Abstract
This article examines the deeper roots of the plight of Chinese criminal defense lawyers in the pre-trial stage by arguing that, although the Chinese government intends to promote the lawyer’s role through advocacy of the rule of law, the authorities’ implementation of law is compromised by a variety of factors. Although some academics are inclined to blame the indeterminacy of the law, the recent high-profile Li Zhuang case reveals that Chinese lawyers’ difficulties in carrying out their duties arise from extralegal factors. This article focuses in particular on certain political, ideological, and institutional frameworks that play critical roles in the deterioration of criminal defense lawyers’ working environment. It concludes that, although some legal reforms are called for to improve lawyers’ pre-trial stature by adopting some complementary legal mechanisms in an effort to limit the authorities’ paramount powers, given the Chinese state’s unique political and legal culture, prospects for effective legal defense in China are rather unpromising.