KITAKYUSHU, Japan (Kyodo) -- Local prosecutors decided Wednesday to request a court to discontinue a trial involving a senior member of a crime syndicate in southwestern Japan under the lay judge system following the arrest of two men for allegedly intimidating lay judges taking part in the trial.
If the request is accepted, it will be the first time since the system was introduced in 2009 that a trial involving lay judges has been abandoned once it was under way.
The move comes after two men were arrested in June on suspicion of intimidating lay judges during the trial by approaching and speaking with them. One of men was an ex-gang member associated with the defendant's Kudo-kai crime syndicate.
The Kokura branch of the Fukuoka District Court earlier canceled a plan to hand down its ruling scheduled on May 16 in the case involving Kosuke Hata, a 41-year-old Kudo-kai executive. He was indicted on an attempted murder charge for trying to kill a male acquaintance with a Japanese sword. Of the six citizen judges selected for the trial, four have already requested to step down.
The Kokura branch of the Fukuoka District Public Prosecutors Office is expected to file the request sometime after July 8, when the detention period of the two men will expire. A district prosecutors office source said prosecutors can no longer leave the trial suspended.
So far, six cases have been excluded from lay judge trials before their first hearings. All of them are cases involving members of Kudo-kai based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
The two men approached lay judges on a street on May 10, when the first trial hearing of the senior gang member was held. The two allegedly said to the lay judges, "We remember your faces," and "Thank you in advance."
On June 17, local police arrested the two on suspicion of violating the lay judge law, which would result in a prison term of up to two years or a fine up to 200,000 yen ($1,984).
Japan introduced the lay judge system in May 2009 in hopes of having verdicts on serious crimes better reflect the average citizen's views.
Under the system, six citizen judges selected from the public and three professional judges hear criminal cases such as murder and some types of robbery, arson and kidnapping.
If the request is accepted, it will be the first time since the system was introduced in 2009 that a trial involving lay judges has been abandoned once it was under way.
The move comes after two men were arrested in June on suspicion of intimidating lay judges during the trial by approaching and speaking with them. One of men was an ex-gang member associated with the defendant's Kudo-kai crime syndicate.
The Kokura branch of the Fukuoka District Court earlier canceled a plan to hand down its ruling scheduled on May 16 in the case involving Kosuke Hata, a 41-year-old Kudo-kai executive. He was indicted on an attempted murder charge for trying to kill a male acquaintance with a Japanese sword. Of the six citizen judges selected for the trial, four have already requested to step down.
The Kokura branch of the Fukuoka District Public Prosecutors Office is expected to file the request sometime after July 8, when the detention period of the two men will expire. A district prosecutors office source said prosecutors can no longer leave the trial suspended.
So far, six cases have been excluded from lay judge trials before their first hearings. All of them are cases involving members of Kudo-kai based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
The two men approached lay judges on a street on May 10, when the first trial hearing of the senior gang member was held. The two allegedly said to the lay judges, "We remember your faces," and "Thank you in advance."
On June 17, local police arrested the two on suspicion of violating the lay judge law, which would result in a prison term of up to two years or a fine up to 200,000 yen ($1,984).
Japan introduced the lay judge system in May 2009 in hopes of having verdicts on serious crimes better reflect the average citizen's views.
Under the system, six citizen judges selected from the public and three professional judges hear criminal cases such as murder and some types of robbery, arson and kidnapping.
