Citizens in the UK are getting schooled on the workings of the judicial system through a program called ‘You Be the Judge,’ that has just recently been launched online.
Originally, the program brought citizens in from the community to participate in a live reenactment of an actual trial. After viewing the evidence and hearing arguments, the citizens were asked to make judgments. Their judgments and opinions were then compared to the outcome of the original trial to show citizens how things actually happen. Through this experience, British citizens were taught the inner workings and complexities of actual criminal trials.
Now the program has moved online. Although the UK judicial system is a bit different from the US systems, many of the concepts were the same, and I found it fascinating to actually walk through a real trial and be asked questions about my opinions about the defendant, evidence, and sentencing. You can walk through a trial as well, by going to the You Be the Judge website.
I don’t know if there are similar programs in the US, but I was impressed by the British website and found myself wanting to walk through a similar case, American style. I think a program like this could be immensely helpful to citizens in understanding the judicial process and what goes into a sentencing decision.
As a country, we watch too many cop shows and courtroom dramas, and our idea of a real courtroom has been a bit skewed. In fact, it is fairly common for law enforcement, lawyers, and judges to lament the “CSI effect” on the American public—thinking that the police have almost limitless resources and cases are easy to solve, criminals easy to sentence. Even an online version in the US would be a great way to educate the public on what a real case entails.
Interestingly, when UK citizens went through the live program, they generally gave defendants a lesser sentence than the one he or she received in reality.
If anyone out there knows of any similar programs in the US, please let me know.
Click here for more information on the live program: http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease100310b.htm
Visit the online experience here: http://ybtj.cjsonline.gov.uk/
James Gunter is the editor of The Crime Map and the director of social media for CrimeReports.com.
Get on the National Crime Map at CrimeReports.com
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Not in terms of the criminal justice system, but I did hear about a police department some time ago that had members of the media go through a firearms simulator. The idea was to have them make the “shoot or don’t shoot” decision in the heat of the moment, like cops have to. Well, they “shot” unarmed suspects far more often than they did armed. They simply weren’t trained to look for the threat!