“La Matinale” went behind the scenes of the Jura Public Prosecutor’s Office this Thursday. Laurie Roth resigned from her position as prosecutor, a mandate which ended on October 31 for career change. She looked back on more than a decade within the Jura justice system and the difficulties and challenges of the profession, in particular the emotional burden and the impact on private life: “At the Jura Public Ministry, we are very lucky because it there is extreme solidarity,” explains Laurie Roth. One of the cases which has greatly marked the Jura in recent years is the tragedy of Courfaivre, which occurred 5 years ago: “It was a difficult affair to deal with emotionally. The hardest thing for me was announcing the first elements of the investigation to the family. Luckily, a very experienced police officer accompanied me and helped me deal with this emotional burden,” says the ex-prosecutor. “You must not believe yourself to be strong, you must ask for the help that is necessary so as not to have a backlash later,” she explains.
Just-in-time justice which will have to manage the arrival of Moutier
Another difficulty specific to the size of the canton: “You constantly meet the people you have trained. You can find yourself next to them at a wedding at a table, you have to pretend like nothing has happened, it's sometimes complicated and awkward,” admits Laurie Roth. The Public Prosecutor's Office also faces a high workload with some 7,000 cases to be processed each year for six FTE prosecutors. “Justice works well because people are efficient” but “there are two kinds of cases: cases that happen on their own following complaints and cases that we seek out, of narcotics or child pornography, and if we lack staff, we occupy less land,” adds the lawyer. “The arrival of Moutier will be complicated if there is no additional staff,” finally believes Laurie Roth. /mmi
