On September 25, 2018, the Organization Department of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee issued a pre-appointment notice for city management cadres, which showed that Gao Zhen, assistant president of the Tianjin No.Member of the party group of Tianjin Higher People's Court.

Gao Zhen is the presiding judge of the Ling Jihua case.

According to the official resume, Gao Zhen was born in November 1969. He has a bachelor's degree and a bachelor of laws. He started working in July 1992. He is currently the assistant to the president of Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, a member of the judicial committee, and a third-level senior judge.

Since the reform and opening up, 10 deputy national-level and above tigers have been put on trial: Chen Xitong, Cheng Kejie, Chen Liangyu, Bo Xilai, Zhou Yongkang, Ling Jihua, Su Rong, Sun Zhengcai, Guo Boxiong, and Xu Caihou.

Among them, the Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court and the No. 1 Branch of the Tianjin People's Procuratorate have successively tried three deputy national-level or higher tigers: Zhou Yongkang, Ling Jihua, and Sun Zhengcai.

The Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court once issued a document saying: The trial of Zhou Yongkang, Ling Jihua, Sun Zhengcai and other historic cases has attracted the attention of the whole country and even the world. It is related to the image of the country and the image of the people's court.Comprehensive embodiment and all-round display.The case of Zhou Yongkang, in particular, is a key case in the fight against corruption since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.The Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court has been pushed to the forefront of history. This is not only a heavy burden on the No. 1 Intermediate Court's party group and all police officers, but also a severe challenge.

Facing the challenge, the No. 1 Intermediate People's Court established a leading group for ad hoc trial work, with Cai Zhiping, the then secretary of the party group and dean as the team leader, and members of the party group team.Served as the presiding judge of several special cases, formed a lean trial team with strong politics, professional skills, good work style, and strict discipline, and set up working groups for trials, guarantees, publicity, and comprehensive coordination, adhered to high standards, strict requirements, and meticulous workMeticulous, solid and practical, to ensure that there is nothing wrong with it, and to provide a strong guarantee for the successful completion of special tasks.

On July 4, 2016, Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court pronounced the first-instance verdict on Ling Jihua's case of accepting bribes, illegally obtaining state secrets, and abusing power.According to CCTV video footage, at that time, Gao Zhen, who was the presiding judge, read out the verdict. The verdict was as follows: the defendant, Ling Jihua, was guilty of accepting bribes and sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscated all personal property; guilty of illegally obtaining state secrets, sentenced to five years in prison; guilty of abuse of power, sentenced to four years in prison, decided to implement life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscated all personal property.

Gao Zhen: Did you hear the verdict read out above?

Ling Jihua: I understand.

Gao Zhen: Defendant Ling Jihua, what do you want to tell the court?

Ling Jihua: I accept all the charges and obey the judgment. Today’s trial is unforgettable to me. Under the lawful and fair presidency of the presiding judge, the whole trial was solemn, rigorous, rational and civilized, reflecting the organic combination of court trial and humanistic care.I sincerely thank the court, the procuratorate, and the two lawyers.

From 2000 to 2013, Pan Yiyang, the former vice chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, gave Ling Jihua multiple times of property, equivalent to more than 7.61 million yuan, in order to seek illegitimate benefits.

On April 18 last year, Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court publicly sentenced Pan Yiyang for accepting and offering bribes.According to CCTV video, the presiding judge of Pan Yiyang's case was also Gao Zhen.