The screenshot of this friend circle circulating online has made many people feel cold hearted. This is the friend circle of Lawyer Liu Chang from Zhongwen Law Firm in Beijing. In the Guangxi Fengbo lawyer case, he served as Fengbo's defense lawyer together with lawyer Wang Haochen from Beijing Zebo Law Firm.
Previously, at the end of 2022, Liu Qiang was sentenced to 25 years in prison for 11 crimes, including the crime of criminal organization, fraud and extortion. The court held that Feng Bo, as the legal adviser of Liu Qiang's organization, was an active participant in the criminal organization, knowing that Liu Qiang was engaged in illegal activities such as routine loans, but still provided legal services to help him obtain illegal interests by forging evidence and other means. In the first instance court, Feng Bo defended his innocence, stating that he only provided normal legal services and did not participate in lending, let alone was unaware that Liu Qiang and his organization had engaged in illegal activities. In March 2023, the court of first instance sentenced lawyer Feng Bo to 10 years' imprisonment for the crime of participating in criminal organization, fraud and helping forge evidence.
On August 7th this year, the second instance of the case was held. The fact described in this screenshot happened at that time. The Visitor Intermediate Court did not allow the two defense lawyers to bring their own computers to court, but after several negotiations, they were unsuccessful. Within about half an hour, the court announced the end of the court session. At this time, Feng Bo's family, onlookers, law enforcement staff, and defenders had not yet entered the court. Among them is Feng Bo's 77-year-old mother, who rushed all night from Liuzhou to the guest. Upon learning that the trial had ended, the old man sat at the entrance of the guest court.
The defense lawyer broadcasted his defense for another three hours on the internet outside of court. In the last five minutes, the defense lawyer read a passage from lawyer Si Weijiang: "Chinese people often say that people are doing, and heaven is watching. Although the rate of retribution is not 100%, and even the king may live for thousands of years, retribution is still the norm. We hope that the guests' public prosecution and law can have a little bottom line and respect for historical laws!" In order to ensure procedural justice, the two defense lawyers immediately issued a statement detailing the situation of the trial at that time. As shown in the following figure.
The incident also sparked a wave of public opinion, with the Laibin Rong Media Center releasing real-time articles to defend the rationality of the trial. On August 9, 2023, staff from the Propaganda Department of the Laibin Municipal Party Committee stated that the Intermediate People's Court of Laibin will issue an official notice on the actual situation as soon as possible.
Under the ferment of public opinion, the guest courtyard quickly responded positively. According to the information released by the Rong Media Center of Laibin City, at noon on the same day, President Liu Jinhong of the court contacted Lawyer Wang Haochen to apologize in person for the mistakes made by the court in protecting lawyers' litigation rights, and stated that the court has decided to continue the trial of this case. Lawyer Wang Haochen is also willing to cooperate with the court for subsequent court hearings and has provided opinions and suggestions on some specific matters.
Dean Liu Jinhong told reporters, The Visitor Intermediate People's Court has criticized the collegial panel, and the collegial panel has also conducted a serious review. Lawyers and judges belong to the same legal community, and their starting point and goal are to achieve fairness and justice. They should respect and cooperate with each other. We will deeply learn from the lessons learned, take this matter as an opportunity, draw inferences from each other, make serious rectification, further improve judicial ability and professional literacy, further improve work style, and further strengthen procedural fairness Consciousness, effectively ensuring that litigation participants exercise their litigation rights in accordance with the law. Thank you and welcome all sectors of society to continue supervising our hospital The guest courtyard stated that the case will continue to be heard in court.
Although there have been various opinions about the fairness of the substantive judgment in the Feng Bo case, given the lack of prior assurance about the relevant evidence materials, we have not yet made a comment. Even if the implementation of procedural justice does not have a final impact on the substantive results, the significance of procedural justice is quite profound. The justice pursued by law must be accompanied by procedural justice, otherwise it will substantially deprive the defendant of their basic litigation rights and violate the concept of social equality and protection of civil rights.
Under the supervision of the masses, the Visitor Intermediate People's Court promptly investigated the cause of the incident, and faced up to the work mistakes of our court, providing appropriate solutions. This undoubtedly enhances the credibility of the judiciary. This also provides inspiration to the parties involved in the infringement of fundamental rights, which is beneficial for them to have the courage to defend their rights in appropriate ways. This is the manifestation of the progress of a society's legal civilization.