Lay judge system should be reviewed to prevent false charges
(From The Japan Times May 30 issue)

Three years have passed since the lay judge system was introduced to bring a citizens’ perspective into criminal trials. According to the Supreme Court, 20,817 people had served as lay judges and 7,257 as backup lay judges by the end of March. More than 95 percent of them said that participation in trials was a meaningful experience.

The lay judge law calls for a review of the system after three years have passed since its introduction. In reviewing the system, emphasis should be given to strengthening the mechanism to prevent false charges and to ensure fair trials.

A total of 3,601 people received sentences under the lay judge system. Of these, 17, or about 0.5 percent, were given clear not guilty sentences that rejected the prosecution’s arguments. During the 2006-2009 period before the lay judge system started, the corresponding rate was slightly higher at about 0.6 percent. A tendency is seen that lay judges tend to give severer sentences in sex crimes and injuries resulting in death.

The situation is different in stimulant drugs-related trials. Seven people charged with violating of the stimulant drugs control law were acquitted, pushing the not guilty rate to about 2.1 percent from the some 0.6 percent before the introduction of the lay judge system. In those trials, the lay judge system forced public prosecutors to change their method to prove the guilt of those indicted.

A stronger way of preventing false charges should be adopted. Police officers and public prosecutors should be required to electronically record the entire interrogation process. To ensure a fair trial, public prosecutors should be required to present all evidence or at least a list of all the evidence to judges and defense lawyers before the start of trials. Public prosecutors who fail to do this should be punished or dismissed from the profession. Gag orders for lay judges should be loosened. Being able to speak more freely after trials would help deepen public discussion on the shape of the lay judge system. Attention should be paid to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations’ proposal that a unanimous decision by judges must be required for the passing of death sentences.

日本語の抄訳はウィークリ6月9日号のP18に掲載されています。