“I have never had the habit of criticizing colleagues. Well, at 56, I will“: on the 11th day of the trial of the Millas drama, a lawyer for the civil parties attacked with virulence to his two colleagues who are defending the bus driver. During his pleading, Maître Raymond Escalé, former chairman of the Pyrénées-Orientales, accused Mes Jean Codognès and Louis Fagniez of having a behavior “unworthy” and “below what one would expect“.
“We can plead whatever we want. But this defense must be done with respect for dignity. It’s in our DNA as lawyers and it’s the first of our rules of ethics“, gets carried away Me Raymond Escalé. He criticizes the defense “inappropriate humor“, “unnecessary interventions“, “a contempt” and “a lack of courtesy“towards the civil parties.
“The defense looked down on us.”
The defense had already come under heavy criticism during the second week of hearings, when she filed a motion for recusal
.
The prosecutor had denounceda slippage on the part of the defense, which wants to confiscate the trial“. This extremely rare procedurewhich aimed to impeach the president, generated significant stress for the civil parties.
“Let us be clear: it was perfectly their right to file this request. But their strategy is beyond me. Was it improvisation? A clumsiness? I do not know“, asks Me Raymond Escalé, who judges the attitude of the defense “unwelcome in such a dramatic case“.”He said aloud what many think quietly“, says another lawyer for the civil parties.
defense strikes back
On the other side of the bar, the bus driver’s lawyer took the attacks without flinching. But to the suspension of hearing, Me Jean Codognès responds to the microphone of France Bleu Roussillon: “What is unworthy, for a civil party lawyer, is to disregard the rights of the defence, the freedom of the defence, the freedom of argument, the freedom of strategy. That lawyers can forget this democratic foundation is serious and unworthy of the dress they wear“.
The trial ends this Wednesday with the requisitions of the prosecutor, then the pleadings of the defence.