Appealing the Inaction of an Investigator or Prosecutor

Appealing against the inaction of an investigator

Whether guilty or not, the court decides.
Our task is to prove your innocence, and we know how to do it. Svyatoslav Ugrin

Today in Ukraine there is a situation when the prosecutor or investigator in criminal proceedings ignores the requirements of the criminal procedure legislation, and also ignores your petitions.

Appealing against inaction of state bodies

According to Article 303 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, at the stage of pre-trial investigation, the following legal violations by the investigating authorities can be appealed:

• failure to enter information about a criminal offense into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations after receiving a statement or notice of a criminal offense;
• non-return of temporarily seized property;
• the decision of the investigator, the prosecutor to stop the pre-trial investigation and to close the criminal proceedings;
• the decision of the prosecutor, the investigator to refuse recognition as a victim;
• decisions, actions or inaction of the investigator or prosecutor when applying security measures;
• the prosecutor’s decision on refusal to satisfy the complaint for non-observance of reasonable deadlines by the investigator, the prosecutor during the pre-trial investigation;
• the notification of the investigator, the prosecutor about the suspicion after one month has passed from the date of notification to the person of the suspicion of committing a criminal offense or two months from the date of the notification of the person of the suspicion of the commission of a crime, but no later than the closing of the criminal proceedings by the prosecutor or the appeal to the court with the indictment;
• refusal of the investigator, the prosecutor to grant the request to close the criminal proceedings;
  failure to perform other procedural actions, which he is obliged to perform within the term specified by the Code.

Appealing against the inaction of the prosecutor

It is worth noting that other decisions, actions or inaction of the investigator or prosecutor during the investigation period cannot be considered, but may serve as a potential subject of the case in court. Also, we will point out that during the court proceedings, the mentioned violations of the investigative body can be considered in accordance with part one, specified in Article 303 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

Regarding the timing of consideration of a petition to appeal against the actions of the prosecutor, we point out that, according to Article 304 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, it is customary to consider complaints about the violations of the investigative body within the next ten calendar days from the moment of violation of certain legal norms. If the decision of the investigator or the prosecutor is drawn up under the guise of a certain resolution, the person has the right to file a complaint against this body from the moment a copy of the said resolution is received.

Appealing the actions of officials 

Considering the issue of legal consequences during appeals against the actions of officials When filing a complaint, please note the following. We emphasize that according to Article 305 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, filing a complaint against an investigator during the aforementioned investigation will not reverse the decision of the investigator or the prosecutor while the investigation is ongoing. Also, it should be said that the investigator or the prosecutor has the right to cancel his own decisions, inactivity or actions in relation to the person, on the basis of part one, article 303 of the CCP. The prosecutor is also empowered to reverse his own decisions or actions if they contradict the pre-trial investigation on the basis of Articles 284, 303 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine.

If you have such a situation that the actions of the pre-trial investigation body directly contradict your interests, or are not lawful, and you want to defend your own innocence, with the help of our highly qualified legal specialists, you will receive a reliable defender who will protect your rights and legitimate interests in in court, defending your mentioned interests and achieving success in any legal proceedings.

IMPORTANT! How to understand that a lawyer is an amateur or not a professional in criminal matters?

• The lawyer takes a passive position. For example, when a criminal lawyer is just nearby during a search and does nothing (most likely, because he does not understand anything).
• The lawyer behaves aggressively towards the investigator or operatives. There are situations when a criminal lawyer constantly gets into conflicts, shouts, and frightens law enforcement officers.
• The lawyer is trying to make friends with the investigator. This often happens when a criminal lawyer asks not to seize something during a search and builds friendly relations with the investigator or operatives. High-quality defense in criminal cases is, first of all, the independence and objectivity of a lawyer.
• The lawyer claims that you should not do anything, let the investigation look for evidence. This happens in cases of interrogation, when it is recommended to “completely go to Art. 63 of the Constitution of Ukraine ”, instead of fixing the essence of the interrogation and understanding what the person is accused of.
• A lawyer uses common phrases without understanding criminal law terminology. You have to understand that criminal cases are not civil. For example, when a lawyer says “some kind of certificate”, “something was taken in court” or confuses the statuses “defendant”, “plaintiff” with criminal “suspect”, “accused.”

A good criminal lawyer cases – this is either a former investigator or a prosecutor who clearly understands how the investigation works or a lawyer with extensive experience in criminal cases, there is no other way! This is especially important if you are looking for a serious crime lawyer!

Basic guidelines by which you can determine that a criminal lawyer is truly professional and will not cheat.

Relationship. A good crime lawyer or law firm always has clients. Relationships should be built like this – you asked for help, it is not a lawyer who runs after you to lure money out. If the opposite happens, be careful!

Office. A lawyer must have an office and not change it for a certain time (at least a year). There are, of course, different cases, but the most important factor in choosing a lawyer is stability. If a criminal lawyer has been working steadily for a long time, then everything is fine with him, and if everything is fine with him, then most likely you will be fine.

Reviews. Before hiring a criminal lawyer, first look at the reviews on Google or social. networks. At the same time, do you treat reviews reasonably? Read them and grasp the essence. It happens that competitors or other unfriendly people write negative reviews. And it happens that reviews are clocked for a couple of hundred hryvnia.

