Local courts have been asked to recruit about 120,000 eligible “lay judges” for the first roster of 300 homicide cases, as the judicial system prepares to implement the National Judge Act (國民法官法) on Jan. 1 next year.
Under the new lay judge system, three professional judges and six private citizens, or lay judges, are to form a collegiate bench to preside over trials.
During the first phase of implementation, collegiate benches are to preside over cases in which intentional criminal acts have resulted in death, while the second phase is to involve cases in which a defendant is facing at least 10 years in prison.
The nation sees about 300 homicide cases every year.
Local district courts are to ask local governments for a list of eligible citizens chosen at random to serve as lay judges, Judicial Yuan Disciplinary Court Head Judge Peng Hsing-ming (彭幸鳴) said.
Republic of China citizens aged 23 or older would be eligible to serve, Peng said, adding that local district courts would start issuing notices by the end of the year.
The estimated 120,000 eligible candidates “should be mentally prepared that they will have to serve in the coming year,” Peng said.
Judicial Yuan spokesman Chang Yung-hung (張永宏) said that the agency has held more than 55 trial sessions for the lay judge system to prepare for its implementation.
Specific groups and professionals were invited to attend five of the sessions, while for the remaining 50 sessions, local governments were asked to randomly select residents for a preliminary list, which was then trimmed by the district court, Chang said.
Based on the past year, about 102,343 individuals from 363 townships and districts have been deemed eligible, or about 98.64 percent of the eligible population.
A total of 12,114 people were selected from the initial list, Peng said, adding that they were roughly evenly split along gender lines with 6,073 men and 6,041 women, of which 471 were ultimately chosen.
They came from all walks of life, while people aged 40 to 49 were best represented, followed by 30-to-39-year-olds and 50-to-59-year-olds, Peng said.
This demonstrates that participants all have a modicum of social experience, Peng added.
Peng said that there were 167 judges, 144 prosecutors and 144 advocates, of which 128 were dispatched from bar associations, six from legal aid foundations and 10 from assigned counsel, adding that this shows that more practicing lawyers are endeavoring to become better at their profession.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS