The jury system in Russia: Perceptions and attitudes toward criminal trials.
Item
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Title
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The jury system in Russia: Perceptions and attitudes toward criminal trials.
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Identifier
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AAI3245064
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identifier
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3245064
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Creator
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Cheryachukin, Yury.
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Contributor
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Adviser: William Heffernan
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Date
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2007
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Criminology and Penology | Law
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Abstract
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This study examines the perceptions and attitudes of judges, procurators, and defense attorneys concerning the use of the jury system in Russia. In this survey, 57 experienced lawyers were asked a series of questions that were used to determine basic demographic information and a series of questions designed to measure their perceptions of the jury system. The results demonstrated overall lawyers' support for the jury system. At the same time, this study found that defense attorneys held a much more positive opinion about jury trials than judges or prosecutors.;This research also found that the respondents favorably revised their overall perceptions of the legitimacy of the jury system after their experience with the system. One of the key findings of the research was that nearly half (44%) of lawyers completed jury trials with a more positive view of the process than they had beforehand.;The evidence that I have presented in this dissertation has not shaken my confidence in theories that try to account for the transition from one legal system to another. The work of three different scholars (Sachs, Kis, and Watson) was adopted as a conceptual framework for understanding the jury system. The results demonstrated overall support for this approach, with Watson offering an explanation that also accounts for the selection of specific rules in the newly established system. Much of the evidence presented is of a qualitative nature, and it is a matter of individual judgment whether such evidence is sufficiently strong and clear-cut to support my general conclusion that Watson correctly emphasizes the role that legal elites play in deciding what to transplant.;The Kremlin and the powerful use the law as an instrument for manipulation in order to prevent the acquittal of anyone who has been charged. It seems that acquittals are reversed, and new trials continue until the defendant is convicted. Open-ended provisions of the penal law thus appear to have been deployed on behalf of dominant state interests. The deployment occurred, though, through judicial, not jury, decision making.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
