a false trial for attempted murder organized in Toulouse
Absent magistrates, understaffed clerks, degraded working conditions… The Toulouse court is going through a crisis at all levels. The Toulouse bar is stepping up to the plate and organizing a mock trial on February 8 for attempted murder of justice.
This Friday, January 27, the Toulouse court made its solemn return. A comeback under tension. The Toulouse lawyers’ bar denounces a continuous deterioration in working conditions. The Toulouse president, Me Caroline Marty, even speaks of a “dramatic situation”even ensuring that to this day, “justice can no longer be served under normal conditions in Toulouse”.
The disintegration of the means granted to justice in France, Me Marty has been attending for several years, with “Anger and misunderstanding”. “My previous one had already issued alerts, in particular to the family affairs judge. But there, it escalated. I don’t think anyone realizes our reality on the ground”.
This reality is the hearings systematically returned, the incalculable number of magistrates incapable and not replaced. Result : “We find ourselves prioritizing certain activities to the detriment of others. Because we have no choice”.
We need an emergency plan for Toulouse
Me Caroline Marty, head of the Toulouse Bar
“The criminal courts are composed only of magistrates. If we miss it, we send the business back. It requires more human resources. And in criminal court, the accused must be tried within six months. At present, we do not have the resources to do so within these timeframes. So the accused… comes out or we have to go to the court of appeal for a possible extension of timeMarty explains to me.
In short, the situation seems inextricable. And the responsible is all found: “it’s the State, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy», Asserts Me Marty. “The Keeper of the Seals announces recruitments and job creations over five years. But it is not over five years that we need it. It’s right away. We need an emergency plan for Toulouse», Asserts Me Marty.
So, faced with this situation judged “dramatic and disturbing“, the Toulouse bar wants to take action. On February 8, the black robes will organize a fictitious trial for attempted murder of justice. A project endorsed by a motion adopted by the entire Toulouse bar during a a general meeting held in mid-January.
Witnesses, postponed hearings, extended deadlines to seize a magistrate: on February 8, this event imagined in Toulouse must make it possible to illustrate as faithfully as possible the very real daily life of the Toulouse magistrates. “This hearing highlighted the lack of human and material resources affecting the Toulouse court“Explains the Toulouse bar in a press release.
The public authorities must take into account the situation in which Toulouse finds itself.
Caroline Marty, president of Toulouse
And above all, this fictitious trial will be an opportunity to return to the consequences that this situation can have on a litigant. “The public authorities must take into account the situation in which Toulouse finds itself“, completes Me Marty. Open to the public, this mock trial will be held in the Tolosa room of the Catholic Institute of Toulouse (ICT). Free entry. The performance will also be broadcast live on the Toulouse bar’s YouTube channel.