Caught – and the punishment follows. With the accelerated procedure, clear issues are dealt with quickly in court. Why it is used so often in Schweinfurt.
A girl’s underpants, a T-shirt, a tank top. A 30-year-old bought these and other items of clothing worth almost 80 euros in a textile shop in Schweinfurt at the beginning of September. She had hidden the goods in her five-year-old daughter’s stroller – and was caught. Only one day later, the woman was standing in front of the district court in Schweinfurt and had to answer for theft.
The fact that a court hearing can take place so quickly and immediately is due to the “accelerated procedure”, also known as the “lightning bolt procedure”. But what is behind it and why is the special process used so often in Schweinfurt?
“Maybe my child put the things in his pocket,” said the defendant, who had her interpreter translate in court. She herself only stole two blouses, but didn’t notice any of the rest of the clothes. The judge did not believe this account. Testimony from witnesses also cast doubt on the accused’s testimony. “I regret it,” said the woman at last and confessed to the shoplifting the day before. As requested by the prosecution, Judge Michael Roth sentenced the 30-year-old to a three-month prison sentence, which was suspended. The negotiation was over after almost 20 minutes. And Judge Roth only gave the woman one more thing: “You have been in Schweinfurt for a few weeks and are already in court for the first time. The next time it will be different.”
Simple facts, clear evidence
A procedure like this, in which the judgment and thus the punishment follow the act literally, is called “accelerated procedure”. It was used 56 times in Schweinfurt in 2019. This year up to August 42 times – although the “lightning bolt procedure” had to pause between April and mid-June due to Corona. The procedure regulated in Paragraph 417 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is linked to important conditions: the facts of the case must be simple and clear, the evidence must be clear. Witnesses must be available immediately, the expectation of punishment must not exceed a year – and if the prison sentence is expected to exceed six months, the accused must have a defense attorney. Legal remedies such as appeal or appeal against a judgment in the “lightning bolt procedure” are possible.
The accelerated procedure is intended for suspects, who are often not available for long, explains Judge Michael Roth. These include, for example, members of traveling gangs of thieves who might not even be reached if they were invited to the main hearing months later. In order to avoid such “corpses of files”, the said procedure is used, says the judge. The “lightning bolt procedures” are also intended to serve as a deterrent.
Schweinfurt: Time reserved every week for accelerated procedures
For Michael Roth, who is the only judge in Schweinfurt to carry out accelerated proceedings, they are now part of everyday work: “On average, I do this once a week.” This frequency and regularity are, however, a Schweinfurt specialty, according to Roth. In 2017, the Schweinfurt District Court and Public Prosecutor’s Office came up with a special time and personnel structure for the “lightning-fast proceedings”. At courts, in which every magistrate is also responsible for accelerated proceedings, they would first have to fit into the tight schedules. If there is not enough time, there is no
“Back then, the new anchor center provided the impetus for the introduction of our special system.”
Axel Weihprecht, senior public prosecutor in Schweinfurt–
In Schweinfurt, however, Roth has reserved appointments for this: every Tuesday and Wednesday, from 3 p.m., there is time for accelerated proceedings. A short-term appointment is always possible, says the magistrate. The public prosecutor’s office can therefore schedule them every week. She reports them, brings the indictment – also verbally – and procures the witnesses.
The district court of Würzburg also copied the Schweinfurt model. The system, according to which a judge is responsible for the “lightning-fast proceedings”, has also proven itself here, says the public prosecutor’s office on request. In Würzburg, however, the procedure was used five times in 2019, twice this year so far. In Schweinfurt, however, the demand is high, you have to deal with it almost every week. But why?
Jailed for two stolen sandwiches
“The new anchor center provided the impetus for the introduction of our special system”, says Axel Weihprecht, head of the Schweinfurt public prosecutor’s office. The accelerated procedure is by no means intended only for the residents there, but the majority of the accused come from there. In general, the procedure is suitable for suspects who only stayed in Schweinfurt for a limited time – for example harvest workers. Provided that the conditions for a “lightning bolt procedure” are met, all suspects are eligible – regardless of whether they are German or not. “The actual application of the process only works if you schedule regular appointments for it,” says Weihprecht, explaining the model.
So anyone caught shoplifting in Schweinfurt on Monday or Tuesday has to answer to Judge Roth the following day. Anyone else who commits a criminal offense on another day of the week and for whom the shortened procedure is suitable can be sentenced to “main hearing” for up to one week. And so it can happen that a defendant has to go to prison for several days for a few euros.
This is what happened at the beginning of September when a young man stole two sandwiches and a strawberry worth around six euros in a supermarket in Schweinfurt. He was arrested and held for four days before the expedited trial. Because of the confession and the number of days in prison, the proceedings in this case were discontinued.
Roth: “It has absolutely nothing to do with nationality”
According to Roth, the “lightning bolt procedure” is suitable for crimes such as bodily harm, property damage or resistance to law enforcement officers. Particularly common: theft ?? from alcohol to expensive perfumes to clothes. The magistrate said he could not judge whether an accelerated procedure actually had more “effect” on those affected. Chief Public Prosecutor Axel Weihprecht assumes, however, that it “already has an effect”. The public prosecutor’s office has also received positive feedback from the police.
In any case, Roth and Weihprecht are behind the Schweinfurt lightning bolt procedure system. They have a simple explanation for the fact that the defendants often come from the anchor facility. “It has nothing to do with nationality,” says Roth. Rather, the reason is the difficult living conditions, lack of prospects and poverty.
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