Introduction

Judge Impeachment Okaguchi was impeached. Posts and remarks on SNS are said to be "misconducts that should significantly lose the prestige of judges."

There are many problems with dismissing Judge Okaguchi. We thought that if the dismissal was granted as it is, the independence of the judiciary would be violated and the Japanese society would be left with a stigma, so we started this crowdfunding to support Judge Okaguchi and his defense team.

Please help us to prevent unjustified dismissal.

What kind of person is Judge Okaguchi?

Judge Okaguchi was a judge of the Sendai High Court until his duties were suspended by the Impeachment Court. A veteran judge with 27 years of service.

For the first time in Japan, we recognized a disease called cerebrospinal fluid hypoplasia, which is difficult to prove medically, and in the Niigata Minamata disease proceedings, all the plaintiffs were recognized as Minamata disease and rescued. A judge who works on it.

He is also the author of the best-selling "Requirements Facts Manual" series that everyone in the legal profession knows, and also actively disseminates information and opinions by posting with his real name on Facebook and Twitter and appearing on radio programs. It is also a judge.

What happened?

On June 16, 2021, Judge Okaguchi was charged with dismissal by the Judge Impeachment Court. Unlike ordinary trials, the Impeachment Court is an organization in which the Judge Indictment Committee, which consists of members of the Diet instead of the prosecution, prosecutes the case, and the members of the Diet serve as the presiding judge and judges instead of the ordinary judges. Therefore, we will decide whether or not to dismiss the accused judge.

Prosecution shaped According to the, but the act of Okaguchi who was raised as a reason to dismiss prosecution There are 13 in total, it will be roughly divided into two. One is the act of expressing an incident in which a high school girl was murdered. The other is an act of expression about a civil lawsuit over the ownership of a dog between the original owner and the picker.

Regarding the murder case, he quoted the URL of the court's website where the judgment can be viewed, and was "disastrously killed" by "a man with a propensity to get sexually aroused by the appearance of a strangled woman". The act of posting "a 17-year-old woman who has been killed" and the act of posting questions using words such as "brainwashing" to the behavior of the bereaved family were regarded as problems. Regarding the civil lawsuit, the act of posting "Eh? You? You abandoned this dog? While leaving it for 3 months ..." was regarded as a problem.

These statements are not without problems. It may be an unforgivable statement from the parties concerned. However, there are many problems with impeachment trials based on these statements, as follows.

What's the problem?

① Dismissal is the ultimate punishment for judges

If you are dismissed by the impeachment trial, you will be disqualified from legal profession and you will not be able to act as a judge, let alone a lawyer. No severance pay will be paid. It's a very heavy disposal. In the past, most people were dismissed for criminal acts such as child prostitution, stalking, and voyeurism of underwear.

On the other hand, Judge Okaguchi's actions this time are not criminal offenses. The punishment needs to be balanced so that you don't get the death penalty for shoplifting and you don't get fired once you're late. Dismissal is not balanced because it is not a crime.

② Threat to judicial independence

As mentioned earlier, the impeachment trial is conducted by members of parliament. A system that allows the legislature to intervene in the judiciary, with a limited exception to the independence of judiciary. If the Diet can easily dismiss the judge, the judge will work while looking at the complexion of the Diet members. Even if the legislation made by the Diet violates people's rights, it will be difficult for judges to disagree with it.

Given the tension between the legislation and the judiciary that impeachment trials impeach, until now, impeachment trials would not have been held without the Supreme Court's request for prosecution. So to speak, the Diet was dismissed only when the prosecution was deemed appropriate. But this time, there is no Supreme Court prosecution.

Of course, it should not be the case that the Supreme Court does not prosecute a relative judge, even though the prosecution is natural. But this time it's not. As mentioned earlier, the ultimate punishment of dismissal is overkill. The Supreme Court has already issued two reprimands for the actions of Judge Okaguchi as a punishment that the Supreme Court considers to be balanced. Nevertheless, the impeachment trial led by the Diet poses a threat to the independence of judiciary.

③ There is also a problem with the reason for the prosecution.

Article 12 of the Judge Impeachment Court stipulates that "the prosecution for impeachment cannot be carried out three years after the impeachment has been grounded." However, some of Judge Okaguchi's actions, which were the reason for the prosecution of the dismissal this time, were more than three years old, and the exclusion period has already passed for these.

In addition, there are various other problems in the reason for the criminal charge itself, such as cutting out the act of expression and using it as a reason for prosecution, or including even those that cannot be said to be inappropriate acts of expression in the reason for dismissal.

What is a protection society?

This crowdfunding is organized by a voluntary organization called "Kiichi Okaguchi Protecting Judges from Injustice Charges". If this impeachment is recognized, it is an organization that was spontaneously formed from the awareness of the problem that it will have an adverse effect that cannot be overlooked in this society. Some members have acquaintance with Judge Okaguchi, while others have no acquaintance at all.

How to use the funds (donations)

Judge Okaguchi's denunciation trial is led by a lawyer who is in sync with Judge Okaguchi, and is active in a box lunch. The Guardian Association wants to spend the following expenses from donations to support its defense activities.

• Administrative expenses for continuing the trial (actual expenses such as postal tickets, printing expenses, etc.)
• Transportation and meeting fees (Because lawyers from all over the country are working as lawyers, transportation costs to Tokyo where the impeachment trial will be held, meeting fees for meetings with experts, etc. will be incurred.)
• Expert Opinion Expenses (We consider that support from the expert knowledge of constitutional law is indispensable in this impeachment trial, and we ask researchers to prepare an opinion).
• Public relations / symposium holding costs (We plan to carry out public relations activities in relation to the trial so that the dismissal due to the impeachment trial is unreasonable.)

A word from the defense team

If a judge can be easily deprived of his or her status by majority vote, the judge will be willing to accept the majority opinion and may not make the right legal decision. "Judge independence" is a bastion of human rights that has been institutionalized so as not to deprive the people of their basic human rights by majority vote.

The prosecution to the Impeachment Court carries the risk of jeopardizing the judge's independence.

If we can set a precedent for dismissal of such things, it will greatly affect the human rights of each and every citizen. It's not just about Kiichi Okaguchi's personal problems.

Thank you for your support.