Across the globe, a growing number of countries have evolved their legal ‘finders-of-fact’ to include citizens serving in the role of lay-judges. While this emerging trend has taken a variety of forms, often expressed through country specific protocols, it has generally been understood to consider concepts of local justice and enhance citizen participation in the criminal justice system. In addition to advancing democratically grounded civic engagement, the use of lay-judges has also resulted in several distinct challenges, some culturally specific and others more generalizable in manifestation.

This paper discusses the evolution of lay-jury systems throughout the world by examining distinct dynamics, to include origins and rationales for various emerging systems, with a focus on democratic societies. Attempts to study this phenomenon will be examined, noting insights and challenges innate to such research. Next, the case of Japan’s saiban-in system, implemented in 2009, will be examined as an example of a newly minted lay-judge system, to include some of its unanticipated challenges. Multiple waves of data collection (n=50) reporting public response dynamics will provide insights into how Japan’s saiban-in system has been understood and received by its citizenry. Finally, current trends and a future research agenda will be identified.

Authors:
William Crawley, University of West Florida, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. William R. Crawley has over 25 years in higher education, including 20+ years in various academic leadership positions at multiple institutions.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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