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NEWS
MK Gafni Says Knesset Would Intervene If Highly
Unreasonable Court Rulings Become More Common
By Eliezer Rauchberger
"A law should be legislated regarding judicial discretion in
sentencing, which would promote uniformity and consistency in
court rulings in Israel," said Knesset Constitution Committee
Chairman MK Menachem Ben Sasson (Kadima) on Monday during a
committee meeting initiated by MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni to
discuss sentencing in Israeli courts.
Rabbi Gafni claimed that there are cases in which judges mete
out extreme and unreasonable punishments that go far beyond
accepted norms. As an example he cited the case of a small
grocery store owner, a chareidi man from Lod, who committed a
minor crime that posed no danger. "If the court system does
not dismiss judges whose rulings and conduct in the courtroom
do not befit their post, the Knesset will be forced to
intervene and do this in its stead," said Rabbi Gafni. "I
hope the legal system checks itself and corrects the
aberrations. If cases like the one that occurred recently
happen more frequently, there will be no alternative to
Knesset legislation. I certainly hope it doesn't come to
that."
Judge Amnon Cohen, president of the Jerusalem Magistrate
Court, said, "If the Knesset interferes with judicial
discretion that will be a very black day." He said it should
be kept in mind that every individual has the right to appeal
to a higher court, and can even file a request for a second
appeal. Also, if a judge acts in an unseemly manner a
complaint against him can be filed with the Judicial
Grievance Commission. Cohen says there have been cases in
which judges have been dismissed, but it has been done
without fanfare and publicity.
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