Justice and Compromise in Criminal Defense

Author | Criminal Center, Attorney Gan Dingzhong

In recent years, there is a popular saying in the legal world that "justice is never absent, it is only late". It is said that the original words are from Justice Hewitt. I have not read the original book, but I agree with it from a certain perspective. From the perspective of human ideals and pursuits, this statement is reasonable.

But the popularity of this phrase, and the repeated mention or emphasis on it, actually illustrate the difficulties of achieving this goal and the twists and turns of the road.

The foundation for achieving justice requires, first of all, finding out the truth and restoring the facts, which is sometimes difficult. Factual reconstruction and on-the-spot reproduction, although there are various modern means, sometimes encounter various restrictions and difficulties; secondly, there is a need for sound rules and systems to maintain a balanced, consistent, objective and fair evaluation standard; thirdly, there is a need for judicial staff who are familiar with the law to make effective, neutral and objective judgments.

The absence or inadequacy of any of these items may lead to the failure to achieve justice and the loss of justice.

For example, in a case I participated in today, based on some objective factors; also based on the conditions and perceptions of all parties involved in the litigation, some aspects cannot be investigated clearly, and the existing system cannot fail to punish my client. This forms a dilemma that often occurs in the process of judicial adjudication: it is impossible to issue an acquittal (release the parties), and our defense duty is to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, including not being unjustly imprisoned, and not causing excessive punishment due to defects and deficiencies in the judicial review process (the guilt is consistent).

In such cases, the understanding and understanding of justice, based on the positions and perceptions of all parties, sometimes cannot reach an agreement, and therefore cannot form a consensus on "justice". Therefore, there may be situations where "justice" may be sacrificed or justice cannot be achieved.

At this time, based on the consideration of the actual situation, we need to make a compromise in order to obtain the maximum practical benefit - try to complete the judicial review process and get the person out of prison as soon as possible. (At present, the person in this case has been suspended and has walked out of the high wall yesterday.)

This is the most common situation encountered in the practice of criminal defense. The acquittal rate is extremely low, the litigation process is long, and the criminal defender sometimes has to make appropriate compromises to avoid the client suffering from the long detention review process - which is also the real value of plea bargaining.

So, whether or not we accept the "plea leniency" system, in fact, it has become the mainstream way of closing criminal prosecutions in our country.

Criminal defenders, in criminal litigation, are sometimes the bridge between prosecution, trial, family members, parties, etc.; sometimes they are mainly the mouthpiece for the choice of the parties to obtain freedom as soon as possible; and the pursuit of fairness and justice, more in the sense of the rule of law and social progress, play a role in promoting and promoting.

Since the time of Socrates, human society has been earnestly studying and pursuing fairness and justice, but this process may be eternal and endless.

In some cases, the balance and grasp of the rights of the parties and the actual interests; the measurement of the conflict between legal justice and reality are often challenges and issues we face. So although today's court is over, the outcome of the case may be acceptable to the parties. But the ideals and pursuits of our lawyers are far from being realized.

Lawyer Profile

Lawyer Gan Dingzhong

Partner of

Director of the Financial Crime Defense Department of Zhiheng Criminal Center

Member of Economic Crime Defense Committee of Guangdong Lawyers Association

Member of the Duty Crime Defense Committee of Shenzhen Lawyers Association

Head of the Legal Advisory Group of Shenzhen Pingxiang Chamber of Commerce

Publications:

**** *** - Chinese Bar Lawyers (published by People's Daily Press)

"Defense Records of Excellent Lawyers in China" (published by Law Publishing House)

"Starting from Fairness" (People's Daily Publishing House)

"Chinese Lawyers Yearbook" (2011)

"China's Contemporary Excellent Lawyers" (Law Press)

Center Profile

Criminal Center

The Criminal Center is one of the professional centers of

. Its main business includes commercial crime defense, criminal litigation, financial crime defense, common crime defense, and criminal-civil intersection. It brings together talents, platforms, and professional advantages. At the same time, it has the advantage of quickly forming cross-business and cross-regional cooperation teams, and can provide comprehensive, timely and accurate legal services to clients.

The Criminal Center is dedicated to professional cultivation, and continues to move forward with the goal of "building an excellent business card for national criminal legal services".

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