Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure

When a family member is suddenly taken away by the police, do not rush to explain the case to them, nor repeatedly inquire at different police stations. The first thing to do is to confirm: which police station, precinct, investigation bureau, or other unit the person is currently in; the handling unit and contact information; the general nature of the case; whether it is a notification to appear, arrest, detention, or other procedure; whether a police statement is being taken or about to be taken; and whether the police may transfer the case to the district prosecutor's office. If the information is incomplete, write down the known time, location, and contact person for later verification with the handling officer or lawyer. First, confirm these six pieces of information: the police station, precinct, investigation bureau, or other unit the family member is currently in; the handling unit, handling officer, or contact number; the general nature of the case; whether it is a notification to appear, arrest, detention, or other procedure…

If you or a family member has just received an unfavorable first-instance criminal judgment, don't just look at the "severance pay." You should immediately compile a list of the judgment's main text, the facts of the crime as determined by the court, the evidence accepted by the court, the arguments not accepted, the applicable law and charges, the sentencing rationale, whether there is any new evidence or information, and the status of the judgment's service and appeal proceedings. The core of preparing for the second instance is to specifically identify which facts, evidence, laws, procedures, or sentencing decisions in the first-instance judgment remain in dispute, rather than simply repeating what was already stated in the original trial. After a sentence is handed down in the first instance, the second instance is not simply repeating the first instance's verdict. A second-instance appeal should present specific reasons according to the current criminal procedure. An effective second-instance strategy typically involves comparing the first-instance judgment with the case file item by item, pointing out the factual findings, the selection and rejection of evidence, the retrieval of evidence, etc.