Non-public trials must be followed, juvenile protection must be kept in mind

[2] Compiled from: Shandong High Court
 
[2] Taking photos with a phone and sending them to friends via WeChat is something many people do daily. However, a lawyer was fined 1,000 yuan for taking photos and sharing them in a WeChat group, as it violated court hearing rules. Recently, the Wancheng District People's Court in Nanyang City, while hearing a closed criminal case, found that defense lawyer Yin violated court requirements by using his phone to take photos of the trial scene and disseminating them to a relevant WeChat group. The court imposed a penalty decision on him according to law.

 

Case review
[3] Lawyer Yin, from a law firm in Henan Province, served as the defense counsel for a defendant in a criminal case accepted by the Wancheng District Court. Because the case involved juvenile crime, the Criminal Trial Division of the Wancheng Court conducted a closed hearing according to law. During the trial, without court permission, Yin used his phone to take photos of the trial and sent them via WeChat to a law firm WeChat group. This was immediately discovered by the court bailiff, who temporarily confiscated the phone and later had the photos deleted through the technical department.
 
[4] The Wancheng District Court held that Yin's actions violated the professional ethics a lawyer should observe during a trial, harmed the lawyer's image, and affected the normal conduct of the trial. In accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, Yin was fined 1,000 yuan, to be paid before July 7.
 
[5] After issuing the penalty decision, the Wancheng District Court sent notices about Yin's violation of court discipline to the Nanyang Lawyers Association and the Wolong District Judicial Bureau of Nanyang City, recommending an investigation and handling according to law, with a request for a response.

 

 
Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China
[6] Article 190 九 条
During a court trial, if any participant or member of the audience disrupts courtroom order, the presiding judge shall warn them to stop. If they refuse to heed the warning, they may be forcibly removed from the courtroom; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not more than 1,000 yuan or detention of not more than 15 days may be imposed. The fine or detention must be approved by the president of the court. If the person subject to the penalty disagrees with the decision on the fine or detention, they may apply to the higher-level people's court for reconsideration. The execution of the penalty shall not be suspended during the reconsideration period.
Anyone who gathers a crowd to create a disturbance, storms the courtroom, or insults, slanders, threatens, or assaults judicial personnel or litigation participants, thereby seriously disrupting courtroom order and constituting a crime, shall be investigated for criminal liability in accordance with the law.
 
Article 285
Cases in which the defendant is under the age of 18 at the time of trial shall not be heard in public. However, with the consent of the minor defendant and their legal representative, representatives from the minor defendant's school and the organization for the protection of minors may be present.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
Non-public trial refers to the judicial trial system in which a people's court, when conducting litigation activities, does not hold a public trial for a case based on legal provisions or other legitimate reasons. Non-public means that the public is not allowed to observe and journalists are not allowed to interview or report, but the proceedings are still conducted openly for the parties involved. In China, public trial is an important principle of judicial work. Currently, there are four types of cases in which non-public trials may occur: those involving state secrets, personal privacy, or a minor defendant are not heard in public; those involving trade secrets may not be heard in public upon application.
 
This case was not heard in public because it involves juvenile delinquency. The author believes that in criminal cases involving minors, the system of closed trials is of great significance. First, adolescence is a period of physical and psychological growth for young people. During this time, minors are not yet mature physically or mentally, their personalities are not fully formed, and they are prone to impulsive behavior under external stimuli, which is detrimental to their return to the correct path of growth. Second, although juvenile delinquency, like adult crime, is behavior that harms society and should be punished by criminal penalties, there are significant differences in psychological and physiological aspects compared to adults. Therefore, special procedural rules different from ordinary criminal proceedings apply. In this case, even though Yin, as the defendant's attorney, failed to set an example and instead posted the trial of a minor who should be protected to a WeChat group, this action not only disrespected the parties involved but also showed contempt for the law.