SPSL

Last week's final presentation, Lisa and I introduced a NGO that we want to create. The name of NGO is SPSL. SPSL is the initials of Support People Selected Lay judge. I explain what it is like here as we did on the presentation.

Our Mission and Goal
Listen lay judge's voice and find out what is needed. And our goal is that by supporting them, to improving the system itself.

Activity
We want to hold seminars to teach the lay judge system for applicant. That makes people understand the system and prepare for the time they are selected lay judge. Moreove, we thought that they need proper mental support, so we assemble people who can provide counseling if lay judges feel nervous.

Recruit
We make web page and apeal our activity. Then we collect contributions of donation on through the page and recieve contact who can be counseler voluntarily.

Some of our classmate commented that the slides were good and easy to understand. All of our classmates interested in our NGO, because they thought they could understand lay judge system deeply and get enough mental support. I'm very glad that they  have a consciousness of being lay judge someday.
Three years have passed sisnce the system has started. There are some problems related to that, but I hope it can improved.

results of survey

Hello! We did final presentation about lay judge system in our last class.
We wanted to know that how much people understand the system, so we did did T&F question related to our controversial topic. We made following quiz;
1. The candidates of lay judge are people who are over 20.
2. We can reject being lay judge if we have some reasons.
3. Lay judges don't discuss the defendant's sentence.
4. Lay judges mustn't speak to others what was argued in the court.
5. Lay judges can judge the case using information reported on the media about the case.

the answers are... 1.○　2.○　3.×　4.× 5.×
the rates of people who gave a correct answer were...　1 85%  2 85%  3 57%  4  0%  5 42%

We also asked that, 'If you were selected lay judge, what you worry about?'
・deciding the defendant is guilty (or death penalty)
・the lack of knowledge about the system
・ false accusation
They are the major answers.

So, we learned that people don't understand well the system and they worry about judging other people's punishment.

critical thinking keyword

We, Lisa and I, want to explain the critical thinking keyword, 'bias.'
Bias is a inclination that gives weight to one particular opinion.  Inclination means a tendency to think or behave in a particular way. We sometimes judge an issue from our personal emotion without reasonable consideration.

Lay judges need to think crimes objectively to give right judgement. If they lack such a consideration, it influences defendant's sentence in big way.
Last year, a 42-year-old man was arrested for his elder sister's murder. He has Asperger Syndrome(a kind of autism) since he was little. However, he was said 20-year sentences, and this is 4 year longer than procecutor's sentence. Judges think that even if the defendant has mental illness, there is no assureance that he'll never commit crime, so it is safe for us to prison him as long as possible. However, this opinion is biased view that handicapped person tend to commit crime.

evaluation of websites

I introduce this web site. FACTS AND DETAILS

The author is not an expert, and his mission is not described clearly. he doesn't belong to some organization, but we can contact him because there is an e-mail address so that we can question the author.
The information written here is carried from some news papers, magazines and other sources, so the facts are correct, maybe. Why I cannot be sure for that is that even though he listed the specific names he used in 'about this project page', he doesn't list some useful links or the page he used, so we cannot get information from another websites and confirm it is true.

I think this is hard to see since  he just describes the facts and it has no picture,  little color, and too long sentences. He should brief more and highlight some sentences that he thinks important so that we can understand what he wants to tell.

This website is not so bad, because it has relatively a lot of information, brief profile of the author, and updated recently, but I think it should be changed like the way I suggested above.

Good site of Lay judge system

This site is good site about Lay judge system.

http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/index.html

The site is made by Japanese Government for people who cannot understand Japanese.
This is official the ministry of justice site.
We cannot find information about lay judge system in this top page, we find lay judge system page when we fly to link.
http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/issues/issues03.html
The page shows flow of trial in the left picture.


In Japanese, the site is the most good site of it.↓
http://www.saibanin.courts.go.jp/introduction/index.html
When we watch this site, we can find any information about layjudge. If your eyesight is not good, you can see big words.
Not only adult but also kids can understand this system because government prepare sites for kids.
This site ios also official, these site are reliable.

classmates' opinion

somehow I cannot comment my post, so I write our classmate's opinions here.

toward president's perspective>>

some of my classmates agreed the idea that our common sense is needed to avoid false accusation and thinks this system works good to think about crimes seriously. However, others said it's difficult for general people to take part in a court without enough knowledge about law. I like a suggestion that having a law doctor to get proffessional knowledge. 

towards anti lay judge system group's member>>

All my classmates complained about the no helpful support for lay judge diagnosed as PTSD and surprised the rule we may have to pay money if people regect being lay judge without clear reason. They said that's not fair if a person be lay judge unwillingly.

A student suggested that to limit the cases that lay judge deal with to avoid the problem of PTSD comes from the trials of violent crimes. 

