DETROIT (Oct. 5, 2010) - Judge Takaaki Shintaku, an assistant judge with the Sendai District Court of Japan, will present a lecture titled \"The Saiban-in (lay judge) system: its purpose, history, structure and potential\" on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 12:15 p.m. in the third-floor faculty lounge of the Law School.

\"We are pleased to welcome Judge Shintaku to the Law School for this lecture,\" said Wayne Law Dean and Professor of Law Robert M. Ackerman. \"His observations on the lay judge system are sure to enrich understanding of Japan\'s legal system as well as our own.\"

The Saiban-in system took effect in Japan in May 2009. The system was part of a judicial reform project started in 2004. It introduced citizen participation in some criminal trials, something that had not been practiced since midcentury in Japan.

Judge Shintaku is here as part of a special arrangement that began in 2007 between Wayne Law, the Third Circuit Court of Michigan and the Supreme Court of Japan. The arrangement provides for a judge from the Japanese judicial system to visit Michigan to research and study the American judicial system, with a special emphasis on Michigan trial courts.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided. For more information about this event, please call the Law School dean\'s office at (313) 577-3933.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.

For more information about Wayne State University Law School, visit law.wayne.edu.