Public security listens to lawyers’ opinions [public security investigation stage]

Article 161 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates:

If the defense lawyer makes a request before the investigation of the case is concluded , the investigation agency shall listen to the defense lawyer's opinions and record them in the record . If the defense lawyer submits written opinions, they shall be attached to the file.

In practice, the investigation agencies are more inclined to fulfill their duties of fighting crime. In addition, the time and energy of investigators are limited. Some investigators are unwilling to listen to the opinions of defenders or only formally receive written opinions from defenders before the investigation is completed and transferred for review and prosecution. , the phenomenon of transferring files to the procuratorate without verification.

This situation will cause the defense rights of the suspect and the defender to become a mere formality and fail to achieve effective defense in the investigation stage. Therefore, for those cases that really hope to achieve a certain defense effect at the investigation stage, if it is possible to achieve defense effects such as not arresting, changing compulsory measures, not transferring for review and prosecution, changing the role and status in joint criminal cases, etc., Defense lawyers should exchange opinions with case handlers through various legal methods to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties to the greatest extent and lay the foundation for the next stage of defense work.

In practice, case handlers may encounter internal resistance to hearing the defense opinions of lawyers, and forced communication has no practical meaning or effect. Therefore, for cases where it is really necessary to communicate with investigators, defense lawyers should focus on eliminating the resistance of the investigators, pay attention to communication skills, focus on the key points when communicating in person or on the phone, and explain their views as concisely and concisely as possible. After oral communication, the lawyer should submit written opinions at the same time. For complex cases, simple opinions that only elaborate on the main points and complex opinions that elaborate on specific reasons can be submitted at the same time for the case handlers to choose and review.