A Study On The Trail Procedure Of The Case Of Confession Of Guilt And Punishment Acceptance

Court trial is a key part of the system of pleading guilty and accepting punishments with leniency.The core issue of this procedure is to construct a trial procedure that conforms to the relatively non-controversial characteristics of the case in plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,in order to effectively examine the facts of the case,the voluntariness in confession and acceptance of punishments,and the appropriateness of sentencing proposals,we must adhere to the "trial-centered" doctrine,and prevent the miscarriages of justice arising from false confessions.While taking into account the trial efficiency,we should improve the quality of trial to ensure the fairness and justice in each case of pleading guilty and accepting punishments with leniency.After the amendment of the criminal procedure law in 2018,the case handling has two divided characteristics: plea bargaining cases and non-plea-bargain cases.In the pre-trial procedure,the prosecutorial organ plays a leading role in handling the in plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments.Due to the confession,the trial pattern has changed greatly,but the court has not specially formulated the relatively complete and systematic trial procedure rules.In judicial practice,there have been misunderstandings and improper practices in handling some cases of pleading guilty and accepting punishment that deviate from the "trial-centered" understanding,and some cases have aroused wide public discussion,causing the public to question the procedure for pleading guilty and accepting punishment.The judicial practice urgently needs a set of special trial procedures for the cases in plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,and the theory of trial procedures needs to be perfected after the introduction of negotiated justice into the theory of criminal procedure in China,at the same time,it is also the internal requirement to deepen the litigation system reform of proceedings centered on trial.In addition to the preface and the conclusion,the text is divided into six chapters,and the analysis is strongly relied on that the basic "trial centered" principle should still be adhered to in the case of Plea of Guilty and acceptance of punishments.The first chapter is an overview.Firstly,this paper defines the subject of research and contents of this paper.Taking the criminal trial procedure as the subject of research,and specially studying the trial procedure of the cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,the contents mainly include the pretrial procedure of the cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,the complicated and simplified application of the trial procedure,the evidence investigation and debate,the second instance procedure such as confession and acceptance of punishments in the trial stage,joint crime,sentencing procedure and judgment,etc..Then the paper reveals the significance in studying the trial procedure of the case of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments.It is mainly to enrich the theory of criminal procedure,to promote the judicial reform of the criminal proceedings centered on trial,to improve the legislation and judicial interpretation of the criminal procedure of the cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,and to guide the criminal judicial practice of the cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments.Thirdly,the current research situation and the existing problems are expounded.This paper mainly reviews the relationship between the system of leniency to plea bargaining and "trial-centered" principle,the voluntary nature of plea bargaining,the relationship between prosecution and defense,the standards of proof and the examination of evidence,the examination of sentencing proposals,the situation of extraterritorial studies and the existing problems.Finally,the research methods and innovations are introduced.This paper mainly uses the legal science normative research method,the legal science empirical research method,the legal science comparative research method,the legal science literature analysis method.The main innovation lies in making it clear that the "trial-centered" point of view should still be carried out in handling cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,and that relatively independent trial procedures for cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments should be established,through empirical data and case summary,the author optimizes the systematic procedural technical rules under the relatively non-controversial background.The second chapter is about pre-trial review.Including the criteria of cases in plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,the procedure,and the meeting.Firstly,in view of the problem that it is difficult to determine whether a case is a case of guilty plea before a formal hearing,the author thinks that the standard of elements should be made clear based on concept connotation.The Confession of a crime should meet the requirements of " confession of truth" and "no objection" at the same time.The confession and punishment should be based on sincere repentance and confession,which cannot be separated from acceptance of punishments,and cannot be evaluated separately,the sentence can be commuted only if the punishment is accepted at the same time.Secondly,in view of the problems such as the lack of effectiveness of the pre-trial review,the unclear status of the pre-trial review procedure,and the non-standard contents and ways of the pre-trial review,this paper holds that a practical pre-trial review mechanism should be established,in the content,the pre-trial review should fully review the content,the form can be mainly written review,in effect,should review the defendant’s confession and acceptance of punishments" effectiveness for the preliminary confirmation,to decide the procedure to be applied in the hearing,to make a preliminary judgment on the appropriateness of sentencing recommendations,to deal with procedural matters and to determine the focus of trial.Finally,in view of the problem that no pre-trial meeting in general in the cases of confession and punishment,this paper holds,is that the cases are more complicated,mainly including the defendant may be coerced to confess,plead not guilty,may not accept the recommendation of the prosecution sentencing,only confession of guilt without other evidence to corroborate,in joint crimes only part of the accused pleaded guilty,and so on,it is still necessary to hold pre-trial meetings,in order to obtain a confessing guilty and accepting punishment before the trial,the accused should also attend the pre-trial meetings.The third chapter is about the application of the complicated and simplified trial procedure.Including the general