Software does judge's job in China

A report from INQ7.Net says that in China, a software is being tested to provide "advice" on giving out verdicts on cases. According to the INQ7:

The Zichuan District Court in east China's Shandong province has installed programs on judges' computers that provide advice on the proper verdicts in criminal cases, the state-run China Daily reported.

The move appears to be aimed at ensuring standardized decisions and addressing common complaints that China's judges are ill-trained, corrupt and make arbitrary rulings.

...

In the Shandong experiment, judges simply enter the relevant details of the crimes plus mitigating circumstances -- and the program immediately comes up with an appropriate verdict, according to the paper.

But the penalty calculator will not have the final say. Judges will retain the power to hand down their own sentences, depending on circumstances they deem particular to a case.

Now, if only a similar system can be installed locally so that the ranks of the so-called hoodloom in robes can no longer give out obviously biased verdicts.