This Monday afternoon, at the headquarters of the Faculty of Documentation in Andalusia, it hosted a symposium organized by the Royal Academy of Seville for Legislation and Jurisprudence on The thirtieth anniversary of the entry into force of the People’s Jury Court Law, … Which during this period led to 425 lawsuits in the city of Seville, 95 percent of which were settled with conviction.
The event, led by the President of the Seville Academy of Legislation and Jurisprudence, María del Amor Albert; Luis Revilla, attorney for the administration of justice in the Seville court and jury office, was present at the table; Judge of the judgesTo the Fourth Department of the Mercedes Fernandez Ordonez Court; Prosecutor Natividad PlacenciaSeville Public Prosecutor’s Representative for Human Trafficking and Migration, Prison Control Prosecutor and Jury Officer in the Regional Public Prosecutor’s Office; and Criminal lawyer Encarnacion Molino BarreiroPartner at Montero Aramburu & Gómez-Villares Atencia and Full Academician of the Royal Seville Academy of Legislation and Jurisprudence.
Following the counter-presentation by María del Amor Albert, Luis Revilla, in his capacity as head of the jury office of the Court of Seville for the past 23 years, detailed some of the statements made by this 30 years after the People’s Court Law came into effect.
As a result of the aforementioned organization, During these thirty years at the Court of Seville, 425 actions were directed through this mediumnearly 95 percent of them were settled with conviction.
More specifically, Of these 425 actions, 51 percent were resolved through matching agreements between the partiesWhich means the accused confesses and thus is convicted; While approximately 45 percent of the cases were resolved by convicting the accused and acquittal of approximately five percent; Compared to the national average, which ranges between seven and eight percent.
Moreover, we will have to go back to 2023, according to Luis Revilla, to determine the last acquittal in time in a popular jury trial at the Seville court. At this point, Revilla highlighted the importance of conformity, recalling his “proposal” of General Council of the Judiciary To expand the scope of application of the agreements, due to the observed stagnation in procedures due to the suspension resulting from the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.
In terms of crimes, approximately 50 percent of these 425 measures are derived from… Homicide or homicideWhile 20 percent of the cases are related to raiding homes, and 10 percent are related to embezzlement of public funds.
In this particular area, Luis Revilla was committed to “proposing to reduce” the substantive judicial framework of court proceedings before the popular jury, in order “With the passage of time,” breaking and entering crimes will be removed from this methodologyGiven the nature of these crimes, it is easier to resolve them through a traditional trial that may take one day, rather than allocating up to the “five or six days” of sessions needed for a hearing before a popular jury.
For her part, Judge Mercedes Fernandez Ordonez addressed this same trend, explaining that the “revolution” included in Law No. 1/2025 regarding the efficiency of the Public Judicial Department, known as “Bolaños’ law” By the Minister who promoted it, it addresses “how to deal with the crime of trespass” but at the same time raises “a lot of legal dispute” because it allows it to be dealt with through summary procedures and through the People’s Jury Act.
Mercedes Fernandez also defended the value of conformity in the criminal field, because in cases such as those related to gender violence They ensure that the victim “suffers less” as the entire procedure is simplified and there is no need to state the facts during the oral trial.This represents a new “victimization” of these people.
Precisely for this reason, he warned that the new “Bolaños Law”, in his opinion, presents some “obstacles” to achieving conformity in its broadest sense; Taking into account parallel it Popular juries are “more cruel” to the accused than professional judges themselvesWhat prompted him to defend the “impressive citizen participation” in these procedures.
Prosecutor Natividad Plasencia, for her part, acknowledged that trials before popular juries represent “a challenge for all legal professionals,” explaining that the State Prosecutor’s Office promoted a book and conference marking 30 years of law enforcement on this issue and that the Seville Public Prosecutor’s Office has “Support service to accompany” To prosecutors who face trials before popular juries because they do not have the “personal means” to fully specialize, he noted.
In her presentation, Natividad Plasencia also highlighted the need to “amend the judicial framework to remove petty crimes from the People’s Jury Law,” among which she mentioned burglary, arguing that The Bolaños Law “missed a good opportunity” to exclude raids from the People’s Jury Court, By allowing it to be addressed through a speedy trial but without “permanently” removing that criminal classification from jury proceedings.
For this reason, he was betting on “turning the screw” that would solve this extremism, insisting on that Reform of popular jury law “absolutely necessary” And showing “a lot of faith” in the people facing the position of serving on these juries.
Lawyer Encarnacion Molino delved into the treatment of members of the popular jury, because it is important that during trials, and in the interventions of legal personnel, its members “do not get bored and disengage” from the discussion, nor that the approaches put before the courtroom seem “Chinese to them.” «“You have to keep them alert.” He also defended the role of lawyers in these trials.
In this way, with regard to the reporting phase, he called for the transfer of “clarity, credibility and honesty” to popular juries, as well as accuracy because “jurors, like everyone else, also get tired” when faced with comprehensive interventions. “The truth shouldn’t be too long,” This message has been summarized.
Moreover, he defended the “unification” of the People’s Jury Court Law, warning that despite everything, there were still “critics who distrusted the role of unprofessional judges”; The final part of the symposium was then marked by a discussion on The feasibility or futility of completely removing members of popular juries During trials, they are protected by complete anonymity.