The Supreme Court ruled in the trial of a former Tottori prefectural assembly member who served as the head of the campaign headquarters for a candidate in the House of Representatives election three years ago and was charged with violating the Public Offices Election Act for distributing documents that had not been reported to the Election Commission. handed down a judgment rejecting the appeal of the former prefectural assemblyman, who maintained his innocence, and was found guilty.
The defendant, Hirotaka Fukuma (82), who was a member of the Tottori Prefectural Assembly, was the campaign manager of the campaign of Shunji Yuhara, who ran for the House of Representatives from Tottori 2nd Ward and was re-elected as a proportional representative candidate in the House of Representatives election three years ago. He was charged with violating the Public Offices Election Act for distributing documents that had not been reported to the organization.
In previous trials, former members of the Diet have maintained their innocence, saying, ``The Public Offices Election Act, which restricts campaign documents, violates the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.'' However, the Tottori District Court of First Instance The Matsue Branch of the Hiroshima High Court, which held the second trial, handed down guilty verdicts with fines of 300,000 yen, and the former members of the assembly appealed.
In a ruling on the 8th, Presiding Judge Mamoru Miura of the Second Petty Bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, saying, ``It is clear from past precedents that the provisions of the Public Elections Act do not violate the Constitution,'' and the former prefectural assemblyman's guilt is confirmed. became.
If confirmed, the former lawmaker's civil rights will be suspended for three years.