Osamu Ogawa was elected chairman of the Saitama Bar Association in February, and stated his opposition to the citizen judge system scheduled to debut by May 2009.
Under the new system, six so-called lay judges, selected from the adult public, will examine serious criminal cases, including murder, alongside three professional judges to decide whether a defendant is guilty or innocent and hand down a sentence. The verdict will be decided by a majority vote among the nine.
"That means a defendant could be sent to the gallows by a vote of 5 to 4. But I believe the nine judges should unanimously determine whether a defendant is guilty or not, based on the principle that a defendant can only be found guilty when it is proved beyond reasonable doubt," Ogawa said.
Referring to the requirement for citizen judges to keep the deliberation process secret, Ogawa said this will prevent people, including journalists, from examining and criticizing the appropriateness of a verdict.