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Seriously? The linked audio is only 9 minutes long, and it addresses this exact point. The Wikipedia figure for Canada is wrong. The straight acquittal rate is

Seriously? The linked audio is only 9 minutes long, and it addresses this exact point. The Wikipedia figure for Canada is wrong. The straight acquittal rate is ~3%, but the other 97% are not convictions, only about 60% are. They also interview a professor who authored a book on the Japanese justice system who explains why the conviction rate is so high. It turns out we can answer questions like this without relying on uninformed guesses by HN commenters. Amazing.

skissane 7y ago
> The Wikipedia figure for Canada is wrong. The straight acquittal rate is ~3%, but the other 97% are not convictions, only about 60% are. I've observed what happens in Australia (wasn't me personally, but someone I know). Charged with a crime for which the evidence was rather weak/debatable. His family could afford a good barrister and expert witnesses. As soon as the defence expert witness finishes demolishing the prosecution's case from the witness stand, the prosecution move for the case to be dismissed. It was very obvious that if he had been a poor person, whose family couldn't afford to pay many $10,000s on good lawyers and expert witnesses, the prosecution would have won the case. But I think that's their technique. Charge lots of people, some of whom are well-resourced enough to cast doubt on the prosecution's case, others are not. Fold against the former, win against the later. So long as they get enough of the later and not too much of the former, pat themselves on the back for meeting their targets.
elfexec 7y ago
> The Wikipedia figure for Canada is wrong. The straight acquittal rate is ~3%, but the other 97% are not convictions, only about 60% are. The wikipedia article isn't really wrong. Only 60% of the cases go before a jury. The conviction rate for cases that get to the jury around the 95% rate. > They also interview a professor who authored a book on the Japanese justice system who explains why the conviction rate is so high. Yes. Pretty much prosecutors only prosecute cases they think they'll win and have leverage over defendants. The same issue you have in Canada and we have in the US. > It turns out we can answer questions like this without relying on uninformed guesses by HN commenters. Too bad you didn't choose bother to answer any of the questions.
- himinlomax 7y ago
  > The wikipedia article isn't really wrong. Only 60% of the cases go before a jury. The conviction rate for cases that get to the jury around the 95% rate. You'd have a point if the stat about Japan was about the conviction rate of people who go before a jury, but unless I'm mistaken, the conviction rate we're talking about is that of people _charged_ overall. That 60% figure in Canada is precisely referring to people who were charged, and whose charges were later dropped. Over 99.4% of people charged in Japan are eventually convicted. Consider what it means to be charged. This allows for example the police to gather more information by doing what would otherwise infringe on someone's rights. So when you basically never drop charges, that means that either you infringe on people's privacy before they're charged, or you routinely disregard whatever exculpatory evidence you find. Either way, it's obviously bad.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - elfexec 7y ago
    > but unless I'm mistaken, the conviction rate we're talking about is that of people _charged_ overall. You are mistaken. "Nearly all criminal cases that go to trial in Japan end in a guilty verdict." " Public prosecutors typically concentrate on suits where conviction is almost guaranteed, leading to the suspension of around 60 percent of criminal cases in Japan without an indictment." https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/c05401/order-in-the-court-explaining-japan%E2%80%99s-99-9-conviction-rate.html https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/c05401/order-in-the-c... So japanese prosecutors "drop" 60% of the cases/charges. The only cases they pursue are those they think they can win. They win 99% of those. > That 60% figure in Canada is precisely referring to people who were charged, and whose charges were later dropped. No. In the audio, they specifically stated that 37% ( or about a 3rd of the cases in canada ) are withdrawn, stayed or dropped. Meaning only 63% get to a jury. Of those, 3% are acquitted. > Over 99.4% of people charged in Japan are eventually convicted. Once again, this is not true. Only 40% of those charged ever see trial. Of those, 99.4% are convicted. In other words, 39.8% of those charged are convicted.
  - emn13 7y ago

skissane 7y ago

> The Wikipedia figure for Canada is wrong. The straight acquittal rate is ~3%, but the other 97% are not convictions, only about 60% are. I've observed what happens in Australia (wasn't me personally, but someone I know). Charged with a crime for which the evidence was rather weak/debatable. His family could afford a good barrister and expert witnesses. As soon as the defence expert witness finishes demolishing the prosecution's case from the witness stand, the prosecution move for the case to be dismissed. It was very obvious that if he had been a poor person, whose family couldn't afford to pay many $10,000s on good lawyers and expert witnesses, the prosecution would have won the case. But I think that's their technique. Charge lots of people, some of whom are well-resourced enough to cast doubt on the prosecution's case, others are not. Fold against the former, win against the later. So long as they get enough of the later and not too much of the former, pat themselves on the back for meeting their targets.

elfexec 7y ago

> The Wikipedia figure for Canada is wrong. The straight acquittal rate is ~3%, but the other 97% are not convictions, only about 60% are. The wikipedia article isn't really wrong. Only 60% of the cases go before a jury. The conviction rate for cases that get to the jury around the 95% rate. > They also interview a professor who authored a book on the Japanese justice system who explains why the conviction rate is so high. Yes. Pretty much prosecutors only prosecute cases they think they'll win and have leverage over defendants. The same issue you have in Canada and we have in the US. > It turns out we can answer questions like this without relying on uninformed guesses by HN commenters. Too bad you didn't choose bother to answer any of the questions.

himinlomax 7y ago
> The wikipedia article isn't really wrong. Only 60% of the cases go before a jury. The conviction rate for cases that get to the jury around the 95% rate. You'd have a point if the stat about Japan was about the conviction rate of people who go before a jury, but unless I'm mistaken, the conviction rate we're talking about is that of people _charged_ overall. That 60% figure in Canada is precisely referring to people who were charged, and whose charges were later dropped. Over 99.4% of people charged in Japan are eventually convicted. Consider what it means to be charged. This allows for example the police to gather more information by doing what would otherwise infringe on someone's rights. So when you basically never drop charges, that means that either you infringe on people's privacy before they're charged, or you routinely disregard whatever exculpatory evidence you find. Either way, it's obviously bad.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- elfexec 7y ago
  > but unless I'm mistaken, the conviction rate we're talking about is that of people _charged_ overall. You are mistaken. "Nearly all criminal cases that go to trial in Japan end in a guilty verdict." " Public prosecutors typically concentrate on suits where conviction is almost guaranteed, leading to the suspension of around 60 percent of criminal cases in Japan without an indictment." https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/c05401/order-in-the-court-explaining-japan%E2%80%99s-99-9-conviction-rate.html https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/c05401/order-in-the-c... So japanese prosecutors "drop" 60% of the cases/charges. The only cases they pursue are those they think they can win. They win 99% of those. > That 60% figure in Canada is precisely referring to people who were charged, and whose charges were later dropped. No. In the audio, they specifically stated that 37% ( or about a 3rd of the cases in canada ) are withdrawn, stayed or dropped. Meaning only 63% get to a jury. Of those, 3% are acquitted. > Over 99.4% of people charged in Japan are eventually convicted. Once again, this is not true. Only 40% of those charged ever see trial. Of those, 99.4% are convicted. In other words, 39.8% of those charged are convicted.
- emn13 7y ago