application of the fast-track,summary and ordinary procedure,the application of the standard demarcation,and the specific trial procedure,procedure conversion and others.First of all,the overall application of the three major procedures is characterized by the predominance of speedy adjudication and summary procedure,the predominance of the types of applicable cases in simple misdemeanor cases,and the significant improvement of trial efficiency,a large number of court investigations and court debates were omitted during the trial,which focused on the examination and determination of the voluntary nature of the defendant’s confession and acceptance of punishments,the alleged facts and sentencing recommendations.Secondly,in view of the problems caused by the unclear demarcation of the three application standards of the procedure,which lead to the procedure selection being more subjective,habitual and local,this paper holds that it is necessary to clarify the specific criteria for defining the three procedures,namely,fast-track,summary and ordinary procedure,in which the confession and acceptance of punishments are the primary demarcation conditions,in addition to the term of imprisonment that may be imposed and the manner in which the punishment will be executed,the facts are clear,the evidence is indeed sufficient,and whether the defendant agrees or not are the demarcation criteria.Thirdly,in view of the problem of "hollowness" and "formalization" after the simplification of trial procedure,this paper analyzes the causes and puts forward solutions.This paper holds that a trial mechanism should be set up for the cases of confession and punishment,and the fast-track procedure does not require the public prosecutor to appear in court to support the public prosecution,pre-trial service,basic information,rights,and obligations of the notice can be appropriately simplified.For the summary procedure cases that need to be investigated by the court,they can be conducted only around the disputed issues.For some cases,they can be tried in a "multi-case trial".For the relatively complex case of confession and punishment,the ordinary procedure should be applied,and the "simplified trial of ordinary procedure" can also be carried out.In addition,we should learn from the experience of foreign countries and try out the written trial mechanism for specific types of cases such as the crime of dangerous driving.Finally,in view of the irregular procedure conversion,in view of the fact that the defendant does not have the full option of the procedure conversion,and that the prosecutorial organ has difficulties in producing evidence after the procedure conversion,etc.,this paper holds that a standardized procedure conversion mechanism should be established,and state that the rigid conversion cases,which may not constitute a crime or the defendant’s repentance,should be made clear,and then the conversion should be determined respectively,and finally,make it clear where is no need to change the situation.At the same time,the transformation of the procedure will be substantially reviewed and initiated by the court,resulting in the termination of the original procedure,the Procuratorate shall re-prosecute the case and put forward new sentencing proposals,and shall appear in court for public prosecution in accordance with the normal procedure,on the basis of the original trial procedure,the court shall recalculate the trial limit and conduct a new trial.The fourth chapter is the evidence investigation and debate.Including five aspects: the particularity of the trial procedure,voluntary examination,standard of proof,evidence examination and court debate,this is also the focus on the "trial-centered" principle.Firstly,there are three points of particularity in the trial procedure of the cases of confession and punishment: first,the antagonism of the litigation structure is weakened,the consultation is strengthened,the two sides are characterized by "charge and defense → trial",and the judges’ functions and powers are strengthened,the prosecutor plays a leading role in the formation of the agreement between the prosecution and the defense.The second is that the case is relatively non-controversial.Third,the trial content has changed,the voluntariness has become an important content,the review of the application of the law is focused on the appropriateness of sentencing recommendations.Secondly,on the question of the voluntary examination being a mere formality,this paper holds that the voluntary examination should be regarded as a special procedure in the court trial,and the voluntary confession and acceptance of punishments should be examined from the subjective and objective criteria,at the same time,the content of the voluntary review should be enriched,substantive and comprehensive review of the written plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,the notification of rights and obligations and the record of the notification,the record of the hearing of opinions,the opinion of the social investigation and assessment,the opinion of the prosecution and the recommendation of sentencing,and the assistance provided to the defendant by counsel,etc.,the voluntary burden of proof should be assigned to the public prosecutor,and the false confession should be accurately identified and dealt with in accordance with the rule of corroborating confession and the principle of not forcing self-incrimination.Thirdly,on the issue of whether the standard of proof should be lowered,this paper holds that the establishment of the standard of proof for the cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments is the premise for the investigation and debate of evidence,it is also the restrictive factor to simplify the procedure of adducing evidence and cross-examining in the court trial.Even if the confession to a certain extent makes the litigation mode of confrontation toward negotiation,it will not change the litigation purpose of pursuing the essence and truth in our country’s criminal litigation,furthermore,it will not reduce the judicial responsibility of the judges for the unjust and wrong cases by lowering the standard of proof for the cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments.Therefore,the standard of proof cannot be lowered,and the principle of evidence investigation should be implemented,we should adhere to the legal proof standard of "the facts of the case are clear,the evidence is definite and sufficient".Fourthly,regarding the ways and means of evidence examination,in view of the formalization of evidence examination in the case of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,which makes "trial-centered" principle not actually implemented,this paper holds that a mechanism should be established to examine the substance of the evidence,and the relevance and legitimacy of the evidence materials should be strictly