Lawyers collect case materials from serving criminals [court hearing stage]

When lawyers defend a defendant in a joint crime case, they sometimes encounter that the co-defendant or relevant witnesses have been sentenced to prison, and their confessions or testimonies are crucial to the conviction or sentencing of the defendant being defended, and they need to Investigate and collect evidence from them. The "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Lawyers Law of the People's Republic of China" both clearly give lawyers the right to investigate and collect evidence: if a lawyer conducts his own investigation and collects evidence, he can investigate and undertake legal proceedings with relevant units or individuals based on his lawyer's practicing certificate and the certificate of the law firm. business-related situations. However, when the person under investigation is a criminal serving a sentence, the law does not clearly stipulate whether the lawyer can investigate and collect evidence. In order to fully protect lawyers’ right to investigate and collect evidence, Article 19, paragraph 1 , of the “Provisions on Legally Protecting Lawyers’ Rights to Practice” clearly stipulates that lawyers investigate and collect evidence from criminals who are serving sentences:

If a defense lawyer applies to collect case-related materials from criminals who are serving sentences, prisons and other supervisory authorities shall promptly arrange and arrange Provide suitable venues and facilities.

That is to say, lawyers can investigate and collect evidence from criminals who are serving their sentences through legal investigation and evidence collection procedures. The "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" also stipulates that defense lawyers must obtain permission from the People's Procuratorate or the People's Court to collect case-related materials from the victim, his close relatives, and witnesses provided by the victim. In addition, according to the "Standards for Lawyers Handling Criminal Cases (2000)" , defense lawyers must hold a certificate from the law firm and present a lawyer's practicing certificate when investigating and collecting evidence and materials related to the case. This is usually done by two people. At the same time, when lawyers investigate and collect evidence, they should prepare investigation transcripts. The transcripts should objectively and accurately record the contents of the investigation and be verified by the person under investigation. If the person under investigation makes any modifications or additions, he or she shall sign, seal or press his fingerprint on the modifications for confirmation. After the investigation transcript has been verified by the person under investigation, he or she shall sign the transcript page by page and sign on the last page that the record is correct.

In practice, Faster Lawyer recommends that defense lawyers conduct case-related investigation and evidence collection work and obtain the consent of the procuratorate or court when the criminal is a victim of the case, a close relative of the victim, or a witness provided by the victim.