Translator：Xiong Yajie

On November 23, 2023, Lawyer Yuanyuan Wang, Deputy Director of the Criminal-Civil Intersection and Corporate Compliance Law Department of Zhejiang Jingheng (Shanghai) Law Firm, was invited to Shanghai Landing Law Office to conduct special lectures to lawyers about "Criminal Defense Art from Prosecutorial Perspective" .

Lawyer Yuanyuan Wang has served as a prosecutor in the criminal prosecution department of the Shanghai Municipal Procuratorate for more than ten years and has rich experience in prosecutorial work. In this lecture, lawyer Yuanyuan Wang focused on the prosecutor's work content, the content and goals of prosecution-related defense work, communication skills and empathy with prosecutors, as well as innocence defense, bail pending trial, criminal reconciliation, guilty plea and punishment, etc.. 

Prosecutor's work

The daily work of prosecutors mainly includes: reviewing investigation files for evidence, guiding the public security organs to supplement evidence, writing legal documents, conducting inquiries and interrogations, intervening in investigations in advance in major, difficult and complex cases, and deciding whether to arrest or not to arrest, or whether to prosecute or not, appear in court to support the prosecution, etc.

Generally speaking, not enough prosecutors working on cases, and prosecutors have to handle a large number of cases at the same time. The time limit for handling cases and the complexity of major problems will affect the priority of case processing. Therefore, how to improve the priority of the case should be considered when communicating with prosecutors.

Empathize with the prosecutor

In the process of communicating with prosecutors, lawyers should pay attention to using communication skills and empathy.

On the one hand, defenders themselves should be familiar with the laws and regulations of criminal procedure, and promptly update the criminal case handling regulations, guidelines, meeting minutes, etc. in the area under the jurisdiction of the case to enhance communication efficiency.

On the other hand, maintain the necessary courtesy and appropriate empathy. For example, to urge the case to be processed, first empathize, then understand the progress of the case, and finally ask for assistance. When the prosecutor asks the criminal suspect whether he is willing to refund the compensation, the defender should actively strive for settlement.

Key issues in criminal defense

The defender should carefully raise a defense of innocence. The main situations in which a defense of innocence can be raised include: 1. The perpetrator did not commit a criminal act. 2. The perpetrator’s behavior does not constitute a crime. 3. The perpetrator is not criminally responsible. The prerequisites for a defense of innocence are review of papers, interviews, and loyalty to the evidence. Objective facts are not equal to legal facts, and innocence defense cannot be discussed without case evidence.

The main factor affecting the success of bail pending trial is whether it is enough to prevent social danger. Defenders should properly manage the expectations of criminal suspects and their families, and clearly inform them that being released on bail pending trial is not suitable for everyone. Being released on bail pending trial does not mean that they are sentenced to probation, and there is no guarantee that everything will be fine.

In cases of guilty pleas and punishments, lawyers should be well aware of the conviction and sentencing based on the review of the work carried out, and be fully informed and clearly informed of the legal consequences. In cases of confession and punishment, lawyers should adhere to the following principles: respect evidence, respect facts, and respect the wishes of the parties.

Lawyer Lei Tian, senior partner of Shanghai Landing Law Office, said that it is very important for defense lawyers to think from the perspective of prosecutors, which can make their evidence and defense opinions easier to be adopted by prosecutors, thereby achieving the purpose of defense. 

Lawyer Wenjia Zhou, senior partner of Shanghai Landing Law Office, said: Today’s content is from the prosecutor’s perspective, which is very beneficial.The empathy between lawyers and prosecutors is very important and can have an important impact on issues such as arrest or non-arrest within the legal framework.

This lecture provided an opportunity for lawyers in various professional fields to learn in depth about criminal defense. It also provided new ideas for criminal defense lawyers from the unique perspective of prosecutors. The participants gained a lot and gained valuable unanimously praise.