If you need a lawyer in a criminal case, then you need to contact a lawyer who has permission to engage in the relevant activity. He must have a certificate. The Code of Criminal Procedure of our country allows that the interests of a citizen can also be protected by his closest people who are related, or they can be the guardians of the accused person. This is allowed in some cases.
The defendant can use the services of a criminal lawyer at any stage of the process.
Therefore, persons who are involved in the criminal process, such as an interrogating officer, an investigator, must without fail assist the defendant so that he can cooperate with a lawyer.
If a citizen is suspected of committing a criminal case, or he is already at the stage of prosecution, then the law gives him the right to have more than one defense lawyer, but there may be several.
A lawyer in his work must be fully guided by the law and use only those means of protecting his client that are within the framework of the Code of Criminal Procedure. He does this for such a purpose as to find out what circumstances are in contact with the case, so that he can refute, mitigate or exclude the criminal liability of a citizen who may be in the status of a suspect, accused or defendant.
When a lawyer, according to the decision of the relevant authorities, is admitted to the case, he begins to own certain rights.
Namely, he has the immediate right to have a private meeting with the client before the first interrogation takes place. And after the first interrogation takes place, he will be able to have unlimited confidential meetings, this refers to their duration and number. He will have the right to the same visits with convicted persons to whom strict educational or medical measures have been applied.
If you have a lawyer, then he will have the right to get acquainted with the contents of your case file, he will be acquainted with the reasons for the detention and why the charge has been brought. And when the pre-trial investigation is over, he will be able to be aware of all the materials that relate to the criminal case.
A criminal lawyer is allowed to interrogate his ward. He can also use information recording technologies when an investigation is underway.
The lawyer participates in court sessions. At such meetings, he is not an outside observer, but puts questions to the participants in the trial. At the trial, he provides direct evidence, can also express his guesses and, as a result, declare challenges and petitions. If he notices illegal actions, he can appeal against the decisions of the persons who act on behalf of the prosecution.
Lawyers are given the right to consider the protocols that are kept at the trial and he can express his comments on them.
He has the right to take part in judicial deliberations.
When a case on appeal against a court decision is being considered, the lawyer also has the right to participate in such a meeting.
The lawyer does his job with great care. He collects the necessary facts, which he uses in evidence. To do this, he must have access to the necessary documents, which he must provide civil and legal entities. He has the same rights in relation to organizations and institutions. If such a need arises, he can resort to the conclusions of specialists who are competent on issues requiring special training, or he can conduct surveys of citizens on facts of interest to him. But at the same time, he should not disclose the information that he received while performing his official duties. Materials obtained by a lawyer in the course of his investigation and which he uses in court must not be disclosed to them, and they cannot be seized by the investigator, prosecutor or court without his consent.
The Constitution of Ukraine provides citizens with the freedom to choose their own lawyer. And for this purpose there is an advocacy.
The defender is defined as a person who is endowed with rights that allow him to take a direct part in satisfying the interests of the accused in protecting his rights and interests. But the status of a lawyer also gives him responsibilities, because from the moment of his appointment, the fate of the defendant is in his hands.
The right to have a lawyer is very important and necessary in a criminal case. After all, a team of people with opposite interests acts against a person who is in the status of a suspect, accused or defendant. The activities of people who take part in the prosecution are aimed at bringing a person to justice and they are not interested in justifying a citizen. Investigators can use coercive measures, break into a home, make a person's confidential data available, deprive him of his job, and even within their competence is the right to deprive a person of his liberty.
A criminal lawyer is the only person whose action is not aimed at restrictions, but at protection. Therefore, everyone is guaranteed the right to competent assistance, which can be provided by a lawyer.
The activities of lawyers are subject to only one condition - he must protect the citizen only by legal means. The best defender is the law, they listen to it even in court.
A lawyer may take up his duties at any stage of the process. But the sooner he starts his work, the greater the chance that an innocent person will not be able to end up in the dock.
If a citizen against whom a criminal case has been initiated does not have money for a lawyer, then he can exercise his right to protection, which can be provided by a lawyer provided free of charge. Article 374 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine warns of criminal liability for failure to provide a defense counsel.
Every action that the investigation takes must be counteracted by the defense. The investigating party may use means in its work that may go beyond human rights. Therefore, the task of the lawyer is to control the actions of the accusatory party.
The main circumstance that distinguishes a criminal lawyer from defenders is that he is entitled to his own independent investigation of the case. While the prosecution is gathering information in its favor, the criminal lawyer is looking for evidence that can mitigate the person's guilt.
The actions of a criminal lawyer may result in the criminal case being closed.
Therefore, the freedom of an innocent person is in the hands of a qualified lawyer.
