How is the Word “Seikaku” Used in Judicial Decisions of Criminal Cases?

Abstract

We investigated how the word “seikaku” (which means character or personality) has been used in opinions written by judges to justify judicial decisions in criminal cases. We searched precedent decisions that included the word at a court Web site, focusing on criminal trials held between 1996 and 2006. We found 182 cases, with 346 passages. Four types of context for the word use as it pertained to the defendant were identified: description of defendant backgrounds not related to the determination of facts or appropriate punishment; comprehension of the crime based on defendant character; defendant character as a background to the crime; and defendant character as information for determining appropriate punishment. Different character types appeared in different contexts. The results suggested that the term “seikaku” was used in efforts to understand, explain, and evaluate various aspects of the defendant and crime.