Judgment on the Violation of the Right to Defense and Arbitrariness in the Evaluation of Evidence

Facts

The appellant [X.] was sentenced by the Youth Court of Baden to a custodial sentence of four years for murder and theft. He appealed against the judgment of the High Court of the Canton of Aargau, which dismissed his appeal.

[X.] claimed a violation of his right to defense, as the legal instruction had been insufficient, his defense counsel had not participated in all interrogations, and the defense counsel had violated the attorney-client privilege and his defense at the main hearing had been inadequate. He also criticized that the judgment was based on an arbitrarily established set of facts and a violation of the principle "in dubio pro reo".

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It concluded that the appellant's right to defense had not been violated. The legal instruction had been sufficient, as the appellant was aware of his rights. Even though the defense counsel did not participate in all interrogations, the appellant had waived this. The communication of the defense counsel with the Youth Prosecutor's Office and his defense at the main hearing were not to be considered…