Drug-impaired driving that killed a police officer: The first trial, which lasted 18 and a half years, was overturned and remanded to the New Taipei District Court for retrial. Lawyer Li Yusheng explains the provisions of the National Judges Act regarding the repeal of first-instance judgments in the second instance.

Drug-impaired driving that kills police officer: 18.5-year trial overturned, remanded to New Taipei District Court for retrial | CTS News reporter Tsai Chih-min

News link:https://youtu.be/W_8TV_294ls?si=d2TWoso8GCDXekH7

Last July, a heartbreaking car accident occurred in Sanchong District, New Taipei City! A police car on duty was struck at high speed by a drugged driver, resulting in the death of 27-year-old police officer Huang Wei-zhen. The New Taipei District Court sentenced the suspect, Huang Kuo-wei, to 18 and a half years in the first instance. On the 30th, the second instance verdict was announced. The High Court held that the first instance People's Judges Court had made a procedural error by using "two aggravated result crimes" in its evaluation, and overturned the original verdict, remanding the case for retrial. This is the first case since the implementation of the People's Judges Act. The lawyer appointed by Huang Wei-zhen's family expressed surprise at the result and said they would discuss the next steps with the family.

Attorney Li Yusheng of Fidelity Law Firm stated that the appellate judge in this case believed that the first instance court did not provide the defendant with sufficient opportunity to explain whether the charge should be "endangering public safety" or "driving under the influence of drugs resulting in death." This could have led to the possibility of the civil judge applying double jeopardy and aggravating the sentence, thus deeming the original judgment inappropriate. While the appellate court has the power to make its own judgment if it finds the first instance judgment inappropriate, in this case, the appellate judge believed there were circumstances that infringed upon the defendant's right to defense, and therefore remanded the case to the first instance court for retrial. This is the first such case since the implementation of the Civil Judges Act.

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