Why do you need a lawyer's petition in a criminal case?

One of the main legal tools for communication between government and judicial authorities on the one hand and the defense on the other during criminal proceedings is the petition of a lawyer in a criminal case.

The Russian Criminal Code specifies more than a hundred situations when a lawyer has the right to file petitions; their number is not limited.

It should be noted that the variety of specific cases of criminal prosecution in which filing a petition in court requires different presentation of information, use of different techniques and available legal argumentation, which creates serious difficulties in practice. A professional lawyer will help you sort out the issue, timely draw up a petition of any nature and complexity, and send it to the required government agency.

Persons who have the right to file a motion in criminal proceedings

Article 119 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation lists persons who have the right to file petitions in criminal proceedings, namely:

• advocate
• the person who is suspected or accused, and the defenders of these persons
• the person who is the victim and his legal representative and representative
• private prosecutor
• a person who is a civil plaintiff or civil defendant, and representatives of these persons
• a representative of the organization’s administration and another person whose rights and legitimate interests are affected in criminal proceedings
• expert within the framework of the tasks assigned to him by the bodies of inquiry and investigation

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Time limits for consideration of an application under the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation

As a general rule, a petition under the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation must be considered immediately after its application.

If the petition cannot be considered immediately during the preliminary investigation, then the period for its consideration is 3 days. In this case, the period of 3 days cannot be extended.

In court hearings, petitions are resolved by the court immediately, with the issuance of an appropriate ruling. Moreover, if the petition is granted, then, according to the prevailing practice, a determination is not made, but, for example, an examination is ordered, or documents are attached.

IMPORTANT: the petition is always submitted to the person in charge of the criminal case; refusal to satisfy the petition entails the right to appeal in accordance with Art. Art. 124 and 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

How to file a petition in a criminal case?

A petition in a criminal case can be made orally or in writing. A written petition is best submitted through the office under the mark on the applicant’s copy. If a written request is made at a court hearing, then it must be submitted to the court at the hearing. You are not deprived of the right to submit an application through Russian Post or courier mail.

The written request must be attached to the case materials. and oral - must be entered in the protocol of investigative actions, in the protocol of the court session.

Based on the results of consideration of the petition, the official must make a decision, and the court must issue a ruling on whether to satisfy or refuse the stated petition. The answer is brought to the attention of the applicant by sending it to the address of residence; great attention is paid to the content of the motivation for refusing or granting the petition, since everyone must understand what the investigator, inquiry officer or judge was guided by when making the decision.

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In what cases may a petition be necessary?

A petition from the head of an enterprise or department is a fairly common way to influence the final decision of senior management or an official from any organization. It can be written for any occasion and to various organizations, both at the place of work and, for example, to the judiciary.

As an example, we can take a petition that is written to the head of a preschool institution. Its purpose is mainly to obtain a place in kindergarten for an employee of a company or enterprise. Often a motion is drawn up by a lawyer in order to influence the final decision of the judge when choosing a punishment for the client.

A petition is a good option for obtaining a positive response to a request. This type of letter is drawn up by the head of an enterprise or department for a specific employee in order for him to receive a voucher to a sanatorium-resort institution. In addition, rewarding an employee is rarely done without a preliminary request. A similar document on behalf of the immediate superiors can be drawn up to provide an employee of the organization with official or personal housing.

The petition can also be written as a recommendation for the applicant’s admission to a higher educational institution. Sometimes students also use such documents. We are talking mainly about officially employed part-time workers. A request from the boss in such a situation may affect the change in the exam schedule.

Thus, a petition for an employee is a rather important document that resolves issues in which the employer’s protection is necessary. In some situations, a petition becomes not the main, but an important additional argument for authorized persons to make a decision in favor of the employee.

At its core, a petition is a formal request from a high-ranking employee of the company. If a subordinate needs additional protection of his rights or a special privilege to resolve a complex issue, such a document will be very useful. A petition can be a significant contribution when dealing with acute life problems.

You can create a document for any employee. His work experience, length of service at the enterprise and position should not play a role. The HR department will process the application. After this, the document must be certified by the manager.

Request for additional investigative actions

First of all, from the list of lawyer’s petitions related to investigative actions, petitions for participation in these actions should be highlighted. Indeed, a competent defense requires active actions on the part of the lawyer, and therefore his participation in investigative measures is mandatory. During an interrogation, search, examination, confrontation or investigative experiment, details and nuances may be revealed that were previously unknown to either the investigation or the defense attorney, and it will be the absolute duty of the lawyer to take them into account and use them for the benefit of his client.

A lawyer can also file motions that affect the procedure for carrying out certain investigative actions. For example, if the defense attorney has reasons not to trust the expert institution chosen by the investigation, he may file a motion to entrust the examination to another organization.

Drawing up and filing petitions related to pre-trial investigation

Of all the types of motions filed by a lawyer regarding an investigation, the first priority are requests to participate in the investigation. A well-built line of defense usually relies on the active participation of a lawyer during the ongoing investigation and the activities carried out by the investigation. During such events, which include interrogations of the suspect and witnesses, searches and various types of examinations, details and circumstances are often revealed that were previously unknown either to the suspect’s lawyer or to the investigative authorities. The lawyer can use the information in the interests of the client.

Requests by a lawyer in a criminal case can have a serious impact on the course of the ongoing investigation. For example, when doubts arise about the reliability of an expert’s conclusions, a lawyer may request a re-examination by another specialist.

Petition to change the preventive measure

One of the most significant petitions of a criminal defense lawyer is a petition to change the preventive measure. As a rule, investigators strive to ensure that detention is chosen as a preventive measure against the accused.

