C’is quite rare, and fortunately. If referrals are common before other jurisdictions, those before the Assize Court are much less so. Cases are heard several months in advance, the stakes are often colossal and holding a criminal trial requires a lot of organization, time, money and energy. If referrals, when granted, are most often for medical reasons, they can also, more rarely, result from inattention on the part of professional judges.
Romain Léger, his victims, their lawyers, paid the price, this Monday, November 4, for a conflict of interest that no one had considered before these last hours.
Tried by the Aube Assize Court since last Thursday, he faces life imprisonment for having attempted to kill his ex-partner, having kidnapped her and the children, on June 10, 2022 at the victim's home , in Vendeuvre-sur-Barse.
Thursday, October 31, for the first day of his trial, it was the personality of Romain Léger, 47, who was scrutinized by the criminal court: his chaotic life course, his relationships with his parents, his siblings, his companions, his children. Throughout the afternoon, seven witnesses then described it. With these personality elements in mind, the Assize Court had to address the merits of the case this Monday before delivering its verdict on Tuesday.
During the investigation and trial
It was therefore without taking into account this conflict of interest that no one saw coming. One of the three professional magistrates who made up the court had in fact intervened at a given moment during the investigation, a priori by signing certain documents. Except that under French law, a magistrate who intervened during the investigation cannot subsequently participate in the judgment. Hence the incompatibility, for this judge, of participating in the debates.
Unable to continue the debates as they stand, the file has been postponed and will be discussed at a later date, probably not for at least six months.
In the meantime, the committal warrant for Romain Léger continues to apply, he remains in detention pending the effective holding of his trial.
