Judge Motoichi Okaguchi (58) of the Sendai High Court, who has been suspended from his duties, is accused of posting things that hurt the bereaved family of a murder victim on social networking sites (SNS). On the 3rd, a member of the House of Representatives handed down a judgment for his dismissal, stating that he had “persistently and repeatedly committed misconduct that hurt the feelings of the bereaved family and seriously damaged the prestige of a judge.” Mr. Okaguchi will not be able to appeal, and will lose his status as a judge and his legal qualifications, and will not be able to practice as a lawyer for at least five years.
Judge Motoichi Okaguchi heading to the Judge Impeachment Court
◆8th person to be dismissed for “deviating from freedom of expression”
There have been a total of 10 impeachment trials, including this one, and this is the 8th impeachment verdict, the first in about 11 years. This is the first time that expressive behavior outside of work, such as posting on social media, has been cited as a reason.
Presiding Judge Funada stated in his ruling that, based on Mr. Okaguchi’s explanation, “he did not post with the intention of actively harming the bereaved family,” but that he continued posting despite the protests of the bereaved family, “As a result, he persistently harassed the bereaved family.” I was hurt,” he said. He said, “The series of actions have strayed far from the role of guardian of the Constitution, which guarantees the fundamental human rights of minorities, and have reached the extent of violating the public trust.”
Mr. Okaguchi made a total of 13 posts and comments between 2017 and 2019 that hurt the families of murder cases he was not in charge of, as well as those involved in other civil lawsuits, and in 2021 the prosecution committee, which is a member of the Diet, asked for his removal from office. It was done.
The ruling determined that seven of the posts, including one saying, “The bereaved families have been brainwashed by the Tokyo High Court and others,” “exceeded the limits allowed by judges as freedom of expression.”
◆After the verdict, he posted on his Facebook, “The trial was no good.”
Twelve of the 14 jurors weighed in, and more than two-thirds of them agreed to dismiss him. It is said that there were some negative opinions regarding Mr. Okaguchi’s dismissal, considering that he had expressed remorse and expressed his intention to retire.
The prosecution committee said that Mr. Okaguchi continued to post despite receiving strict warnings, reprimands, and protests from the bereaved family, and argued that the posts were “extremely malicious and have damaged the public’s trust in the judiciary.”
The defense argued that, unlike past cases of dismissal for reasons such as criminal acts, it was only an act of expression on social media, etc., and that a punishment as severe as the loss of legal professional qualifications was “clearly inappropriate.”
After the verdict, Mr. Okaguchi posted a photo of the summary of the verdict on his Facebook page along with a comment that said, “The trial was unsuccessful,” along with a smiling emoticon. He did not seek re-election and was scheduled to retire when his term expires on April 12th. (Rieko Ota)
judge impeachment systemThis is the only system that allows judges to resign. The Judge Impeachment Act stipulates that a judge can be removed from office if there is a gross violation of his or her duties or gross neglect of his or her duties, or if there is misconduct that seriously damages the prestige of the judge. The impeachment court of the National Diet will hear the case in open court, with judges made up of 14 members of the House of Representatives. There are two decisions to be made: “dismissal” or “not dismissed.” If there is a two-thirds majority vote, he will be removed from office. If he is removed from office, he will lose not only his status as a judge but also his legal qualifications.