Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-18
SLOW-FOOTED JUSTICE
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT
sUMMONsEs IN FRANCE.
Takes Years Sometimes to Dispose of
the Simplest Police Court Case-Ap-
peals There Allow More Delay.
From the london Express.

From the london Express.
One of the things which they certainly
do not do better in France is the admin
iStration of justice for those minor injuries
which in England are dealt with by po-
lice court summons.
In England a man who has been SANDER
ed or insulted or assaulted-to mention only
a few of many possible torts-can apply,
either personally or through a solicitor, for
a summons to a police magistrate. and II
he appears to have any real cause for COM
plant this summons will always be grant
ed, with the result that his grievance viii
be speedily investigated and satisfied &C
cording to Justice and law.
In France matters proceed very different
ly and ii is always months and sometimes
years before q police court case is disposed
of.
The injured party wishing to prosecute
must first go to barr.ster, for all trib mai
correctional cases must be conducted
ter. being bound by no fixed scale eff
charges. always makes his own terms.
These are generally proportonate to the
means of his client and are always pay
able in advance. for in France. as in Eng
land, n barrister has no legal recovery for
professional charges. The amount demand
ed by a barrister for police court prose-
cut1on, including the cost of the summons,
varies from t6 to t16 according to the bar
r1sters standing or the position of his
client.
This invariably comes out of the
prosecutors pocket, for even if the defen-
Gant is sentenced to pay costs. these do
not include counsel's fees. The barrister
then draws up statement Of the injury
complained of, with mention of the various
clauses of the penal code which the lefen-
dant has infringed. and takes it to a huis-
sler Tor transcription onto a stamped form
The summons thus transcribed is sub
cureur general, for his VISA and is then
returned to the huissier for service on the
defendant
Personal service not being obligatory in
France. the summons is merely left at the
defendants house, and usually affords the
concierge of that house a delightful piece
OF reading, and subject of gossip for
weeks to come. Three four, even SIX
months may now elapse before the case
comes on for hearing.
In the meanwhile the prosecutor must
Keep on friendly terms with his Witnesses
who are under no legal oblga ton to testify
for the notices of attendance served upon
them are not subpoenas, and a disregard of
THESE notices entails no penalty. If pend
ing the hearing the prosecutors wit
neSses disappear, or for one reason or an
other decide not to attend at the police
court the prosecutor must lose his case
and may himself be prosecuted for abuse
of summoning.
1t is very rarely that the case is heard
even In part, on the day fixed for hearing
whicn, as has been mentioned, never comes
on Till at least three months after the sum
mons has been issued. The prosecutor is
usually merely asked if he persists in his
accusation If he replies in the affirmative
the defendant is asked if he intends to de-
fend himself against the charge The case
Is then adjourned. never for less than one
week. sometimes for as long as ten weeks.
Ihese adJournments are repeated, and both
prosecutor and defendant, together with
witnesses on both sides, may consider them
selves lucky If, after four adjournments, at
the least varying in duration from one to
ten weeks, the case is finally heard and
disposed OF. Each party must attend in
person on each occasion, and must be ac-
companied by all his witnesses, lest the
case be called on.
When. after six or seven attendan-es of
never less than two hours duration the
prosecutor, who was insulted, or slandered
or beaten several months previously has
mad the satisfaction of hearing his adver-
sary convicted and sentenced his troubles
are by no means at an end
IN france person convicted in a police
court can appeal against his conviction
ana almost Invariably does so. Execution
OF the sentence is meanwhile susDended
The defendant having lodged appeaI This
fact is notified month or six weeks after
his conviction to the prose, utor who is en-
joined to attend at the appeal court on a
fixed day under penalty of losing the case
by default. The day is never less than
three months ahead; very often a police
court appeal is not heard till q year or
eighteen months after the original convic-
TON The prosecutor must now make fresh
arrangements with his counsel and nav q
EreSh honorarium, he may even b..
obliged to intrust his interests to another
Darflster He is. however. spared the trou-
Die or Keeping his witnesses up to the
mark. fol the appeal court judges only on
the written dispositions and on the plead
ings of counsel
AS rule the prosecutor gets satisfaction
In the end. for the appeal court almost in
Yarlabiy confirms the original sentence
This Is not. however, at the earliest until
year after the offense was committed
ana at an expense to himself of from. f1O
to ESQ
1t is doubtless because French iuries
recognize how extremely unsatisfactory is
this state of things that they deal so Ieni-
entiy with persons who, rebelling against
the laws delay, have taken the law into
their own hands,