Recently, senior partners of King&Capital Law Firm, Mr. Zhang Yanfeng and Mr. Zheng Xian, represented the defense of a case of environmental pollution by a unit in the second trial. Through the efficient communication of the lawyers, the court adopted part of the defense's opinions, and the person in charge of the enterprise involved in the case was sentenced to a lighter sentence at a time when the rate of change of sentence in the second trial is extremely low.

Background of the case

This is the first local case in which an enterprise was held criminally liable for illegal disposal of hazardous waste. Years ago, the enterprise involved in the case, in order to save costs, dozens of tons of hazardous waste to Wang Mou, who has no operating and disposal qualifications. Subsequently, Wang resold the batch of hazardous waste to Zhang for secondary refining, which generated a large amount of waste liquid and seriously polluted the environment, Wang and others were arrested. The investigating authorities by tracing the source of the batch of hazardous waste, locking the enterprise involved and the relevant responsible person.

Case handling

When the family found a lawyer, the deadline for appealing the case was approaching. The family believed that the first trial penalty is heavy and reluctant, but also worried about the case in the local influence, the Procuratorate will be due to the parties do not plead guilty to the law, and then filed a protest to increase the sentence. Confused and helpless, do not know what to do.

The lawyer through the information provided by the family on the case study, after understanding the background of the case, and in recent years, the search and analysis of similar cases, careful assessment of the prosecutor's office of the risk of counter-suit, and to the family fully explained. In the end, the family was impressed by the lawyer's sincerity and professionalism, and decided to entrust the lawyer to fight.

After formally accepting the commission, the two lawyers will actively work. On the one hand, through the meeting, let the person put down the burden of thought, in the last day of the appeal deadline successfully start the appeal procedure; On the other hand, immediately apply for access to the whole case file and the trial transcripts of the first trial, to further sort out the facts, looking for defense. For the second trial may not be the case, the lawyer repeatedly with the presiding judge for telephone communication, clarify the point of view at the same time also to the court of second instance to apply for a hearing; for the identification of problems in the opinion, the lawyer provides the relevant legal provisions and past cases, put forward the application for re-assessment; for the possibility of the existence of new, favorable evidence, the lawyer and actively to the court to provide clues to the application for the panel to find out and retrieve For the special circumstances of environmental pollution cases, the restorative justice concept and corporate compliance, the formation of the innocence, misdemeanor both, layer by layer, the defense of ideas.

In the reasoned communication, the presiding judge maintained a high degree of synchronization with the lawyers, listened carefully to the relevant opinions, and elaborated his views and opinions on the facts and laws. In the end, the case was re-determined without a trial, and the circumstances of self-reporting, which were not recognized in the first trial, were further refined and differentiated from the subjective malice and other perspectives of the responsibility of the accomplices, and our client was sentenced to a lighter penalty.

Case Summary

Not long ago, on May 29th, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly released seven typical cases of environmental crimes of hazardous waste pollution severely punished in accordance with the law. This also further indicates that the relevant authorities will maintain a high-pressure crackdown in the frequent areas of environmental pollution, from the level of criminal accountability.

"Green mountains are golden mountains", the lawyer reminded the majority of business operators, in the process of disposal of hazardous wastes, should strictly comply with the regulations and systems, build a compliance system, and strive to reduce costs at the same time, but also pay attention to the criminal risk, to avoid misjudgment resulting in similar regret.