Custody ruling could halt trials
Police fear vital cases will collapse after France's highest court rules that custody questioning was illegal
THOUSANDS of criminal cases could be thrown out on a legal technicality after France's highest court confirmed that police custody conditions are against the law.
The Cour de Cassation ruling means that any evidence given by a suspect in the past six months during police questioning without a solicitor present would be inadmissible in court. Other evidence, such as witness statements and DNA results, would still stand.
One magistrate said the courts could be "fully booked to the end of the year" with lawyers seeking to overturn cases.
Police say they are concerned that key trials will collapse. Nicolas Comte, the secretary-general of France's biggest police union, SGP, said: "There is a risk that guilty people will be freed."
Another union, Synergie-Officiers, said public safety was at risk. It said in a statement: "Thousands of criminals will be released on a technicality, without any thought for the victims."
Until now, the French police custody system has not guaranteed access to a solicitor from the very beginning.
Solicitors could see their client for half an hour to check that the suspect is well, but they have had no right to discuss the case in detail or be present throughout the questioning.
The number of people detained in police custody has almost doubled in a decade - up from 336,000 in 2001 to 792,000 last year.
