John
04-17-2009, 01:49 PM
Judge hears cases in bed
A German judge has ordered her trials to be held by her bedside after being hospitalised with a broken hip.
Karin Walter, 59, ordered lawyers, witnesses and handcuffed defendants to take part in the hearings at St Vincenz hospital in Limburg.
The first case involved Christopher Gross, 24, and Mary Fiedler, 35 who are accused of killing their eight month old daughter Siri.
Another featured a man who glassed a bouncer in a pub fight and a third where a 71-year-old man is accused of the attempted murder of a taxi driver.
Under German law, all the charges would have been scrapped if the judge had been unable to continue with the trials.
"The judge has to stay immobile for a long time but she is determined to remain working on these cases," said a court source.
A German judge has ordered her trials to be held by her bedside after being hospitalised with a broken hip.
Karin Walter, 59, ordered lawyers, witnesses and handcuffed defendants to take part in the hearings at St Vincenz hospital in Limburg.
The first case involved Christopher Gross, 24, and Mary Fiedler, 35 who are accused of killing their eight month old daughter Siri.
Another featured a man who glassed a bouncer in a pub fight and a third where a 71-year-old man is accused of the attempted murder of a taxi driver.
Under German law, all the charges would have been scrapped if the judge had been unable to continue with the trials.
"The judge has to stay immobile for a long time but she is determined to remain working on these cases," said a court source.