The courts overturn the acquittal verdicts of the jury

The study notes the results of the reform in the organization of the jury held more than three years ago. They show that this legal institution remains in demand at the level of activity of district courts.

At the same time, the judicial community as a whole actively resists reformist attitudes, canceling more and more acquittals in various criminal cases.

Ekaterina Khodzhaeva, a researcher at the IPP, who is the author of the study, indicates the preservation of the total volume of cases in which juries participate in the proceedings. From 200 to 240 cases ended in regional courts, which rendered verdicts as courts of first instance. This is about 20% of the total volume of criminal cases that were accepted by courts of this level in this capacity. From 30 to 40 cases remained unfinished.

At the same time, there is a high proportion of those excuses that are made by district judges with the participation of a jury, and then canceled by appeal.

The more acquittals were accepted, the more they were canceled.

The picture with the indictments is completely different. The courts are not in a hurry to cancel them. This indicates the presence of "double standards" in Russian justice, according to experts of the IPP.

The proof of this is the increase in the number of cases. If 463 cases were considered by the jury in 2019, then 562 in 2021. At the same time, the number of persons on them increased from 625 people in 2019 to 800 in 2021. At the level of district courts, juries began to acquit up to 30% of people, which is unprecedented for Russian law enforcement practice.

However, the subsequent reaction of the judicial community at the appeal level, canceling such verdicts, is no less indicative. In 2019, there were 54% of such cases, in 2020, 62.1%, and in 2021, the cancellation affected up to 71% of cases. This situation, experts believe, hinders the spread of the institute, creates distrust of the authorities in the public consciousness.