Last summer, a lawyer from the Riviera insulted and threatened to make him lose his job. Sentenced in February for violence or threats against the authorities, the magistrate “resigned” last Thursday.
© Urs Jaudas/Tages-Anzeiger
It all started with a 30km/h zone in which the judge, as a pedestrian, did not have priority.
When they do not sit in the courts to seal the fate of defendants, the assessor judges – who are not incumbents – are subject to the same rules as Monsieur and Madame Tout-le-Monde. But one of them, who then officiated at the Eastern Vaudois District Court, seemed to have forgotten him, while he was strolling last summer in Aigle (VD).
A gendarme who was prowling in the area noticed that the magistrate had rushed on a 30km / h zone without turning around to observe the traffic, so that a driver had to plant on the brakes. The agent immediately made the lawyer aware of his dangerous attitude, while reminding him of the priority rules.
But the lay judge took it badly; he asked him if he had nothing else to do but piss him off, before telling him that he had not failed to hear if a car was coming and that it was not his fault if the policeman was deaf as a pot.
He threatens me about his position
Faced with the provocation, the representative of the authority did not disassemble, contenting himself with telling the magistrate that his behavior could be denounced. The latter replied that he was a judge and that he was going to make him lose his job. Still stoic, the agent then replied that his attitude was not worthy of a representative of the law and that he could be guilty of abuse of authority.
And the attacks continued. In turn, the magistrate warned him that he knew his boss and that he was going to see what was going to happen to him. It’s too much for the policeman, who asked him for his ID. The judge refused, while accusing his interlocutor of abusing his position, before pushing him away with his elbow and both hands at chest level. Under the insistence of the representative of the authority, he presented his business card and his identity card.
But it was give and take for the judge, who asked him to present his own, while threatening him again about his position. The agent agreed to provide only his service number. The judge told him that he had no courage except to piss him off. Courteous, the gendarme wished him a good day, before the other called him dishonest, annoying and a thug.
A few hours later, the magistrate sent a letter to the commander of the gendarmerie and the cantonal police to complain. For his part, the agent denounced him, however without filing a complaint.
Attorney General advised
During his hearing, the judge generally delivered another version of the facts, but however apologized for his behavior and for the terms he admitted to having used.
The prosecutor in charge of the case noted the detestable attitude of the assessor judge consisting in taking advantage of his position to threaten the agent. Found guilty of violence or threats against the authorities and officials, as well as for simple violation of road traffic rules, the lawyer was sentenced in early February by criminal order to a 60-day fine of 50 francs suspended for 2 years, to a fine of 900 francs and 750 francs in costs.
Attorney General Eric Cottier has been notified of this conviction for possible transmission to the competent disciplinary authority. Contacted, the General Secretariat of the Vaudois judicial order informed Monday that the judge had “resigned from his office on March 31, 2022” and that he had officially ceased to hold office since last Friday.