ID :
74051
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 21:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/74051
The shortlink copeid
Japan`s 1st lay judge trial issues sentence harsh to defendant
TOKYO, Aug. 6 Kyodo -
Japan's first lay judge trial ended Thursday, with a panel consisting of six
citizen and three professional judges issuing a judgment relatively harsh to a
defendant facing a murder charge, while people who served as lay judges showed
positive reactions to their unprecedented duty.
The four-day trial showed Japan's criminal court proceedings have shifted to an
approach that is more understandable to the public, but left challenges
especially on the side of defense lawyers over how they can make their
arguments understood well by lay judges.
''Even to a housewife like me who has no knowledge (on legal issues), the
hearings were very easy to understand due to presentations of graphics and the
way the attendants spoke,'' one woman who served as a lay judge told a press
conference after the trial was concluded.
While the murder case tried under the new system was a simple one as the
72-year-old defendant, Katsuyoshi Fujii, admitted to killing in May a
66-year-old neighbor woman of South Korean nationality after a quarrel, media
attention was intense as it was the first in Japan's post-World War II history
that ordinary citizens participated as judges in a criminal trial.
The lay judge system started on May 21 with the aim to bring a change to court
proceedings that had often been criticized for being too abstruse and out of
touch with popular sentiment.
On the closely watched ruling, the panel of judges sentenced Fujii to 15 years
in prison, just a year less than the prosecutors' demand, rejecting his
arguments that the victim had taken provocative behavior that led him to stab
her to death.
''Rather than the length of the prison term, the defendant is not happy as his
arguments were not accepted,'' Shunji Date, the defendant's lawyer told a press
conference. ''The sentence is of course harsh by just that much. We have to
think whether to appeal the ruling.''
Noting that the defense team tried to highlight the victim's fault so they
could obtain a lenient decision, Date said, ''We thought we need to make it
clear why the murder occurred...but maybe the lay judges took it as if the
defendant is not reflecting on what he did.''
It is said defendants received sentences that were about 80 percent of what the
prosecutors' demanded in past similar cases in Japan.
A lawyer representing the victim's family said, meanwhile, she is satisfied
with the sentence.
''We're very happy. The family and I talked and said that such a sentence may
have come out because citizen judges joined the trial and thought
straightforwardly, not being affected by customary practices,'' the lawyer said.
After the trial ended, all of the six lay judges and one ''supplementary''
citizen judge attended a press conference for the first time to share their
experiences with the public. They are strictly banned from speaking about the
details of the closed-door deliberations that took place to decide on the
sentence.
The six lay judges -- four women and two men -- were aged between 38 and 61. A
38-year-old man served as the supplementary lay judge, who was replaced with
one initial lay judge, who left the court due to sickness.
A 50-year-old female office worker said, ''I feel relieved now after a long
four days,'' while a 61-year-old male part-timer said, ''I feel I have carried
out an important duty.''
On Wednesday, all six citizen judges posed questions to the defendant, such as
why he used a survival knife for the crime rather than a kitchen knife and why
he used a knife that belonged to his late daughter.
About 3,000 cases annually are expected to be tried under the lay judge system,
in which basically six citizen and three professional judges jointly deliberate
serious criminal cases such as murder at district courts.
But many people in Japan remain reluctant to be involved in handing down
sentences, including the death penalty, and critics have raised questions over
what they call the ''too strict'' lifetime secrecy obligation imposed on lay
judges.
The obligation exists so everyone can state their opinion freely during
closed-door discussions, according to the Supreme Court. But the critics are
wary that it could prevent lay judges from blowing the whistle on the
mishandling of the direction of discussion by professional judges and say the
obligation will make it difficult to study problems in the lay judge system.
The first lay judge trial started Monday after the court chose the six lay
judges and three reserve judges from randomly selected eligible voters.
The trial period is kept relatively short so as to lessen the burden on lay
judges, who may have to be absent from work or ask others to take care of their
children while they attend court.
