Board of 9 judges in Japan? This is from a fictional trial from Yakuza Judgement, set in Tokyo Japan. The context is a trial where someone is accused of murder. On the left is the defendant (in white) and his attorney team. On the right is the prosecution team. In the middle, seated, is a witness. Standing next to the witness is the head prosecutor cross-examining. In front of them is what seems to be the clerk, recording everything. But who are the 9 people at the back? At least in America, I think there's only ever 1 judge presiding over the court. So I'm not sure who these 9 people are supposed to correspond to. Or is it customary to have a board of 9 &quot;judges&quot; deliberate over a case in Japan?
The Professional And Lay Judges In The Scene Murder trials in Japan take place in a regional court called the &quot;high court&quot; which is one level below the Japanese Supreme Court. Trials of very serious crimes in Japan (crimes punishable by death, life imprisonment, or very long sentences in prison, not just ordinary felonies) are tried by a mixed panel of three professional high court court judges and six lay people who are sometimes described as jurors but are probably better described as &quot;lay judges&quot;. The law providing for this kind of trial was passed in the year 2004 and first implemented in the year 2009. Many European countries in the civil law tradition have a similar process. While proceedings would mostly be in the court room, a court view when all of the professional and lay judges go to the scene of the crime or some other key venue where important facts happened would be far more common in Japan than in the U.S. After hearing the evidence presented at the trial, which is managed by the presiding judge of the three professional judges, all three judges and the six lay judges deliberate together as a single panel regarding the guilt or innocence verdict which would be rendered in the case. This is in contrast to juries in common law countries where the jury is independent of the judge, makes the ultimate verdict decision without deliberating with the judge, and interacts with the judge only via jury instructions and reception of their verdict. Judges In Other Kinds Of Cases If this had been a serious civil case or a felony case not serious enough to give rise to a lay judge trial or an appeal of a lower court ruling, instead of a very serious criminal case, it would have been heard only by the three professional judges without the six lay judges. More serious cases are heard by more senior professional judges from the high court, and less serious cases are heard by more junior professional judges from a district court which is below the high court but above the summary courts (and marginally superior to the almost equal in status family courts which are staffed by more junior professional judges as well). If it had been a serious misdemeanor or intermediate stakes civil case, it would have been heard by a single professional district court judge acting alone. Trials of very minor criminal cases and civil lawsuits are heard by a single judge acting alone without any lay judges, who is not admitted as members of the judicial profession and might not even be legally trained, who is really closer to what we would call &quot;justices of the peace&quot; in the United States. This position is often translated as &quot;summary court judge.&quot; The Judicial Occupation And The Selection Of Lay Judges In Japan Japanese judges belong to a separate occupation than lawyers and prosecutors that staffs the judicial system of Japan. Basically, they start in family court or in the intermediate level court of general jurisdiction court called district court, right out of college, hearing smaller cases alone, and more serious cases in panels with justices of the peace or family court judges in a three judge panel. These panels also hear appeals from civil judgments of summary court judges. Then, they work their way up the judicial hierarchy based upon seniority and merit. Mid-career judges are in courts called &quot;high courts&quot; that handle most serious matters in the first instance as trial courts, appeals from cases heard by junior judges from the level of courts below them, and appeals in criminal cases from the rulings of summary court judges. The most senior and meritorious and respected judges, of course, are the fifteen judges on the Japanese Supreme Court. For the most part, appointments and promotions are similar to those of other civil servants, rather than being political. Lay judges are selected in a manner somewhat similar to the way common law country jurors are selected, although, as far as I know, the prosecution and defense have less of a say over who serves as a lay judge on a panel and most people called to serve as lay judges will actually end up doing so (in contrast to the very high rates of disqualification and preemptory challenges in common law juries for a serious case like a murder trial). The Professional Status Of The Lawyers In This Scene Incidentally, the legal profession of the prosecutors and the legal professional of the defense attorneys would be different as well. Like judges, prosecutors are civil servants with their own separate professional qualification (although judges, lawyers, and prosecutors have essentially the same academic curriculum in college). Private sector lawyers like the defense counsel in the picture belong to the main licensed occupation for lawyers which is in some respects more similar to that of barristers in the U.K. than to U.S. lawyers, both because there are so few of them and because of their typically more trial oriented practices. Other Kinds Of Legally Trained People In Japan Japan, like many civil law countries, has legally trained notaries who handle a lot of transactional work including drafting the legal instruments involved as a third-party neutral who also has tasks that overlap with government officials who keep official records. Finally, like many civil law countries, and to a lesser extent like solicitors in the U.K. before that profession was formally regulated there, many people major in law as undergraduates in college but never take the professional examinations to become a lawyer, a prosecutor, or a judge. Instead, these people typically end up working in managerial jobs in a business with a status akin to an investment banker or finance professional or realtor in the U.S., but with no formal occupational credential other than their college diploma. The Clerk And The Nature Of The Trial Court Record In front of them is what seems to be the clerk, recording everything. The clerk is probably taking detailed notes as an aid to the judges and lay judges in their deliberations, but unlike a common law criminal trial, verbatim transcripts and records of the proceeding are not maintained (or at least, have no special evidentiary status). The clerk is not a direct analog to a U.S. style court reporter who takes dictation of everything that is said word for word. If there is a dispute regarding the facts found at trial on appeal, at the first tier direct appeal of a conviction, a five judge Japanese appellate court panel of the fifteen judge Japanese Supreme Court would hear new evidence on the matters about which there were allegedly mistaken findings of fact by the trial court of first instance with new witness testimony and the same or new exhibits, rather than simply reviewing the evidence presented to the trial court as final and complete. Sometimes an appeal initially referred to a five judge panel of the Japanese Supreme Court would be reheard by the &quot;Grand Panel&quot; of all fifteen Japanese Supreme Court judges, in which case, the findings of fact of the appellate panel judges are conclusive and binding on the grand panel Japanese Supreme Court which is limited to resolving legal issues.
