Lawyer's character

The Municipal Intermediate Court held that the defendants Zhong Weican and Ma Bei violated national drug control laws and regulations by selling and transporting HL, and their actions constituted the crime of selling and transporting drugs; the defendants Zhao Gu and He Tong illegally sold HL, and their actions constituted trafficking. Drug Offenses.

Zhong Weican instructed Ma Bei to purchase drugs from the county and transport them to a city for safekeeping. Zhao Gu handed over the drugs to him for trafficking according to his instructions. Zhong Weican, Ma Bei and Zhao Gu constituted a joint crime. Zhong Weican is the principal offender, and Ma Bei and Zhao Gu are the accomplices.

After trial, it was found that He Tong had been sentenced to three years in prison for fraud. He committed another crime within five years after the execution of the sentence and was a recidivist.

In the end, the court, in accordance with Article 347, Paragraph 2, Item 1, Article 25, Article 26, Article 27, Article 65, and Article 47 of the Criminal Law , Article 48, Paragraph 1 of Article 57, and Article 64, the judgment is:

1. The defendant Zhong Weican was convicted of selling and transporting drugs and was sentenced to death, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscated all personal property;

2. Defendant Ma Bei was convicted of selling and transporting drugs and was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscated personal property of RMB 50,000;

3. Defendant Zhao Gu was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscated personal property of RMB 50,000;

4. The defendant He Tong was convicted of drug trafficking and was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life, and ordered to confiscate his personal property of RMB 50,000.

After the verdict of the first instance was pronounced, Zhong Weican appealed on the grounds that he was ordered by Luo Shu to sell and transport drugs.

After hearing, the Provincial High Court held that the facts identified in the first-instance judgment were clear, the evidence was reliable and sufficient, the conviction was accurate, the sentencing was appropriate, and the trial procedures were legal. It ruled to reject the appeal in accordance with the law, upheld the original judgment, and reported the death sentence of the defendant Zhong Weican to the Supreme People's Court in accordance with the law. Court approved.

Fang Yi couldn't help but frowned as he looked at the judgment in his hand. The two trials of this case have been completed and are waiting for approval by the Supreme Court. Moreover, both the person and the person have gained the stolen goods, so there is basically no need for a defense.

"Lawyer Fang, let me tell you the truth. I had already gone to three lawyers before coming here, and they all said there was nothing they could do.

There was a lawyer who said that he could find connections to gain connections with the Supreme Court, but I thought that if this lawyer had connections with the Supreme Court, he wouldn't be stuck in a small lawyer, and the possibility of deceiving people would be greater, so I ignored him. he.

Why! I had already advised him not to touch this thing, but he... didn't say anything. To be honest, I am also a dead horse doctor. "Zhong Weicheng saw Fang Yi frowning, and his heart skipped a beat. He knew that this time might be in vain, but he still wanted to give it a try.

"Your brother was caught on the spot while doing business in a hotel. So far, the procedure has been completed, and the only thing left is the Supreme Court to approve the death penalty.

Although you can retain a lawyer while the Supreme Court approves the death penalty, to be honest, it's not that I don't want to earn your lawyer's fees. I really can't find a point of defense and can't help. Even charging you legal fees to go through the process won't change the outcome, and it's no reward. Please understand. "Fang Yi looked at each other seriously.

Unless there is a breakthrough in this kind of case, there is no way to handle it. Nothing can be done after collecting the money. If word spreads about it, it will damage the reputation. Fang Yi definitely cannot handle such a matter.

"I accept the fact that he was caught on the spot. The evidence is conclusive and no one can quibble. But my brother is just a gangster. There is someone else above him. That person was also arrested. However, due to lack of evidence, the arrest was not approved. He was released on bail pending trial. ”

"Is the person you are talking about Luo Shu mentioned in your brother's appeal?" Fang Yi asked.

"Yes, it was him, but the procuratorate said there was insufficient evidence and he was released. His bail pending trial was handled by my brother's defense lawyer, Lawyer Zhao," Zhong Weicheng said.

"Did your brother's defense lawyer, Lawyer Zhao, arrange for Luo Shu to be released on bail pending trial?" Fang Yi asked doubtfully.

"Ah! Yes! This lawyer Zhao is a lawyer from a big firm in Beijing. He was introduced by a friend at the time. We went to entrust him first, and later we heard that Luo Shu's wife also went to him to complete the entrustment procedures. So did I. I found out through friends. Is there a problem with this?" Zhong Weicheng saw that Fang Yi's eyes were wrong and glanced at Ouyang Jie in confusion. Ouyang Jie was also confused and didn't know why Fang Yi asked.

Fang Yi touched his chin and was silent for more than ten seconds, then looked at Zhong Weicheng: "Are you sure that your brother's defender, lawyer Zhao, has accepted Luo Shu's commission and provided him with legal services?"

"I'm sure, I asked a friend and asked internally." Zhong Weicheng looked at Fang Yi with his big eyes.

"The breakthrough point in your brother's case may be here. I can try, but I can't guarantee whether it will work." Fang Yi said with a firm gaze.

"You mean...my brother's case has been postponed?" Zhong Weicheng was startled, with excitement in his eyes.

“All I can say is there is opportunity.

It is prohibited by law for the same lawyer to defend two or more criminal suspects who are interested in the same case.

Although the Criminal Procedure Law does not clearly stipulate how to handle situations where a defender has a conflict of interest, relevant laws, regulations and judicial interpretations have made clear prohibitive provisions.

For example, Article 39 of the "Lawyers Law", Article 7 of the "Standards for Lawyers Handling Criminal Cases" and Article 7 of the "Measures for Punishing Illegal Conduct of Lawyers and Law Firms" all stipulate that lawyers shall not be involved in the same criminal case for more than two persons at the same time. serve as defenders for criminal suspects and defendants.

Article 40 of the "Procedural Regulations for the Handling of Criminal Cases by Public Security Organs" also stipulates: "criminal suspects in the same case shall not hire the same lawyer.

Article 317 of the "Criminal Procedure Rules of the People's Procuratorate" and Article 35 of the "Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" also have relevant provisions.

It can be seen that our country’s laws, regulations and judicial interpretations impose strict restrictions on lawyers’ defense of co-defendants. Not only are co-defendants who are interested in the crime not allowed to hire the same lawyer, even co-criminal suspects or defendants who are not interested are not allowed to hire the same lawyer. One is also not allowed to hire the same lawyer, and this prohibition extends throughout the entire criminal process of investigation, prosecution and trial.

The behavior of your brother's defense lawyer, Attorney Zhao, clearly violated the above regulations. "Fang Yi explained.

"Will this situation have a big impact on my brother's case? Is there any possibility of changing the sentence?" Zhong Weicheng immediately became excited.

"I can't say whether the sentence can be changed. However, the same lawyer accepted the commission of two criminal suspects and defendants who were interested in the same case during the investigation and trial stages, and participated in criminal proceedings. The impact on a fair trial is Very obvious. Specifically:

1. Violate the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects and defendants.

During the investigation stage, when lawyers provide legal assistance to criminal suspects, they often learn secrets related to investigation activities from meetings with criminal suspects and other activities, and lawyers must never leak, disseminate or make public any matters involving investigation secrets.

If a lawyer accepts the entrustment of two or more criminal suspects to provide legal assistance in the same case, the lawyer's room for using or leaking investigation secrets (especially matters detrimental to the criminal suspect) will be further increased. It is difficult to avoid the suspicion of collusion, and it may even result in the transfer of interests between the entrusted criminal suspects, thereby unfairly infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of one of the criminal suspects.

Even if a lawyer strictly keeps secrets acquired in the course of practice, it is suspected of violating the lawyer's duty of loyalty to the client.

In this case, your brother's defense lawyer, Lawyer Zhao, accepted the commission of two interested suspects (Zhong Weican and Luo Shu) during the investigation stage. Luo Shu was released on bail pending trial, but your brother was arrested. The key is The interests of these two people are in conflict. Whether there is any problem here is difficult to say.

When I read the judgment just now, I was still wondering why, during the first and second instances, lawyer Zhao, as your brother Zhong Weican’s defender, put forward the opinions of your brother’s other defense lawyer on the behavior of Luo Shu and Zhong Weican. Conflicting defense opinions.

Generally speaking, two defense lawyers for the same defendant should communicate their defense plans before the trial, and there should be no conflicts, because this is extremely detrimental to the defendant.

From what you say, this may be the problem. "Fang Yi said.

"Is there? Where is it? Why didn't I see it?" Zhong Weicheng looked at Fang Yi with a surprised look on his face.

Fang Yi penciled in some of the defense opinions in the first and second instance judgments and handed them over.

"I'm Cao Fuck, if you didn't tell me, I really wouldn't have known that there was such a thing!" Zhong Weicheng scratched his bald head and cursed.

"Lawyer Zhao twice provided legal services from the perspective of another criminal suspect, or even from the perspective of the pursuer, which greatly reduced the weight and intensity of the defense. Not only was he unable to perform his duties as a lawyer, Instead, your brother Zhong Weican fell into an even more unfavorable situation because of the lawyer's intervention.