Japan had a jury system between 1928 and 1943, which was suspended amid the
rise of militarism.
==Kyodo
Japan's first lay judge trial ended Thursday, with a panel consisting of six
citizen and three professional judges issuing a judgment relatively harsh to a
defendant facing a murder charge, while people who served as lay judges showed
positive reactions to their unprecedented duty.
The four-day trial showed Japan's criminal court proceedings have shifted to an
approach that is more understandable to the public, but left challenges
especially on the side of defense lawyers over how they can make their
arguments understood well by lay judges.
''Even to a housewife like me who has no knowledge (on legal issues), the
hearings were very easy to understand due to presentations of graphics and the
way the attendants spoke,'' one woman who served as a lay judge told a press
conference after the trial was concluded.
While the murder case tried under the new system was a simple one as the
72-year-old defendant, Katsuyoshi Fujii, admitted to killing in May a
66-year-old neighbor woman of South Korean nationality after a quarrel, media
attention was intense as it was the first in Japan's post-World War II history
that ordinary citizens participated as judges in a criminal trial.
The lay judge system started on May 21 with the aim to bring a change to court
proceedings that had often been criticized for being too abstruse and out of
touch with popular sentiment.
On the closely watched ruling, the panel of judges sentenced Fujii to 15 years
in prison, just a year less than the prosecutors' demand, rejecting his
arguments that the victim had taken provocative behavior that led him to stab
her to death.
''Rather than the length of the prison term, the defendant is not happy as his
arguments were not accepted,'' Shunji Date, the defendant's lawyer told a press
conference. ''The sentence is of course harsh by just that much. We have to
think whether to appeal the ruling.''
Noting that the defense team tried to highlight the victim's fault so they
could obtain a lenient decision, Date said, ''We thought we need to make it
clear why the murder occurred...but maybe the lay judges took it as if the
defendant is not reflecting on what he did.''
It is said defendants received sentences that were about 80 percent of what the
prosecutors' demanded in past similar cases in Japan.
A lawyer representing the victim's family said, meanwhile, she is satisfied
with the sentence.
''We're very happy. The family and I talked and said that such a sentence may
have come out because citizen judges joined the trial and thought
straightforwardly, not being affected by customary practices,'' the lawyer said.
After the trial ended, all of the six lay judges and one ''supplementary''
citizen judge attended a press conference for the first time to share their
experiences with the public. They are strictly banned from speaking about the
details of the closed-door deliberations that took place to decide on the
sentence.
The six lay judges -- four women and two men -- were aged between 38 and 61. A
38-year-old man served as the supplementary lay judge, who was replaced with
one initial lay judge, who left the court due to sickness.
A 50-year-old female office worker said, ''I feel relieved now after a long
four days,'' while a 61-year-old male part-timer said, ''I feel I have carried
out an important duty.''
On Wednesday, all six citizen judges posed questions to the defendant, such as
why he used a survival knife for the crime rather than a kitchen knife and why
he used a knife that belonged to his late daughter.
About 3,000 cases annually are expected to be tried under the lay judge system,
in which basically six citizen and three professional judges jointly deliberate
serious criminal cases such as murder at district courts.
But many people in Japan remain reluctant to be involved in handing down
sentences, including the death penalty, and critics have raised questions over
what they call the ''too strict'' lifetime secrecy obligation imposed on lay
judges.
The obligation exists so everyone can state their opinion freely during
closed-door discussions, according to the Supreme Court. But the critics are
wary that it could prevent lay judges from blowing the whistle on the
mishandling of the direction of discussion by professional judges and say the
obligation will make it difficult to study problems in the lay judge system.
The first lay judge trial started Monday after the court chose the six lay
judges and three reserve judges from randomly selected eligible voters.
The trial period is kept relatively short so as to lessen the burden on lay
judges, who may have to be absent from work or ask others to take care of their
children while they attend court.
Japan had a jury system between 1928 and 1943, which was suspended amid the
rise of militarism.
==Kyodo