examined,then,to make a cross-examination of the key facts,establish a summary-objection-confirmation mechanism in summary procedure,and finally regulates the substantive examination of the cases in common procedure.Fifthly,the second instance procedure is not perfect,this paper believes that from the benefit of the defendant and the consideration of repairing the social relations,although the efficiency of the lawsuit cannot be improved obviously,however,the right of appeal should not be restricted in any way and the second instance should combine the limited review with the comprehensive review.The principle of limited review should be applied to simple cases of second instance and no trial should be held,complex cases are subject to the principle of comprehensive review and may be heard as the case may be,at the same time,the reasons for appeal,voluntariness,the appropriateness of sentencing,the disputed facts in the second instance and the procedure applied in the first instance should be taken as the essential elements of the substantive review.Finally,the issue of debate in the trial is mainly the "wall-mounted" defense.As to this,this paper holds that the court should be faithful to the evidence of the facts of the case and the application of law,if the defendant pleads guilty and gets a plea of not guilty or less guilty,he should stick to the "trial-centered" principle,and should not blindly accept the facts of the guilty plea and the sentencing proposal just because he pleads guilty and accepts punishment,and should stop the "wall-mounted" defense without distinguishing between them,we should set up the mechanism of guiding and explaining,continue the trial or transform the procedure,and regulate the abuse of "sitting on the wall".The fifth chapter deals with the confession and acceptance of punishments and estoppel at the trial stage.Mainly involving the situation of guilty plea and punishment at the trial stage,and related to this in the trial stage of the issue of repentance,the second instance trial proceedings.First of all,with regard to the procedural arrangements for the negotiation of plea bargaining at the trial stage,if a judge,as the subject exercising the power of trial control,has the right to consult the defendant in the light of the trial situation and decide whether to allow the negotiation or not,decides to initiate the negotiation,the main body of the negotiation is still the procurator,after the negotiation,there is no need to sign a written plea,and the confession and punishment can be taken as one of the circumstances of the leniency of the penalty according to the evidence of the facts of the case directly.Those who are not given an adjournment should continue to be tried,and should base on the trial function to conduct a comprehensive and substantive review.Secondly,on the difficulty of the defendant’s exercise the right of repentance,this paper holds that in order to maintain the balance between prosecution and defense and realize a fair trial,we should establish a standardized mechanism of confession and penalization of repentance,and make clear the status of the right of repentance,the defendant may take the initiative to express his or her regret at all stages of the trial,and may even do so on appeal.To strengthen the duty of fact-finding in the case of pleading guilty,to clarify the handling mechanism of the court procedure in all stages of the trial,and to limit the abuse of the right of repentance.Thirdly,in cases of joint crimes where part of the defendants plead guilty and accept punishments with leniency,this paper holds that the joinder of trial should be the general practice and the separate trials should be an exception.Joinder of trial should be based on the principle of separate investigation and separate debate,with the exception of uniform investigation and uniform debate,the confessions of the accused who have confessed and been punished shall still be regarded as the confessions of the accused and not as the testimony of witnesses testifying to the crimes of other accused,it should not be used as a separate evidence to corroborate the statements of other defendants in order to confirm the facts of the case,and it should equally guarantee the litigation rights of the defendants who plead guilty and those who do not plead guilty in the joint crime cases.The sixth chapter is about the sentencing procedure.Starting with the controversial issues such as the relationship between sentencing proposals and trial power,changing the procedural rules of sentencing proposals,etc.,study the standardization of sentencing proposals,the substantive review of the issue and the reasoning mechanism of the judgment.In this paper,the author holds that the sentencing proposals has no direct substantive effect,and the accurate sentencing proposals cannot shake the principle of "trial-centered".We should strengthen the standardization of sentencing proposal review procedure,establish substantive sentencing proposal review procedure,substantive review of the legality and appropriateness of sentencing proposals.The procedure of the change of sentencing proposals should be standardized.Whether the court should inform the procurator to change the sentencing proposal should be dealt with separately according to the change of weight.In view of the problem of " the charge is judgment opinion",this paper holds that a simple and convenient mechanism should be established for the generation of the judgment for the cases of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,while appropriately simplifying the pre-trial procedural documents,the reasoning of the summary judgment should be improved,such as how pleas are signed,the facts of the case,the voluntary review and the review of the sentencing proposal should be listed as the new elements,and the reasons for the voluntary confession and the change of the sentencing proposal should be strengthened.To sum up,in order to prevent and correct the unjust,false and erroneous cases in the field of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,it is necessary to make it clear that the trial procedure should continue to adhere to the "trial-centered" principle,rejecting the wrong idea and practice of formal review,giving full play to the trial function,and try every case with the standardized procedure peculiar to the case of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments,to ascertain the facts of the cases,the confessions" voluntariness,validity,and the legitimacy,and the legitimacy of the appropriateness of sentencing proposals at the trial stage.We should not neglect fairness and justice because the case is simple and the penalty is light,and we should not relax the quality of the trial because of the pursuit of trial efficiency,to ensure that we can realize fairness and justice in the case of plea of guilty and acceptance of punishments.