Media. Today, each person will be best told by his social networks. Come and see them. This will help you understand how your future lawyer lives, what cases he does, what achievements he has, by whom and where he is recognized as a specialist.

Experience. An experienced criminal lawyer should not only convince you that he clearly understands what is happening in your specific situation, he should put on the table the same or similar cases in which he took part and where a positive result has been achieved. If there are only words and there is no evidence – do not believe, every lawyer wants to take money from you. It is important that this money is for the cause, not for the words.

Contract. A contract with a lawyer is a very complicated thing. Because he makes them every day, but you do not, and it can be difficult to delve into the whole point. Do not be too lazy to read! Pay special attention to the lines of the contract – how long the lawyer undertakes to provide legal assistance, the amount of work, either in hours, or in specific actions.

Important! A lawyer cannot guarantee a won case – but he can clearly define the scope of work. Pay attention to the general phrases “for providing legal assistance” or “comprehensive support of the case” or “all the services of a criminal lawyer at the stage …”

A situation may arise when you later say “I paid 5 thousand cu, and you are not doing anything. ” And he will say – “I study the materials and prepare one document for the court and I think that this is enough.” And then you will not prove anything and will be forced to look for another lawyer.

Price. What are the prices for criminal defense lawyers in Kiev? What are the prices for criminal lawyers in general in Ukraine? In fact, the prices for criminal defense lawyers are different, from UAH 500 per hour or action to thousands of dollars. Price is a very important criterion especially in criminal matters. A good professional crime lawyer cannot be cheap. But at the same time, the price must be justified. Again, if a criminal lawyer takes $ 1,000 and does 5 specific actions for this, this is normal. And when he takes the tighter $ 1,000 and says “for complex business management” and then does nothing, then this is not normal.

Comparison. Never agree to immediately work with the first lawyer with whom you managed to talk. At least 3 interviews should take place. Then you will be able to understand in comparison who is who. And who is a really criminal lawyer from lawyers, how much does a criminal lawyer cost and who is the best to contact them for help.

What if you are suspected of or charged with a criminal offense?

• You need a good criminal lawyer. How do you find such a lawyer? Search on the Internet, select several lawyers specifically in criminal cases. Choose at least three lawyers who specialize in criminal law.
• Next, you need advice on a criminal case. High-quality criminal counseling will let you understand whether or not a professional lawyer is what to do next and how much the services of this criminal lawyer cost.
• Follow the advice of a lawyer to act with him.

 Cost of a lawyer in criminal cases

Depending on whether what status you are there are two options for paying for the services of a criminal lawyer:

1. Accompanying individual investigative actions

More suitable for those who are not involved in the case, and are in the case of a witness.

• express consultation of a criminal lawyer by phone without analyzing the situation – 500 UAH, just to describe your rights in order to understand , what can be done, what must not be done and the first mistakes to be avoided
• preparation of a response to a request to provide documents – $ 100

It is important to understand what is really, according to Art. 93 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the investigator has the right to demand the provision of documents. But what happens if they are not provided? There is no responsibility for this, but it gives the investigator the right to go and take a court order for a search. Therefore, you need to weigh what is more reasonable for you – to give documents for the request or sit and wait for the search.

• escort during interrogation – 100 USD/hour, but not less than 200 USD.for investigative action
• escorting a search – $ 100/hour, but not less than $ 500 for investigative action
• return of confiscated property – from 500 USD or a percentage of the total cost
• other investigative and procedural actions are paid hourly at the rate of $ 100. hour robots of the company’s lawyer.

2. Comprehensive criminal case management at the stage of pre-trial investigation, court of first instance, appeal or cassation.

Comprehensive criminal case management suits a person suspected, accused or convicted. Because it is difficult for a criminal lawyer to immediately determine the scope of work and the strategy of the defense. You need to familiarize yourself with the case to make a defense plan and backup options if the main ones do not work.

The cost of a criminal lawyer for each stage is from 3000 USD. up to $ 10,000 depending on the complexity of the case and its size.

How we work on the integrated management of criminal cases:

• Signing a contract with a criminal defense attorney and joining the case.

This is the first step, at which a criminal attorney in our company affairs communicates with you in essence of the case, in order to understand what is the essence of the crime and what exactly I can incriminate you.

• Familiarization with a criminal case by a criminal defense lawyer.

At this stage, you pay – 1 thousand c.u. This is the payment for the involvement of our company’s crime lawyers. Study the materials of the criminal case and the formation of a plan and strategy for the defense. When we understand how much work needs to be done, we issue an invoice for the remainder of the payment within the amount discussed above.

• Be sure to determine the success fee of criminal defense lawyers – this is an additional remuneration for criminal lawyers for achieving a positive goal in your case. This is a very important point. Since it additionally stimulates a criminal lawyer to achieve a positive result.

Prikhodko & Partners Law Firm is the best experienced criminal lawyer in Kiev!

Sign up for a consultation, we will definitely find a solution to your problem. If during the consultation we are not convinced that we are really professional criminal lawyers, we will refund the money for the consultation!

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