The recently released film "Article 20" directed by Zhang Yimou is currently popular. As a former prosecutor and now a lawyer, I feel like I'm stuck in my throat and don't want to express myself. So, let's take advantage of the heat and chat a few words.

The limitations of movie scripts

The lack of positive publicity for the image of lawyers in Article 20 is not only to highlight the role of prosecutors, but also due to the plot of the script.

The story of the script is based on Wang borrowing a high interest loan to treat his child's illness. When he is unable to repay the loan, his wife is raped by a lender, and he is beaten and humiliated. He conflicts with the perpetrator and stabbes them with scissors when they attempt to use a knife from the car, resulting in the perpetrator's death.

Regarding the characterization of Wang's behavior, the judicial practice is to classify it as the crime of intentional injury (causing death). However, although this characterization has a certain calming effect on the close relatives of the deceased, it goes against the justice of the judiciary, violates the concept of "the law cannot make concessions to the illegal", is a conciliatory approach, and also causes people like Wang in the film to suffer punishment and blame that should not be borne, And it can easily hinder people's enthusiasm to act bravely for righteousness. It neither distinguishes right from wrong, but also easily misleads people into confusing right and wrong.

The film highlights the prosecutor's conscious effort to break free from the misconceptions of judicial inertia, from naturally categorizing the above-mentioned behavior as intentional injury, to self reflection and striving to classify the behavior as "legitimate defense" and thus determine innocence. During this time, he withstood various pressures, made arduous efforts, and finally managed to turn the tide, so the honor belongs to the prosecutor.

Imagine that if the lawyer in the film is set as Wang's defense counsel, there is no doubt that the defense counsel's obvious and most powerful defense point against the above Wang's situation is naturally to strive to characterize his behavior as "legitimate defense.". At this point, even if the prosecutor adopts the lawyer's viewpoint, then glory belongs to the prosecutor and the lawyer. If the story is told in this way, the prosecutor's self-awareness and self reflection of stepping out of the judicial inertia and misunderstanding will be overshadowed, and the highlight of the film's portrayal of the prosecutor's ability to withstand pressure, handle cases impartially, and engage in verbal battles to turn the tide will be impossible to achieve.

So, the film had to set the lawyer as the representative of the deceased's close relatives, and he could only speak for the deceased without any pain or itching. The reason for speaking could only be the emotional appeal of "the deceased is big" without any pain or itching. As for the lawyer's other behavior in the film, it is even more lackluster

The Reflection of Film and Reality

Returning to reality, we are delighted to see that in order to break free from the misconceptions of judicial inertia mentioned above, change the ambiguous approach, guide people to distinguish right from wrong, be clear about right and wrong, and encourage people to boldly fight against illegal behavior, the Supreme People's Procuratorate has encouraged judicial personnel to boldly and correctly apply Article 20 of the Criminal Law, namely the "self-defense clause", through judicial interpretations and typical case guidance in recent years, to awaken them from their slumber, Reviving vitality, this clause is increasingly being applied in judicial practice.

In practice, there are not only judicial personnel who consciously apply it, but also a large number of lawyers who promote it, and a large number of judicial personnel and lawyers who have reached consensus on the application. So, we lawyers don't have to worry about the lack of positive publicity about the image of lawyers in Article 20 and hold grudges, let alone belittle ourselves because prosecutors consciously apply Article 20 instead of lawyers proposing it. Because the lawyer in the film is the lawyer of the so-called "victim" (the deceased), not the defender of the so-called suspect (Wang Mou, who carries out self-defense), his role is set so that the lawyer can not speak for Wang Mou's application of Article 20 of the Criminal Law. This is all the plot of an old schemer (Zhang Yimou). Why be serious when playing a play?

As lawyers, we need to recognize the value of this film, which clearly encourages people to fight against illegal behavior and advocates that "the law cannot make concessions to illegal behavior"; We need to point out that people should not fall into the misconception of character design in movies, making people mistakenly believe that lawyers are powerless in legal application.

What I want to say is that whether it is prosecutors or lawyers, including judges, police officers, and all other participants in the judiciary, only these people can reach a high degree of consensus and have a highly unified understanding of "heavenly principles, national laws, and human relations". They have a consistent consensus on the application of all laws, including but not limited to Article 20 of the Criminal Law. Therefore, the true "rule of law" is not a castle in the air, It will be transformed into tangible rules and order presented in our lives.

If that's the case, the lawyer character in the film is not so glamorous, what is this grievance?