Defense lawyers, too, knowing that they have a chance of getting their clients acquitted, will have an incentive to prepare more thoroughly. Uzelac says that aside from creating fairer courts, there may be another reason Putin wants to push for trials by jury. In 1996, former President Boris Yeltsin placed a moratorium on the death penalty, a prerequisite to Russia's joining the Council of Europe. Three years later, Russia's Constitutional Court banned judges from handing down death sentences until a system of jury trials is established in all Russian regions. In theory, once trial by jury becomes universal, capital punishment could start anew in Russia.
Polls consistently show the measure is popular with voters.
For the moment, Uzelac says, getting a permanent ban on capital punishment passed through parliament would be a Herculean task. Historically, Russia is no newcomer to jury trials. The system was originally introduced in 1864 by Tsar Aleksandr II, who ordered progressive legal reforms just three years after the abolition of serfdom. The Bolsheviks did away with jury trials after the 1917 revolution. Uzelac says Putin faces an uphill battle in restoring the institution to Russia.