There will be no going back to square one: the trial of the Millas drama will be able to resume after the rejection of the request filed by the defence. The two lawyers for the bus driver attempted a power grab this Monday morning, at the start of the second week of hearings. By depositing a “motion for recusal“, they hoped to bring down the president, whom they accuse of “a lack of impartiality”, and restart the trial from scratch with a new magistrate.
As required by procedure, the request was examined on Monday morning by the first president of the Court of Appeal. The latter considered that the president had not committed any fault likely to sanction her.
Nadine Oliveira, 53, has been on trial for a week in Marseille for homicide and involuntary injury. On December 14, 2017, the collision of his school bus with a TER had cost the lives of six schoolchildren and 17 others had been injured.
Extremely rare procedure
To justify the triggering of this extremely rare procedure, the defense lawyers explained that the president had held last week “remarks raising fears of a lack of impartiality”. They evoke one of his speechesintervened Thursday when the hearing had just been suspended, following the discomfort of the defendant.
The President had in particular expresses his emotion after four very trying days of hearings. She had also sent thoughts to one of the civil parties, a young survivor of the accident, a few days before her 18th birthday.
prosecutor’s wrath
At the announcement of the request against her, the president seemed annoyed and tested this Monday morning. On his side, the prosecutor did not hide his anger : “this procedure is totally inappropriate, it is a slippage on the part of the defense, which wants to confiscate the trial“.
The rejection of the request does not mean that the trial will resume immediately. Because there is also the question of the defendant’s state of health, still hospitalized in cardiology after her discomfort at the hearing on Thursday. A medical expertise could be requested, before the resumption of the debates. This morning on France Bleu Roussillon, Me Fagniès one of his two lawyers explained that Nadine Oliveira had suffered a double infarction in the heart and liver.