Israeli lawyer: better-trained judges needed

Noga Weisel

Arutz Sheva has interviewed a defense attorney about the case of Sgt. Elor Azaria:

Attorney Noga Weisel, a legal expert in representing suspects of sex crimes, asserted that Elor Azariya's chance of receiving a fair trial is very low - due to the lack of professionalism on the part of military judges.

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Weisel asserted that "military judges were not trained as lawyers [...], they don't have knowledge of protocols of judging or proof law; the people sitting there are unprofessional judges." 

Weisel explained that this is in contrast to typical judges in civilian courts, who must have at least five years of experience as a lawyer before coming to the bench, "while an army judge can get to that place by transferring his credits from his course in aeronautics of mechanics." 

Weisel had a practical prescription to improve the quality of military courts: use reserve judges who are qualified judges in civilian life. 

"There are a lot of people in the reserves who have a legitimate legal background, and these are the people that need to be judging in serious cases," she asserted.

The article can be found here. Comments are especially invited from readers in Israel. (Real names only, please.)