Why is the system to capture the scouarnec trial criticized by civil parties? – release

With an extraordinary trial, exceptional device. Planned to spread over a period of four months, the trial of Joël Le Scouarnec opened in Vannes, in Morbihan on Monday, February 24. In This large pedocriminal filea single man, former surgeon, is accused of rape and sexual assault on 299 patients, 184 of whom were formed direct civil parties and 74 indirect (family). On site are also present several hundred accredited journalists, as well as a large audience. An influx that the departmental criminal court cannot contain, only with 90 places.

In this context and after months of researchRonan Le Clerc, secretary general of the Rennes public prosecutor's office, responsible for the organization of this trial, opted for an audience broadcast simultaneously in several different rooms. Thus, the president, the lawyers and the accused are in the criminal court, the main room. This is where all hearings take place. A few hundred meters away, within the Faculty of Law of Vannes, several annexed rooms were opened, said « Report ». An amphitheater welcomes the civil parties, which must make the trip to the main room when their moment is auditioned. Two other separate rooms are reserved for the press, and to the public.

In each of these rooms are broadcast the images audience. Concretely, in the criminal courtyard are installed three mobile cameras, six flying microphones, one image-sound controller and two perpetrators, specify the magistrates in charge of the technical organization. Mobile cameras, by a « tracking system»»operate on the people who have the floor. A few hundred meters away, the amphitheater of the civil parties benefits from a giant screen where these images are broadcast. In the main room and the press room is also visible a fixed plan on the room of civil parties, from which interventions are allowed via a Visio system.

From the opening of the trial, this device aroused criticism among the lawyers of the civil parties. On France Inter On February 25, Marie Grimaud, who represents thirty-nine civil parties, said: “General emotion is anger at the images imposed on them. They depend on the one who films inside the courtroom, and therefore with plans that are not chosen by the victims but imposed by the Régie. ” While the first week of audience is coming to an end, the lawyer indicates to Check that his point of view on the situation, since his interview on France Inter, « Agerate ».

« There are a lot of technical problems between the two rooms, the microphones are not always strong enough, the images are sometimes blurred. But the biggest difficulty remains that the civil parties never have an overview of the interlocutors of the court. They have plans that depend on the management. They have no choice of what they can see or not. ” And the lawyer to cite the example a projection of documents PEOPHER held by the Scouarnec. “I had to ask for a little time to warn my clients, on our WhatsApp group, that difficult images were going to be projected. Otherwise, it was going to be imposed on them like that, without warning. ” She continues: « They are locked in a field of vision which is difficult to understand and lose understanding when rapid interactions take place, between lawyers, witnesses and the court. »

According to Marie Grimaud, This form of retransmission even arouses significant anxiety among the civil parties, even if it means questioning their will to testify: “Some are starting to tell me that they no longer want to be interviewed. This room has become a place they fear because they only see ends and do not understand all the interactions. ”

For their part, the magistrates specify to Check that this system « complex » has been reflected upstream and continues to be improved: « The initial plans were initially offered according to those used during trials using an identical configuration – as the V13 trial, that of the Nice or Charlie Hebdo attacks – before being refined on several occasions and validated by the president. During the White Walking on February 6, in which the lawyers' lawyers of the civil parties and the defense participated, the plans and the tracking were specified. They were improved at the end of each hearing day during debriefing with the technical teams and the president of the court. ” There was a question « To expand the plans during the testimony of witness by including the one who questions him, as well as the accused, of varying the plans during the hearing and in the insert during the hearings of witnesses or of videoconferencing, of greater fluidity of the tracking, the adjustment of the volume of sound sources and the quality of image ».

Beyond the retransmission system, it is more generally the choice of a fragmented trial-while a common place like a gymnasium or performance halls have been considered for a time-which concentrates criticism. In A platform published on Liberty37 victims represented by Me Grimaud regret, among other things, to have « Living the debates at a distance, relegated to an amphitheater, far from the court … far from their lawyers (…) but above all far from the gaze of the judges ». In this regard, Marie Grimaud notes that regularly, during the debates, “The hearing of certain witnesses causes a great excitement in the postponement room. And the courtyard does not really see it, it creates a distance from the president who does not help her measure the trial she leads. ”