Between duty and misfortune: judicial officers in court

Between duty and misfortune: judicial officers in court

In a forensic-therapeutic center, where judicial officers often work with mentally ill delinquent persons, an incident occurred on February 3, which is now being negotiated before the Korneuburg Regional Court. An official is said to have deliberately destroyed a patient's MP3 player, while an older colleague only documented this almost three weeks later. The allegation against the two officials is property damage and abuse of office.

The first day of the trial, which was headed by judge Monika Zbiral, was characterized by the defense lawyers' explanations. Nikolaus Rast and Matthias Prückler emphasized the positive achievements of their clients, who were recently honored for their brave use in a fire in a prison. They argued that the allegations would not fit their character, and both defendants “not guilty”.

insights into the everyday work of the judiciary

In the course of the negotiation, the accused described their stressful everyday work. The younger civil servant admitted that he had been annoyed about the disruptive recording device and that it fell out of the corner of the eye. The older colleague, on the other hand, was of the opinion that the device should be confiscated and was only informed later that it belonged to a patient.

A crucial witness, a nurse, reported on the situation in the waking room and how the younger official broke the device in half and explained that it had "done". The negotiation drew several appointments because specialist reports were required to pre -damage the device. However, these assessments have not yet been used.

the possibility of an agreement

Another negotiation day was not without complications because a lay judge was missing and had to cover the costs for this day. Prosecutor Lambert Schöfmann surprised those present with an offer of a diversion, which means that the older civil servant could possibly pay a fine to avoid conviction. As a rule, this is not common in the event of an incidents that affect abuse of office, but the prosecutor emphasized: "I have not been so clear for a long time."

The defense is now faced with the choice of whether you accept the offer and submit briefs or object in the name of the republic. The statements and the current situation suggest that a third day of the trial may only take place per forma.

For a detailed view of the case, see the report on www.noen.at .