Controversial cases raise questions on Supreme Court

Tsao, in a vehement protest against the Supreme Court decision, had vowed that he would never attend the retrial, but he showed up Tuesday.

He said he finally understood that the underlying problem was the Supreme Court, rather than the High Court, which he said he was now willing to cooperate with.

He reasoned that Taiwan's due process is “paralyzed” by the fact that there are too many Supreme Court judges.

He claimed there are more than 100 judges in Taiwan's Supreme Court. In terms of population, the proportion is much higher than those in China, Japan and others.

The design of Taiwan's legal system allows many cases to go to the Supreme Court, as long as the prosecution or the defense can find a reason — no matter how trivial it may be — to challenge the validity of the High Court trial.

The Supreme Court looks at the argument and determines whether a retrial by the High Court is warranted.

A case could go back and forth between the Supreme Court and the High Court numerous times, and all along the judges could be different each time.

And that is Tsao's point. A panel of Supreme Court judges may rule in favor of one side this time, but another panel may favor the other the next time.

The positive side of the system is that it offers a chance to make remedies for mistakes resulting from judges' poor judgment.

But isn't the court system built on trust in judges' judgment? In Taiwan, we instead see a system designed to highlight the possibility of misjudgment and a mechanism to prevent it.

Does it mean that judges in Taiwan cannot be trusted? Does the twist in the ex-presidential aide's trial reinforce the general public's mistrust in the judiciary?

Chen may have received a relatively lenient sentence this time, but it is still too early for him to celebrate.

His case will likely travel between the Supreme Court and High Court many more times, with the outcome possibly different each time.

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