Therefore, what your brother Zhong Weican received was only nominal help. In fact, his interests were not only not protected, but he may also suffer adverse consequences. In essence, your brother's legitimate rights and interests were violated.

2. Lawyer Zhao’s behavior may interfere with the normal activities of the judicial authorities in ascertaining the truth.

In this case, Zhong Weican himself and other co-defendants did not confess to participate in the prosecution of this case, except for the fact that they participated in Zhong Weican's selling of unique products (the prosecutor's office did not prosecute this fact).

Zhong Weican only mentioned that his drug trafficking was under the instruction of "Fifth Master". However, in the first and second trials, Zhong Weican confessed that "Fifth Master" was Luo Shu.

Lawyer Zhao provided legal assistance to co-criminal suspects Luo Shu and Zhong Weican at the same time during the investigation stage, and later provided Zhong Weican with a defense opinion during the first and second trials that he was ordered to commit crimes by Luo Shu, which could easily raise questions about accomplices' confessions. , which in turn caused the judge to question the authenticity of the defendants' confessions, affecting the judge's accurate judgment of the facts of the case.

When the first and second instance courts lose the guarantee of procedural fairness, there is a possibility that the judgment results made by the first and second instance courts on the facts of the case and the status and role of each defendant in the joint crime are unfair, which may in turn affect the fair trial of the entity.

3. Lawyer Zhao’s behavior may affect the credibility of the judiciary.

In this case, judging from the circumstances, consequences and harm to society of your brother Zhong Weican's crime, to put it bluntly, he should indeed be punished according to law.

However, if procedural justice is simply sacrificed to achieve substantive justice, and your brother Zhong Weican’s death sentence is approved when procedural violations have not been corrected, it will cause the public to question the fairness of the judiciary, thereby affecting judicial credibility and judicial authority. "Fang Yi explained.

"Lawyer Fang, my brother should be in jail if he commits a crime. I am a rough man and don't understand the truth. You have said so much. If I entrust this case to you, what will be the outcome of this case? Please tell me , I have a good idea." Zhong Weicheng looked at Fang Yi eagerly.

"According to my experience, it is unlikely that the sentence will be changed directly. The best result is a retrial. Of course, as you said, I am also a dead horse and a live horse doctor. I will give it a try. I dare not give you a guarantee." Fang Yi doesn't want to offend this kind of social person, so as not to cause trouble for the law firm and herself.

Ouyang Jie heard it, and Fang Yi's subtext was: I think there is some hope in this case. If you are willing to give it a try, I will take it, but I can't guarantee anything to you.

"Okay, Lawyer Fang, I'll entrust this case to you." With that said, Zhong Weicheng picked up the travel bag next to his seat and threw it heavily on the table. He opened the zipper with a clang, revealing the big red banknotes inside.

"Lawyer Fang, I'm a rough guy. I'll give you 100,000 in legal fees for this case first. If this case is sent back for retrial as you said, the remaining 400,000 in this bag will be yours.

To put it bluntly, if the Supreme Court approves my brother’s death sentence, I won’t blame you. This is my brother’s life. What do you think? "Zhong Weicheng exudes a domineering aura, which is a bit chilling.

"No problem. Sit down for a moment and I'll ask someone to prepare the entrustment procedures. Have you brought your ID and household registration book? It's best for your brother's lover to come and go through the entrustment procedures." Fang Yi has handled cases for so many years. This is the first time I have seen such a arrogant person.

"My brother is not married. I handled the previous entrustment procedures, so I should do it. I have brought everything." Zhong Weicheng said and took out his ID.

More than 20 minutes later, Fang Yi sent Ouyang Jie and Zhong Weicheng into the elevator. He didn't let out a sigh of relief until the elevator door closed, and said to himself: It's better to avoid messing with people like this in the future.

After signing the entrustment procedure and receiving the money, he had to work. In the next few days, Fang Yi went to the Provincial High Court to review the papers, and then went to the detention center to meet with Zhong Weican. After reviewing the papers, Fang Yi discovered that, as Zhong Weicheng said, during the investigation stage, Luo Shu As expected, Zhong Weican and Zhong Weican entrusted the same lawyer, and this lawyer was Zhong Weican's defense lawyer Zhao in the first and second trials.

Four chapters are updated today. Writing a book is not easy. Please support me from book friends!

I finally finished writing it, but I made a mistake and clicked send immediately. Made a mistake!