Dehehantong hosted the 18th episode of the Pujiang Criminal Defense Night Talk: The Predicaments Faced by Effective Defense and Their Solutions

On February 28, 2026, the 18th Pujiang Criminal Defense Night Talk was jointly organized by the Criminal Procedure Law and Criminal Defense Professional Committee of the Shanghai Bar Association (hereinafter referred to as the "Criminal Procedure Committee") and the Criminal Law and Criminal Defense Professional Committee of the Shanghai Bar Association (hereinafter referred to as the "Criminal Law Committee"), and hosted by Dehehantong Law Office. The event "Predicaments and Solutions for Effective Defense" was successfully held.

The event was carried out in a combination of offline and online formats. Nearly 200 professional lawyers in the field of criminal defense gathered to have in-depth exchanges and thorough discussions on the hot and difficult issues in criminal defense practice, build professional consensus, exchange practical wisdom, and jointly promote the improvement of criminal defense practice capabilities and defense quality and efficiency.

01 Opening Remarks

Professor Jin Zegang, the director of the Expert Committee of Dehehantong, delivered the opening speech. He extended a warm welcome to all the guests and colleagues present and explained the connotation of "effective defense", proposing that defense should focus on the long-term judicial value and the hope of social significance.

02 Topic Discussion

Theme One: Effective Defense in the Context of a Positive Criminal Law Perspective

Topic One was hosted by Lawyer Shi Zhiyuan from the Shanghai office of Dehehantong. Lawyer Wang Guan, a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee, senior partner of the Shanghai office of Dehehantong, and vice president of Dehe Criminal Case Research Institute, was the keynote speaker. Lawyer Chen Hui, a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee, and Lawyer Pu Guiping, a member of the Criminal Law Committee, participated in the discussion. Lawyer Wang Siwei, the director of the Criminal Procedure Committee, made a summary and comment on this session. All the lawyers made wonderful sharing and exchanges on the topic.

Lawyer Wang Guan, in light of the current judicial situation under the positive criminal law perspective, analyzed the issue of the standard of element proof in judicial practice. Lawyer Wang, in response to the three major defense pain points of "should have known" determination, the generalization of indirect intent, and the generalization of co-conspirator determination, dissected the common determination logics and problems of the prosecution, proposed targeted defense ideas, and called on the industry to provide evidence and argumentation to form strength.

Lawyer Chen Hui shared from the perspective of the case process, mentioning that effective defense should pay special attention to meticulous work to help the client to the greatest extent possible. For instance, attach great importance to the defense of the necessity of prosecution during the review and prosecution stage, and intercept cases through similar case retrieval and collection of defense evidence during the review and prosecution stage.

Lawyer Pu Guiping offers "three-dimensional" effective defense response methods. For instance, limit legal interpretations to prevent the expansion of criminal determinations; Cut off the connection points of joint crimes and clarify the boundaries of criminal responsibility; Transform policy dividends, adapt to the current judicial situation where minor crimes are increasing, and take into account the maximization of the interests of the parties involved and the core essence of defense, etc.

Lawyer Wang Siwei made a summary and comment from the perspective of a risk society. He believes that the sharing of the participants has very profound theoretical and practical significance. It interprets the five key words of the formation of the positive criminal law view, namely, initiative, advance, ambiguity, expansion and abstraction, and analyzes their influence on judicial practice.

Theme Two: Effective Defense in the Context of the Plea Bargaining System

Theme Two was hosted by Lawyer Wang Yuanyuan, a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee, senior partner of the Shanghai office of Dehehantong, and secretary-general of the Dehe Criminal Case Research Institute. Lawyer Zhang Jianfei, a member of the Criminal Law Committee, was the keynote speaker. Lawyer Liu Jun, a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee, and Lawyer Zhang Kekuo, an officer of the Criminal Law Committee, participated in the discussion. Lawyer Hu Jing, a member of the Criminal Law Committee, made a summary and evaluation of this session. The lawyers attending the meeting made detailed sharing and dialogues around the theme.

Lawyer Zhang Jianfei analyzed the current situation of defense under the system of guilty plea and acceptance of punishment. He pointed out that the current rate of guilty pleas and acceptance of punishment remains high, but there are still some problems. He put forward the fundamental logic of pleading guilty and accepting punishment defense, emphasizing that only by conducting substantive defense can one effectively safeguard the rights and interests of the parties involved and be a true defender.

Lawyer Liu Jun conducted an in-depth discussion on the system of guilty pleas and acceptance of punishment. He provided specific response strategies for three typical scenarios: the suspect's acceptance of the sentencing recommendation but the defense lawyer's objection, the suspect's change of mind after signing the written commitment, and the substantive defense during the trial stage. He emphasized that meticulous defense requires a systematic clarification of the sentencing circumstances to ensure sufficient evidence.

Lawyer Zhang Kekuo shared the practical operation of defense in cases of guilty plea and acceptance of punishment based on actual typical cases. He started from the parallel development of procedure and substance, focusing on issues of legality, substance and relevance, and achieved the defense goal through precise defense, confirming the significance of procedural justice and substance analysis in defense.

Lawyer Hu Jing gave a wonderful review of this session. She stated that in the era characterized by guilty pleas and acceptance of punishment, the professional value of criminal defense lawyers is even more significant, and emphasized that the core of effective defense lies in guiding the parties to make rational choices through meticulous work. There is no gap between pleading guilty and accepting punishment and lawyers' independent defense rights. The review and prosecution stage is crucial. Lawyers need to carefully review the case files and conduct thorough court trials to ensure effective defense through professional defense.

03 Summary Speech

Lawyer Xu Zongxin, vice president of the Shanghai Bar Association, delivered a concluding speech. He highly affirmed the professionalism and effectiveness of this event, emphasizing that in practice, both judicial effectiveness and the feelings of the parties involved should be taken into account. Lawyer Xu believes that criminal defense lawyers should establish a four-level thinking system of sensibility, causality, dialectics and systematicness. Through meticulous defense, they should adhere to principles and make good use of skills to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties to the greatest extent. They should respond to judicial practice with the view of "positive criminal law view, we positive defense view".

This event has established a platform for information exchange and experience sharing among colleagues, effectively promoting the expansion of practical ideas and methods for effective defense. In the future, Dehehantong will continue to uphold the philosophy of "diligence, craftsmanship, and excellence", taking this event as an opportunity to deeply explore the hot topics and practical bottlenecks in the field of criminal defense, and contribute more Dehe wisdom to the industry.