On March 8th 2022 our LLCE Class gathered at the Court of Nantes to be part of the audience for 4 cases.
We felt priviledged because for 2 years, due to Covid, the schools hadn’t been allowed to visit the Court.
These are some of our reactions after attending the cases :
« It was very interesting and I think you have to visit and attend it at least once in your life », Eloïse
« It conforted me on my future job as a lawyer » , Anouck
« The judge was a very nice person, very human and I found her job interesting »
Indeed, we listened to 4 totally different cases :
*the first one was the story of a poor man who , under drugs and alcohol, was accused of having killed his dog 2 years ago. What surprised us was that his only argument to defend himself was « I loved my dog » , Loona.
In fact, he had already been accused of violence against his ex wives and was even detained for that. While listening to him and to his ex-wife and to the judge, we thought that he was guilty.
*The Second case refered to a young homeless and foreign man who couldn’t speak proper French and who was accompanied by a translator. We felt pity for him because he had nowhere to sleep and « he did apologize for what he had done», Arthur
Due to this situation, he broke into people’s homes. He knew what he had done, he knew that was not correct but he kept repeating that he needed to sleep. Yet, he also stole. We found the prosecutor very strict there because he explained to him that if he wanted to get integrated into French society he first needed to speak French and to behave.
*The third case was very different because the defendant seemed to be slightly mentally handicaped so the judge showed a human face asking him to be seen by a psychiatrist. Since the man felt anxious, the judge kept reassuring him telling him : « you aren’t crazy, I just need to read a report from a doctor to be able to judge you ». However, « we felt pity for him because his next audience will take place nearly in a year, now », Emma.
*To end the day, the last case really surprised us because to contrast with the others, the defendant came to the bar ,60 years old, smart and well dressed, wearing a nice suit and a tie. He was the CEO of a company in Cholet, already condemned several times for speed driving (180 km/h…) while using his phone!!!What interested us was that his lawyer, following him for long, since his first condemnation,really played his role of a lawyer well, he defended him well : « he’s a good father, a good driver since he has never caused accidents, a good CEO » (even if he got condemned a few years ago for fraud). The defendant tried to defend himself well too, by telling the judge that he never thought that the policemen following him
for 25 km between Nantes and Cholet were purchasing him : « It was late at night, it was dark, I couldn’t see them properly »…
The sentence surprised us, he only got a 150€ fine in spite of his 60,000€ yearly income, and another driving licence withdrawal.
Anyway, we could tell more about it but we advise you to go there on your own.
Louane for the whole LLCE class of Mrs PETIT, alias Mrs SMALL
