Lawyer's character

Because Zhou Jiangmeng went to the bank to withdraw money many times, he visited several nearby Agricultural Banks. He was afraid of being discovered, so he went to his friend Dang Manjiang for a drink after get off work and asked him to help withdraw money.

After Dang Manjiang got the bankbook, he found that the name on it was not Zhou Jiangmeng, so he asked him why he took someone else's bankbook to withdraw money from the bank.

Zhou Jiangmeng lied that he and Li Yuan Gong were poker buddies. Li Yuan Gong lost money playing fried gold and bet the discount with him. Later, when the money was not paid, he asked himself to pick it up. However, the company recently inspected and he had to work overtime. I didn't have time during the day, so I asked Dang Manjiang for help, and said I wouldn't let him work in vain.

Dang Manjiang thought that something as important as a bank passbook would normally not be handed over to others. Since Zhou Jiang could get it and there was a password, Li Yuangon might have asked him to get it to pay off his gambling debt. Moreover, there are not a few local people who play Jinhua. Big cars and houses are all deposited. It is not uncommon to deposit a bankbook.

So Dang Manjiang took his bankbook to the Agricultural Bank of China branch nearest to his home the next morning and took out 56,000 yuan in cash. In the evening, Zhou Jiang suddenly came to Dang Manjiang to withdraw money, invited him to dinner, and then gave him another 3,000 yuan as a reward.

A week later, Zhou Jiangmeng went to the Agricultural Bank of China twice to withdraw cash totaling 70,000 yuan. At this time, there was still a deposit of 220 yuan in the bank book. Then Zhou Jiang fiercely burned Li Yuangong's bankbook.

Zhou Jiangmeng put all the withdrawn money on the top of the wardrobe behind his wife's back as his daily expenses. Half a month later, Li Yuanlong discovered that the passbook was missing. During the process of reporting the loss, he discovered that most of the money in the passbook had been taken away, so he called the police.

The public security organs discovered the suspects Zhou Jiangmeng and Dang Manjiang through bank surveillance video, and then summoned the two and interrogated them. Zhou Jiangmeng and Zhou Jiangmeng confessed to the withdrawal and returned all the stolen money.

In the end, the public security organs transferred Zhou Jiangmeng to the Procuratorate for the crime of theft. The procuratorate subsequently prosecuted Zhou Jiangmeng for theft.

The court of first instance held that the defendant Zhou Jiangmeng did not possess or control the money in the passbook when he found Li Yuangon's passbook with a password on the Agricultural Bank of China. However, he took advantage of his familiarity with the owner and used the secret method of repeatedly stealing the passbook password. , misappropriating Li Yuanlong's name and taking possession of the 141,500 yuan in the bank's passbook.

Defendant Zhou Jiangmeng subjectively had the purpose of illegal possession and objectively committed secret theft, and his behavior constituted the crime of theft. In accordance with Articles 264 and 61 of the Criminal Law, the verdict is that the defendant Zhou Jiangmeng committed the crime of theft and was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan.

After the verdict was announced, Zhou Jiang refused to accept the verdict and appealed to the Municipal Intermediate People's Court.

"Lawyer Fang, I asked the previous lawyer yesterday, and he also said that my brother should not be charged with theft and that it should not constitute a crime. He also defended this in the first trial. But the court did not admit it at all and gave my brother the verdict. Theft.

I heard Yu Sanqiang said that you are good at fighting criminal cases and are an expert in this field. Do you think if my brother's case is appealed, is it possible to reduce the sentence? "Zhou Jiangyong looked at Fang Yi eagerly, waiting for his reply.

Fang Yi put down the first-instance verdict and thought for a moment: "Judging from the facts of the case, I think it is open to question whether the court determined that your brother's behavior constituted the crime of theft. Zhou Jiangmeng did constitute a crime, but it should not constitute the crime of theft."

"What do you mean?" Ai Yajie's eyes showed anxiety.

“Based on the description of the case in the judgment, I think Zhou Jiangmeng committed fraud,” Fang Yi said.

"Why? The passbook was picked up by Dameng (Zhou Jiangmeng's nickname). When the police asked, he handed over all the money. Isn't this the same as picking up money and returning it to the owner? Why is it a crime of fraud again?" Ai Yajie A look of confusion.

"What happened to Zhou Jiangmeng is different from picking up money and returning it to the owner. It cannot be understood this way.

In this case, Zhou Jiangmeng used the method of guessing the password of other people's passbooks to illegally withdraw other people's deposits for the purpose of illegal possession. His behavior was to use other people's names to defraud the bank's trust. It was not "secretly stealing" the deposits in the passbook, so he should be charged with fraud. Conviction and punishment.

If Zhou Jiangmeng used the method of stealing other people's bankbooks to withdraw deposits, he should be convicted and punished for the crime of theft. However, judging from the circumstances of this case and the evidence on file, there is no evidence to prove that the bankbook was stolen by Zhou Jiangmeng, so he cannot be convicted and sentenced for the crime of theft. "Fang Yi explained.

"Will the crime of fraud be punished more severely than the crime of theft?" Zhou Jiangyong was a little worried.

"This cannot be generalized, and the specific circumstances of each case are different. From the judicial interpretation, the starting penalty point for the crime of fraud is 3,000 yuan to more than 10,000 yuan, while the starting point for the crime of theft is 1,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan. More than one thousand yuan.

To put it bluntly, for the same amount and under the same circumstances, the crime of theft may be sentenced more severely than the crime of fraud because the starting point for the crime of theft is lower. "Fang Yi introduced briefly.

His explanation left room for imagination for both Zhou Jiangyong and Zhou Jiangyong. For ordinary people who are not legal professionals, the more explanations they have, the more confused the other party will be. Because of the information asymmetry between the two parties, communication in vernacular or cases is often more direct, more effective, and more efficient.

This may be the so-called talking about people and talking about ghosts. In short, a lawyer’s communication skills are very important.

Seeing that the two were silent, Fang Yi added: "Actually, as far as this case is concerned, Zhou Jiangmeng is a first-time offender, and he returned all the stolen money without causing any loss to the victim. He had a good attitude of pleading guilty after being brought to justice. I think he can plead guilty to a lesser crime." , the possibility of the sentence being reduced is quite high.”

"Lawyer Fang, if my brother's case is entrusted to you, how much will the legal fees cost?" Zhou Jiangyong asked after pondering for a moment.

"Because I did not handle the first trial, and the second trial requires more work, so the cost will be slightly higher. The lawyer's fee is 150,000 yuan, and travel expenses are additional." Fang Yi replied.

The defendant in the first instance was sentenced to ten years in prison. If the sentence could be reduced, it would be a great benefit to the defendant.

"Well, let's think about it and get back to you in the next two days. Thank you, Lawyer Fang." After Zhou Jiangyong finished speaking, the two of them paid the consulting fee and left the law firm.

"Master, will they entrust you?" Yun Qiao asked after returning to the office downstairs.

"It's hard to say. They may think the legal fees are a bit high. Let's wait and see." Fang Yi replied.

"The first trial lasted ten years, and the second trial legal fees will definitely be indispensable. In this case, no lawyer will ask for less. But they have paid all the consulting fees, and I think it is unlikely that they will come back." Yun Qiao tilted her head. analyzed.

Zhou Jiangyong and Ai Yajie took a taxi to the train station. While waiting for the bus, they had a dispute over whether to entrust the matter.