Study On Appeals Of Plea Pardon Cases

With the application of the plea system of leniency in China’s criminal proceedings,problems have arisen in the sentencing negotiations and appeals that affect the smooth application of the system to some extent.Some of the controversies of the plea-bargaining system at the micro level have not been responded to in the legislation,and even with the successive introduction of new judicial interpretations,there are still many details that need to be resolved.In particular,in individual cases,there is the phenomenon of the defendant who previously pleaded guilty and punished after the court adopted the sentencing recommendations of the procuratorial authorities to make a first instance verdict,appealed against the first instance verdict.Although this situation is conducive to the full exercise of the defendant’s right to appeal,it also reflects the problem of the defendant’s good faith and the problem of litigation delays and the shift from cooperation to confrontation between the prosecution and the defense caused by such unjustified appeals,thus allowing judicial resources to be wasted in inefficient litigation.This is obviously contrary to the primary value of the system to improve the efficiency of litigation,and is extremely detrimental to the smooth application of the plea leniency system and its function of real play.This is contrary to the original design of the system,and the fact that the defendant appealed after pleading guilty to a fine reflects both the problems in the operation of the system and the lagging nature of the response mechanism of the appeal system,which shows that if the problem of unreasonable appeals by defendants in plea leniency cases is not effectively resolved,it will definitely affect the application of the plea leniency system.This paper takes the meaning and characteristics of appeals in plea-bargained cases as an entry point,and sorts out and analyzes the theoretical controversies concerning the defendant’s right to appeal in plea-bargained cases.It also points out the significance to our country by examining the appeal issues in consultative justice cases in the relevant countries in foreign countries.In the course of the study,the situation of appeals in plea-bargained cases in China is discussed in depth,and the reasons for the defendant’s appeal and the grounds for appeal as well as the consequences of litigation after the appeal are analyzed.From the point of view of judicial practice,for the plea of guilty to leniency in the case of unreasonable appeal,the procuratorial authorities often respond by filing a retaliatory protest,which has a certain deterrent effect,but the reasons for this protest and inconsistent with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law.Based on the hazards of unreasonable appeals by defendants in plea cases and the shortcomings of retaliatory protests,minimizing and effectively curbing the emergence of unreasonable appeals by defendants in plea cases is the fundamental solution to the problem.To achieve the above,the following effective countermeasures are needed: further unifying the sentencing scale and promoting the precision of sentencing recommendations;Effectively guarantee the voluntariness of the pursued person’s plea of guilty and punishment at all stages of the proceedings;Develop and implement a review mechanism for defendants’ appeals;give full play to the role of duty lawyers and defense lawyers in providing legal assistance to the pursued persons.