As far as I know, every jurisdiction in America limits perjury to cases of lying under oath. Because it seems unlikely that the driver would be under oath at this point, you would probably lack probable cause to make an arrest. At the same time, many states have separate laws addressing the making of false reports, lying to an officer, etc. I'd imagine most jurisdictions would have a law supporting an arrest for lying at the scene, even if not for perjury.
There is one context where this does happen. Common law judges have direct contempt power. This means that while a judge is in the courtroom presiding over a case, the judge can summarily punish someone with incarceration and/or a fine without a trial for &quot;contempt of court&quot; because the judge has personally observed what has happened. Contempt of court encompasses types of disorderly conduct that wouldn't otherwise be criminal conduct. In other contexts, the judge is just one more witness and would not be assigned to handle the case. so you can only get &quot;non-witness judges&quot; from out-of-state or another region. The lawsuit hasn't begun yet, and all of the possible, local judges saw it happen. As a practical matter, this is basically impossible. But there are procedures in cases where large numbers of judges a conflicted out of a case, for example, to get a judge from the next county over or another part of the same state.
At the federal level, there is no real equivalent to what you're describing. A probable cause hearing evaluates the government's evidence in a similar way, but it doesn't ask whether a reasonable jury would convict. The closest I can think of is a Rule 29 motion, which does ask that question, but not until trial has already begun. You typically make the motion at the close of the government's case, and (if it was not successful) again at the close of your own, though I've heard tales of judges granting the motion at the end of the government's opening statement. The states all have their own rules, but they're generally pretty similar to the federal rules in this respect, as I understand it. I don't know of any state that allows the kind of motion you're talking about, in criminal cases, at least. In civil cases, I think everyone has Rule 12(b)(6) motions, which ask the court for a pretrial determination that there's no set of facts that could establish liability on the plaintiff's theory of the case.
Generally, No Contempt powers are rather broad, but not that broad. A judge has power to find anyone in the courtroom in contempt, if that person acts in violation of he rules or of the judge's instructions. A judge has the power to find any party to the case in contempt if that person violates orders from the judge, unless there is some overriding circumstance, for example if the person's action was an exercise of a constitutional right, or if the judge's order is held (by a higher court) to be unreasonable. A judge will have the power to issue orders to people not otherwise parties if this is needed to preserve the judicial process, such as "gag orders" to prevent bias from contaminating a trial. These often have conflicts with first amendment rights or other rights, and there have been various cases on exactly how far a judge can go in such matters. But if the Judge is within those rules, violations of the judge's orders may be punishable as contempt. But an ordinary individual who is simply expressing disapproval of the judge, even in a highly disrespectful fashion, neither in nor near the courtroom, should not be subject to a contempt citation, and few judges would try to invoke such a power. Note that a judge can always issue a contempt decree or citation, and may be able to have the person jailed, if the person is within the court's jurisdiction. But if the citation was an abuse of discretion, it can be overturned and the judge may be subject to a damage suit, in an egregious case. Charles Rembar in The Law of the Land wrote of one case where the judge had had a bailiff purchase coffee during a recess, and found it not at all to his liking. He had the coffee-shop owner arrested, and brought into his presence, and proceeded to scream at him over the poor coffee. The owner later sued the judge, and received a 6-figure damage award. as Rembar put it "The price of coffee is going up all the time, and it seems that the jury felt that Coffee with scream was extra."
The witness can go outside and ask questions of the witness’ lawyers So if, for example, Mr Trump chooses to testify to the grand jury he goes in alone - no lawyers. If he wants to consult his lawyers he needs to ask to do, leave the room and consult them. If I were Mr Trump’s lawyer I would be worried that he wouldn’t know when he should do that.
If this judge is truly biased, won't the litigants be all the more glad to have a jury of their peers? You are proposing to abandon your duty to others. At trial you serve the community, not the judge. Back on scope for Law SE: If you refuse to serve on a jury, that could be a separate offense or general criminal contempt, for which you (this all depends on your jurisdiction) could get 30-90 days in jail. Edit: like several others have pointed out, I would not expect much trouble if you politely told the court that you felt you would be biased b/c of past connections. Even if the judge doesn't dismiss you, one of the litigants is likely to strike you. P.S. In most states, no one except a prosecutor (sometimes another state employee) can "take someone" to a criminal court. Individuals can only take someone to civil trial, where one cannot be sentenced, only ordered to pay a judgement.
Alternate explanation: Richard is saying that the witness has no &quot;testimony that would assist in making a determination of guilt or innocence&quot;, and therefore should not be allowed to testify.