Jury size to be reduced: Russia's Supreme Court has prepared a jury trial reform.
Supreme Court of Russia presented the concept of jury trial reform. Key points:
- reducing the number of jurors to four people (currently 6-8 people);
- inclusion of the presiding judge in the jury;
- lifting the 65-year age limit for jury service.
The goals of the reform according to the Supreme Court
According to the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court, Nikolai Timoshin, the reform directed to “increase the motivation of citizens,” “strengthen responsibility for interfering with the activities of jurors,” and “reduce the grounds for overturning acquittal verdicts.”
Statistics of acquittals
Until recently, jury trials in Russia delivered acquittal verdicts in 15-30% of cases, notes Kommersant. The rate of acquittals handed down by professional judges has remained within the margin of statistical error for many years—around 0,2%.