When a person is summoned to an investigator for the first time, they look for a criminal defence attorney in general — without realising that cases in this category are structured completely differently. A charge arising from a fight, a charge over an unperformed contract and a charge after a crash go through the same procedure, but the dispute in each concerns different things. What decides the outcome in one case plays no role at all in another. Attorney Yuriy Arutyunov handles cases in all these categories. So into which areas is criminal defence divided, and why is it built differently in each?
Why is criminal defence not a single specialisation?
Because the Criminal Code brings together under one cover acts of a completely different nature. A blow in a fight, a forged income certificate and driving into the oncoming lane have nothing in common except that the punishment for them is provided for by the same law. All they share is the procedure: pre-investigation check, investigation, trial. What differs is the main thing — the subject of proof.
Virtually any criminal case comes down to a dispute of one of three types. A dispute about the fact itself: either the event took place or it did not. A dispute about qualification: the event is acknowledged, but the parties disagree as to which article it falls under. A dispute about punishment: guilt is not contested, only the measure is discussed. The entire subsequent line of defence depends on which type the case belongs to, and this must be determined at the very outset.
What decides the outcome in cases of causing bodily harm?
The degree of harm and the form of guilt. These two circumstances determine the article, and with it everything else. One and the same event — a blow in a street quarrel — turns, depending on the medical conclusion, either into administrative proceedings or into a charge under Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The difference between these outcomes is years of one's life, and it is decided not by witnesses' assessments but by the forensic medical expert's document. That is why an attorney in a grievous bodily harm case begins work precisely with the examination: they check what source data the expert received, whether it was complete and whether the questions were put correctly. In Moscow, where there are many such cases, a formal approach to this document is not uncommon.
Where is the boundary between the articles on bodily harm?
Along two axes at once. The first is severity: battery, minor, moderate and grievous harm. The second is the form of guilt: intent or negligence. Their intersection gives the specific article, whether it is defence in grievous bodily harm cases or proceedings over battery. Shifting the assessment along even one axis means changing the whole case.
- The forensic medical expert's conclusion. The completeness of the source materials and the validity of the findings on the severity of harm are checked.
- The age of the injuries. A mismatch between the time they were formed and the date of the incident can destroy the prosecution's version.
- The mechanism by which the injuries were formed. This determines whether the injuries correspond to the circumstances described in the case.
- A state of necessary self-defence. If it is confirmed, the question of liability may fall away entirely.
- The victim's conduct. Provocation and unlawful actions on their part affect both the qualification and the measure of punishment.
What must the investigation prove in cases of theft and embezzlement?
That the intent was directed at misappropriation. This is where the line runs between a crime and ordinary non-performance of an obligation, and this is where mistakes most often occur. A person took money and did not return it — in itself this means nothing yet. If they expected to fulfil what they had promised but were unable to, the dispute remains a civil one. If from the outset they had no intention of giving anything back, it is a matter of fraud.
In addition to intent, the prosecution must establish that the taking was without compensation, the mercenary purpose and the amount of damage, which directly affects the qualification. This group includes theft, defence in fraud cases, and misappropriation and embezzlement. An attorney in criminal disputes in Moscow works here primarily with documents: contracts, payment orders, correspondence between the parties. They show what the person did with the funds received — and therefore what they intended to do.
How do credit and insurance fraud differ from ordinary fraud?
In the subject of the dispute. Under Article 159.1 of the Criminal Code, the information the borrower provided to the bank is examined: whether it was knowingly false or whether the person was genuinely mistaken. Under Article 159.5 of the Criminal Code, the circumstances of the insured event are examined — whether it actually occurred and whether the damage corresponds to what was claimed. In both offences the decisive factor is not the fact that money was received but the quality of the documents and the technical examination.
When does a demand to repay a debt turn into extortion?
At the moment a threat is added to the demand. In itself, a demand to hand over property or money is lawful — a creditor is entitled to insist on repayment. Article 163 of the Criminal Code comes into play if the demand is accompanied by a threat to use violence, destroy property or disseminate defamatory information. That is why the subject of examination becomes messenger correspondence, recordings of telephone conversations and the exact wording the person used.
What is examined in road traffic accident and drink-driving cases?
The mechanism of the incident and compliance with procedure — depending on the article. Under Article 264 of the Criminal Code, what is established is the breach of a specific provision of the traffic rules, the causal link between that breach and the consequences that followed, and the technical possibility of avoiding the collision. None of these circumstances is obvious: they are derived by calculation from the source data collected at the scene in the first few hours. If the diagram is drawn up inaccurately, the error will pass into the expert's conclusion and on into the sentence. Hence the particular feature noted by attorney services in traffic rule violation cases: the defence begins by checking the primary materials collected on the road in Moscow or the Moscow Region.
Why are disputes under Articles 264.1 and 264.3 of the Criminal Code about procedure?
Because the fact of driving the vehicle is usually not contested in these cases. The dispute is about whether the procedure for the sobriety test was followed and whether previous penalties, on which the element of repeated offending depends, were correctly taken into account. An error in either of these two points changes the qualification or deprives the prosecution of its footing altogether.
- The diagram of the scene of the incident. Inaccurate measurements and positions of objects distort the entire subsequent calculation.
- The source data for the expert. The expert calculates on the basis of the figures passed to them, and it is the defence that must check their source.
- Video recording data. Footage from cameras and dashcams is quickly overwritten, so it must be requested immediately.
- The procedure for referral for a sobriety test. A breach of procedure makes its result inadmissible evidence.
- The condition of the road surface and markings. A pothole or worn markings shift part of the responsibility onto the road maintenance service.
How does criminal hooliganism differ from petty hooliganism?
In motive and qualifying features. Article 213 of the Criminal Code requires a gross breach of public order expressing obvious disrespect for society — with the use of a weapon or on grounds of hatred. Without these features, the same actions remain an administrative offence. That is why an attorney dealing with the difference between petty and criminal hooliganism is engaged primarily to work on the motive and the setting of the incident.
Why does a victim, and not only the accused, need an attorney?
Because this is a separate area with its own logic, and the objectives here are directly opposite. The accused seeks termination of the case; the victim seeks its initiation and a thorough investigation. An attorney representing victims in criminal cases prepares the statement, appeals a refusal to initiate proceedings, files motions for examinations to be ordered and brings a civil claim for compensation for harm.
Without this work, a case often stalls at the stage of the preliminary check. A refusal to initiate proceedings issued as a formality is not overturned by itself — it must be appealed on time and on the merits. A victim needs legal assistance in a criminal case to exactly the same extent as the accused — it is simply directed the other way.
Why does the moment you contact an attorney change the outcome of the case?
Because the range of available solutions narrows with each stage. At the pre-investigation check it is still possible to influence whether a case will be initiated and under which article. After charges have been brought, the choice is already noticeably smaller, and after the case has been sent to court, what remains is mainly work on the punishment. Criminal defence services have the greatest effect while the prosecution's position has not yet been fixed in procedural documents.
Attorney Yuriy Arutyunov accepts cases at any stage of the proceedings. But the earlier defence counsel gains access to the materials, the more options for action remain, and criminal defence assistance at an early stage almost always proves more effective. There is no point in putting off contacting an attorney until you receive a summons.
The category of the case determines the subject of the dispute, and the subject of the dispute determines the line of defence. In one case everything rests on the medical conclusion, in another on the correspondence between the parties, in a third on a diagram drawn up on the road. Understanding which group your situation belongs to will not in itself replace defence counsel, but it will allow you to talk to them substantively from the very first meeting.