Lay judge from various perspectives ------ old woman who experienced

Hi. Last year, I was chosen to lay judge. I was so surprised at this fact and didn't want to go court, however, if I don't go to there, I must pay fine so I went to court.Finally I was chosen to it legally.

After I acted lay judge, the most surprising was an amount of document about the incident and lay judge system. To understand lay judge well, we should read it all of it. But  I couldn't read it because I was not good at eyesight. And I have consciousness of sin.
I have dreamed of defendant in spite of a year pasted.
I don't want my family to be chosen as lay judge.
So I disagree with lay judge system.

Lay judge from various perspectives--- from president of Federation of Bar Assosiation

I'm president of Japanese Federaetion of Bar Assosiation, in Japanese, Nippon benngoshi Renngoukai. I'll tell you the reason why we need public opinion on the trial.

As you know, lay judges decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty and the sentence if they thought the defendant is guilty.  It is essential to punish criminals for our safety life, but that's the fact that even innocence citizens were punished in the past. Judge's sence is different from that of normal citizen. Actually, there was a case clearly not guilty defendant was told guilty.Some says that that could avoid if normal people were judges. This is a serious problem because the judgement greatly affect people's life. If the defendant doesn't comit crime, the sentence would deprive his or her freedom or rights.

To avoid such mistakes, we need commonsencial citizen's view.Moreover, by participating trials, people would understand more about law than now, and would grow the trust toward judiciary. I know it is difficult task for people to make a decision which determine someone else's fate, but we need common sence to improve the quality of trials.

Lay judge from various perspevtives----- anti-lay judge group member's point of view

I’m a member of a group which demands the abolishment of the lay judge system and do activity to submit petition against that.

There are no helpful supports for lay judges even though some diagnosed as PTSD after the trial because of the serious crime such as murder or traffic accident. Supreme court provide telephone consultation for them, but it is non-fulfilling support.

Moreover, if you reject being lay judge without clear reason, you may have to pay money as non-penal fine. This is not ‘participation’ or ‘duty’. It’s almost like ‘military draft’.

Lay judge system started in 2009, but 84% of people answered they don’t want to be lay judges in 2011’s questionnaire. No matter how many times surveys would be conducted, most people would answer ‘No’ if they asked they want to take part in trial. It is obvious that this system doesn’t do good to raise awareness of people toward judiciary.

 

Can you really agree this unwanted system? Don't you think that this is nuisance? I firmly oppose lay judge system.

Lay Judge from various perspectives ――experienced men's point of view

   Hello, I work as doctor, I was selected as lay judge last year. At first, I didn't want to be lay judge because people who become lay judge have to have responsible, however, I became to think that lay judge is very unusual experience, so I decided to be lay judge.
   First, I couldn't concentrate on trial.The reason is that  I've never experienced such a nervous situation. Moreover, I don't know what to do. But before trial starts, judges gave us documents about the accident which is dealed with this trial. I think it is good for lay judges to give documents.
   We could have opportunity to ask defendant, this opportunity is difficult for us because when we ask defendant, we need to have big courage. I wanted to ask him some question but I couldn't do it.
   During discusstion between lay judges and judges, judges maintained law profile and gave us opportunity to speak positively.
   After the trial, I chenged my mind. I had doubt and concious about lay judge system and whether I can decide penalty. But I became to think that we  can have opportunity to perticipate in trial and must have to know true trial by taking part in it.
  By experiencing lay judge system, I can get various point of view. This experience was very shocking for me. If you are chosen to lay judge, you can get a lot of experience from trial.
  Thank you.

Other's Opinion

I introduce you others' opinion about Lay Judge System.


・Some said that I disagree with this system because I don't know enough knowledge about it.

・Other said that I disagree with it because I think it is bad thing to decide convict's penalty by people who don't know law and trial well.


These opinions are from nicenet.It seems that many people don't have enough knowledge about Lay Judge System, so if we become Lay judge, we have to know and learn about Lay Judge System.

Lay Judge System

Hello!
We'll think about lay judge system known as saibannin-seido on this blog. This system has started since 2009, but it seems that many people still tend to think the system is somebody else's problem. We in this class are almost or already twenty years old. That is, we may be selected as lay judge and participate in a trial. Lisa and I thought that we need to think about this system seriously and know the merit and demerit, so we chose this topic.

As usful web page, we list some links here.
▽Japanese official web page of the lay judge system
http://www.saibanin.courts.go.jp/introduction/index.html#top

▽Japan Times's news article about a woman who was selected as citizen judge and disagrees this system.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/04/30/editorials/stressful-hearings-for-lay-judges/#.UaQMcYlhic0

▽brief exchage about lay judge system
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/06/06/japan-the-curtain-rises-on-the-lay-judge-system/