They are, of course, understandable - the alleged criminal will be under supervision in uncomfortable conditions, which will allow the investigators to put pressure on him and manipulate him. However, the accused himself probably does not agree with them, because sitting in a pretrial detention cell throughout the entire investigation is still a pleasure. Therefore, in this case, a competent defense attorney must make every effort to write a reasoned and convincing petition to replace the preventive measure.

Such requests are quite often granted, but if a person is accused of committing a serious or especially serious crime, in 99% of cases you can forget about replacing the preventive measure with a more lenient one. Consult a lawyer on how to file this type of petition.

Filing a petition in court and other appeals by a lawyer to government authorities

In addition to drawing up and filing a claim, during the course of criminal proceedings, the lawyer draws up complaints, statements and other appeals to the judicial authorities.

A petition or statement is an appeal by one of the parties to the proceedings to the court, where she asks for the judicial authorities to perform one or more types of procedural actions (for example, asking to consider specific evidence) or for the court to allow a participant in judicial proceedings to exercise his procedural right (for example, to give permission for one or another examination).

In some cases, the current Criminal Code states that such a request should be called a statement, and in others it should be called a petition. Petitions and statements are drawn up according to the same rules.

When it is necessary to file a petition and a claim at the same time, the first of them can be stated both in the application and filed in a separate document. When a motion is filed after a statement of claim, it must be submitted in writing and is not even going to be considered during the trial. This form of filing ensures that the lawyer's request in a criminal case will remain in the court file, even if it is rejected by the judge.

In addition, this will prevent distortion of its text and ensure that it is included in the minutes of the meeting. A written form of filing is especially necessary for legal proceedings in an arbitration court, since in such a court of first instance the protocol is often kept directly by the judge.

Also, a written petition can be referred to when appealing a court decision and as a basis for filing a complaint.

Petition to terminate criminal prosecution

Standing apart among the petitions of a criminal lawyer is the petition to terminate the criminal prosecution. If the investigation of a criminal case has been going on for quite a long time, but the investigation has not provided relevant and admissible evidence of the accused’s guilt, and there are significant doubts that the accused person actually committed a crime, it is time to file such a petition.

By the way, if the petitions do not give a positive result, we must not forget about the procedure for appealing the verdict through the appellate procedure, as well as the further cassation procedure.

How to apply for a certificate of honor

The petition can be written by hand or printed on a computer, either on a regular A4 sheet or on the organization’s letterhead. It must contain the original signature of the responsible person (i.e., the immediate supervisor of the employee for whom the petition is being written). The document is drawn up in a single copy and endorsed by the secretary of the organization. Then it serves as the basis for issuing an order on behalf of the director of the company about the award, after which it is sent to the archive of the enterprise.

It should be remembered that a record of awarding a certificate of honor must be made in the personal file, as well as the employee’s work book.

Assistance from a lawyer in drawing up a petition in Yekaterinburg

Our lawyer is ready to help you through a meeting in the office or remotely in terms of drawing up a petition in a criminal case of any category:

1. We will consult on the need and advisability of filing a petition in the case, and determine how much this appeal will help the defense line
2. We will draw up an agreement on the provision of legal assistance with the Law Office “Katsailidi and Partners”, specifying the deadlines for completing the work, the price of the application (cost from 1,000 rubles and above, depending on the complexity and category of the performer on our part) and the procedure for interaction
3. We will issue an invoice and wait for payment. By making a cash payment or receipts to the organization’s bank account
4. We will draw up a petition within the framework of criminal proceedings. We will also discuss its submission with our help.
5. We will provide other legal assistance as part of the defense of your case at the stage of investigation, inquiry or in court

Call and make an appointment for an initial consultation with a lawyer today to start building a defense: professionally, on favorable terms agreed upon for you and on time!!!

Features of writing petitions

When conducting a criminal trial, current legislation provides a lawyer with greater opportunities to protect the client. One such means is to file a petition with a criminal defense attorney. Contacting a professional lawyer can be considered a kind of guarantee that the petition will become an effective tool in the fight for the interests of the client and, if correctly drawn up and submitted on time, it becomes an argument that seriously influences the actions of the investigative authorities.

A petition may be filed during a pre-trial investigation, with an appeal against the actions of the investigative authorities and their procedural decisions. The purpose of filing petitions, in accordance with Part 1 of Article 119 of the Criminal Code of Russia, is to clarify circumstances that seriously affect the course of the investigation and defend the legitimate interests of the client

When filing an application for a lawyer in a criminal case, the following is taken into account:

• Any petition submitted must be reviewed by an official with appropriate authority.
• The authorized person must draw up a written decision in which to give a reasoned decision on the essence of the submitted petition. It is necessary to take into account that this obligation of the authorized person upon the submitted petition is confirmed in Article 122 of the Criminal Code of Russia, while in Article 159 (Part 3) and Article 271 (Part 2) of the Criminal Code of Russia, this obligation is not spelled out.
• The authorized person, according to Article 7 (Part 4) of the Criminal Code of Russia, must justify the legality and reasons for his decision on each petition submitted.
• Any decision of an authorized person on a submitted petition may be appealed by the prosecutor's service or judicial authorities.
• The representative of the suspect and the lawyer defending his interests, in accordance with Article 159 (Part 2) of the Criminal Code of Russia, the investigative authorities during the pre-trial investigation cannot refuse to interrogate the necessary witnesses, request for a forensic examination and other actions related to the investigation and relevant to the investigation affairs.
• During judicial proceedings, the court cannot refuse to satisfy the requests of a lawyer in a criminal case to summon a witness or expert to court.

Compliance with the listed rules is important for drawing up applications and petitions, and choosing the method of submitting them to government agencies.