Toulouse lawyers vote against its generalization
The Toulouse Bar voted a motion to ask the State to renounce the generalization of Departmental Criminal Courts, repressing that “the programmed erasure of the popular jury of the Assize Court undermines freedom, humanity and citizenship.”
“The popular assize court jury is a democratic heritage from the Revolution which enshrined the principle of justice rendered in the name of the French people.esteem peter dunacPresident of the Toulouse Bar.
The popular jury being threatened with vanish with the generalization of departmental criminal courts (CD)the council of the order of lawyers of the bar of Toulouse voted a motion to ask the State to abandon this reform, during the meeting of December 6 last.
Currently, the law provides that almost ours crimes are judged in the first instance by an assize court composed of three professional magistrates and six citizens drawn by lot.
But from next January 1, all crimes punishable by fifteen or twenty years in prison (rape or lethal violence for example) will be tried by a new court: the county criminal court. These CCDs are only made up of five professional magistrates, without a popular juror. “A threat to citizens’ trust in justice“, according to the president of the bar of Toulouse.
The popular assize court jury is an instrument favoring human justice, where time is taken to listen and teach, necessary for the reconstruction of social ties.
Pierre Dunac, President of the Toulouse Bar
CCDs have been tested in nine departments, including Hérault, since April 2019. Since July 2020, six other departments have been added to the list, including Haute-Garonne. They have three objectives: reduce processing times for criminal cases, save money, and avoid correctionalization (practice of downgrading the criminal qualification of a crime to a misdemeanor).
According to Peter dunac“the evaluation and monitoring committee of the criminal court, in its report of October 2022, draws up a calamitous assessment of the CCDs, which do not achieve any of the objectives set by law for confidence in the judicial institution.“
A Based on this observation, the council of the order of lawyers of the Toulouse bar is mobilizing to support the bill aimed at preserving the popular jury of the assize court, presented by the deputy EELV Francesca Pasquini
For the CCD’s evaluation and monitoring committee, “the idea of generalizing CCDs to all crimes at first instance seems premature in the state of human resources.” The committee is however in favor of the CCD being able to try repeat offenders.