I saw a public service ad in the subway about this; I wasn’t aware of it previously. Not sure what to think.
i want a jury system where there are two separate juries of 6 people each, still picked by both sides. These separate juries will sit opposite one another and will not be able to communicate. At the end of the trial if both juries disagree, the judge will be able to make the final decision.
Well, it seems they’re saying anything may go in the future here–saying.
Seems the starts of a trial Citizen Jury system has begun. However, of those that received a summons a little over a third showed up. A 2/3 majority is required for a guilty verdict.
I saw it on reddit first and there is already some discussion going on over there too.
https://old.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/1540ti2/taiwan_starts_using_citizen_judges_in_trials/
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So are jury summons optional? In the states if you fail to show up for jury summons a warrant is issued for contempt.
Based on the TaiwanPlus clip it seems a 1000USD penalty could be issued for failing to respond to a court summons, however it will be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
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Yea it’s not going to work. In the us not answering a jury summons is like failing to report for duty when conscripted.
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Taiwan’s first jury verdict is out:
The case of a 63 year-old wife murdering her 72 year-old husband in his sleep. The wife claimed she was subjected to long term abuse and that was her only recourse. The jury believe she still had other options, so they found her guilty and sentenced her to 7 years and 2 months.
They are referred to as citizen judges, and for whatever reason their photos and names are released.
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This is often the sentence handed down in the past when there are cases of wife murdering husband in case of abuse, long before juries or whatnot.
But in Taiwan judges, juries or whatever must justify the sentence and presumably the justification will be considered in appeal. It’s not at all like the US where sentence from a district court is more or less final and appeal only looks at judicial misconduct or whether or not the defendant had a fair trial, or if exculpatory evidence was withheld by the prosecutor, and all that.
In Taiwan appeal court completely overruling the district or summary court is very common. It’s almost like a retrial it seems. There’s a saying in Taiwan, 一審死刑，二審無期，三審無罪, it basically means on the initial conviction the person is sentenced to death. On appeal he is sentenced to life, and at the supreme court he is acquitted.
Speaking of the sentence for murdering husbands. It’s very sad but there are resource out there for domestic abuse victims, so a court can’t simply excuse a murder where the victim felt she had no other option. It sets very bad precedents. Even if past ruling isn’t as important in a civil law system, precedents are still important.
ha, no. you could be summoned or receive a warrant, but just as likely (probably more) nothing happens.
I kinda know how it works… My dad gets summons sometimes too.
Basically it’s a form that you send back when you receive it. In it is a bunch of questions and if you tick any of the wrong boxes (there are many), you will hear nothing more from them.
When I say getting a warrant, I mean you get a real summon ordering you to report in. If you ignore that then nothing good will happen. I think (but do not know for sure due to lack of personal experience) once you show up you’re asked a bunch of questions by various lawyers (prosecutors, defense attorneys, or whatever), and 9 times out of 10 you’ll be dismissed and never hear from them again.
I believe you have to really WANT to serve in a jury to be chosen in the US.
No, you don’t know how this works. In California, you have a call in system (which is how most report in). And there’s almost no box you can tick that will get you dismissed from reporting. But if you don’t call in or report, they generally do jack shit.
Are they getting paid to do it? Also do they get mandatory time off like in the West?
If either is no then this process isn’t going to work.
That’s a terrible idea.
Is the jury setting the jail time?