crime; if the procuratorial organ adopts the opinions of the lawyer, it may have the case to be reverted for supplementary investigation or not to be prosecuted. Non prosecution means that the suspect is acquitted and released in advance.

4. Even if the above purpose can not be achieved, the lawyer can exchange views on the case with the prosecutor in the stage of examination and prosecution, so as to understand the prosecutor's idea of accusation and make more full preparation for the successful defense.

● Trial stage refers to the period from the court accepting the indictment of the public prosecutor to the effective date of the judgment of the first and second instance. In fact, the trial stage often includes two stages: first instance and second instance. In the trial stage, lawyers can play the most important role.

In the first instance stage, the work of lawyers is mainly manifested in the following aspects:

1. Meeting with the criminal suspect, understand the evidence clues of the criminal suspect (called the defendant at this stage) being light or innocent, and collect evidence of light or innocent for the defendant;

2. Meeting with the presiding judge, reading and duplicating the files of the accused;

3. Meeting with the defendant and exchanging opinions with the defendant on the preliminary defense opinions formed by the lawyer; teaching the defendant the trial procedures and matters to be paid attention to during the trial, and conducting some cross examination drills when necessary, so as to make proper cooperation in the court and strive for the best trial effect.

4. Meticulously study the case and make full preparations for the court session. Employ famous domestic criminal experts to provide authoritative opinions to support the defense view on major problems; if necessary, invite influential media to supervise and appeal to ensure a fair trial;

5. Carefully respond to the trial, fully elaborate the defense reasons, understand the situation to try our best to win the judge's approval of the defense point of view;

6. Carefully prepare the defense in written form and persuade the judge to make a judgment which is beneficial to the defendant; influence the judge's opinion in various ways in a legal way;

7. After receiving the judgment of first instance, meet with the defendant in time, inform the advantages and disadvantages of the judgment to the defendant, and put forward the above-mentioned reasonable suggestions;

8. If the defendant requests an appeal, help the defendant to prepare for the appeal.

 In the second trial, the role of the defense lawyer:

1. Review the trial materials of the first trial, formulate new defense plan and remake the defense ideas of the second trial according to the situation of the first trial decision;

2. Meet with the defendant, discovery the evidence clues of being lighter or innocence that have not been found, and collect strong combative evidences;

3. Actively exchange views on the case with the judges of the second instance, and strive to facilitate the opening trial of the second instance (the cases of the second instance are usually heard and reviewed in written form, which deprives the defendants of their litigation rights to some extent);

4. Prepare and actively respond to the court debate;

5. Elaborately prepares the defense wording, and influences the judge to change the judgment in various forms;

6. After receiving the second trial judgment, meet with the defendant, analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the judgment, and lead the defendant to correctly understand the judgment result of the judgment. If the defendant requests a complaint, help the defendant to prepare for the complaint.