201403_ja_en-7845b9bcd01c2ca60ead3830418ad0e7

Jury vs Saiban-in or 12 Angry Men vs 6 Gentle Japanese

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Mar 7, 2012 23:44
Last week I asked about the judicial system in Japan, but I couldn't explain it well. I tried in vain to talk about the differences between the jury system in the US and the saiban-in system in Japan. I'll try to summarize them here as a consolation match. It's a hard task for me because I'm not familiar with law terms.

The saiban-in (lay judge) system in Japan started about three yeas ago in 2009. Like the jury system in the US, saiban-ins who are selected from the general public participate in trials for the most serious of criminal cases. They, together with professional judges, determine the sentences, including whether the defendant is guilty or not.

The differences are as follows.

========
cases handled:
saiban-in - the most serious of criminal cases
jury - cases which a defender denied and for which the defender selected a jury trial.

members:
saiban-in - 6 saiban-in and 3 judges
jury - 12 jurors and 1 judge

verdict:
saiban-in - majority vote (at least 1 judge must agree with the verdict when it is guilty)
jury - unanimous verdict

discussion:
saiban-in - saiban-in and judges
jury - only jurors

power:
saiban-in - guilty or not guilty and determine sentences
jury - guilty or not guilty only
========

The followings are almost same.

========
selection:
randomly chosen from voters' list

term:
one trial
========

Every time I hear the word 'jury' I remember an old famous American movie "12 Angry Men" (1957) and also its parody movie "12 gentle Japanese" (1991).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104330/
When the parody movie was created the saiban-in system did not exist yet. The movie was a fantasy about what happens if there was the jury system in Japan.

I respect the central character in "12 Angry Men" who stood up alone for the justice and finally persuaded the rest of jurors with strong reasoning based on the concept of "reasonable doubt". He was a hero. He had the strength. On the other hand, nobody in "12 gentle Japanese" had such strength. There was no rigid belief in the justice. They relied on their feelings and intuitions. But I love them. Sometimes I feel that the angry man was a too righteous person to follow.
PaleMantis
Mar 8, 2012 06:51
  • Last week I asked about the judicial system in Japan, but I couldn't explain it well.

  • Last week I was asked about the judicial system in Japan, but I couldn't explain it well.without "was" it means you were asking, I think you meant you were asked (by someone)?

 
  • I'll try to summarize them here as a consolation match.

  • I'll try to summarize them here as a consolation match.you can just say "to make up for it" but it is not really needed.

 
  • Like the jury system in the US, saiban-ins who are selected from the general public participate in trials for the most serious of criminal cases.

  • Like the jury system in the US, saiban-in, who are selected from the general public, participate in trials for the most serious of criminal cases.when explaining something about the subject add commas in the explanation.

 
  • Every time I hear the word 'jury' I remember an old famous American movie "12 Angry Men" (1957) and also its parody movie "12 gentle Japanese" (1991).

  • Every time I hear the word 'jury' I remember an famous old American movie "12 Angry Men" (1957) and also its parody movie "12 gentle Japanese" (1991).it is more natural sounding to switch "famous" and "old" (English is a strange language)

 
  • The movie was a fantasy about what happens if there was the jury system in Japan.

  • The movie was a speculation about what happens if there was the jury system in Japan.not wrong but not natural sounding either...

 
  • Sometimes I feel that the angry man was a too righteous person to follow.

  • Sometimes I feel that the angry man was a too righteous of a person to follow.

 

I thought this was interesting to see the different ways law is decided in Japan. As you may know the American justice system is often strongly in favor of the criminal, as long as he is a rich criminal. Many American lawyers and judges are corrupt also.

AylesC
Mar 8, 2012 20:56
  • jury - cases which a defender denied and for which the defender selected a jury trial.

  • jury - cases in which a defender denies and for which the defender selects a jury trial.

 
  • The followings are almost same.

  • The followings are almost same.

 
  • The movie was a fantasy about what happens if there was the jury system in Japan.

  • The movie was a fantasy about take on what would happens if there was the jury system existed in Japan.

 
  • I respect the central character in "12 Angry Men" who stood up alone for the justice and finally persuaded the rest of jurors with strong reasoning based on the concept of "reasonable doubt".

  • I respect the central character in "12 Angry Men" who stood up for the justice alone and finally persuaded the rest of jurors with strong reasoning based on the concept of "reasonable doubt".

 
  • There was no rigid belief in the justice.

  • There was no rigid belief in the justice.

 

I didn't know about the Japanese saiban-in system. Thanks for teaching me!

I really enjoyed watching '12 Angry Men' too. I didn't know about the Japanese parody. I'll have to watch it.

スープガール
Mar 9, 2012 01:38
  • It's a hard task for me because I'm not familiar with law terms.

  • It's a hard task for me because I'm not familiar with legal terms.

 
  • jury - cases which a defender denied and for which the defender selected a jury trial.

  • jury - cases in which a defendant pleads not guilty and for which the defendant selects a jury trial.

 
  • The followings are almost same.

  • The followings are almost the same.

 

Thanks for writing this journal, it was really interesting.
I had no idea about how the legal system worked in Japan!
Not that I know too much about the proceedings here either. :)

I suppose one thing I like about the juror system is that the judges can't influence the will of the jurors, and that if everyone agrees, you can hope to be nearer the truth.
But I guess there will always be cases where a unanimous decision can't be reached.

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Last week I asked about the judicial system in Japan, but I couldn't explain it well. I tried in vain to talk about the differences between the jury system in the US and the saiban-in system in Japan. I'll try to summarize them here as a consolation match. It's a hard task for me because I'm not fami


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