Two short articles by Li Jinglin, one of the two former lawyers who represented Shenzhen police officer Wang Dengchao in his appeal against his 14-year prison sentence for “embezzlement” and “obstructing official business.”
“Sorrow at the Shenzhen Intermediate Court” details the reasons why he and Li Jinxing (李金星), the other defense lawyer, withdrew from the case during the appeal hearing on February 7, 2012. They resigned because they felt that the procedural irregularities in the courtroom that day—the presiding judge repeatedly and intentionally violated court procedures, including acting without authority and ignoring new evidence that the appellant tried to introduce—made it impossible for them to discharge their duties as counsel to the appellant. They thought that their resignation would compel the court to hold a new appeal hearing. Li Jinglin said that the judge’s deliberate violation of and contempt for the law brought him great sorrow.
In the second, untitled article, Li describes his unsuccessful attempt on February 8 to retrieve the original documents and copies of the evidence he had presented at the hearing and to obtain a record of the hearing to check against his own notes.