Facts
The Federal Tribunal was seized with an appeal for nullity against a judgment of the Criminal Court of the Jura Cantonal Tribunal which had found S. guilty of various offenses, including resistance to acts of authority within the meaning of Art. 286 CC, and sentenced him to 12 years of confinement.
S. contested his conviction for resistance to acts of authority as well as the severity of the sentence imposed.
Considerations
Regarding the resistance to acts of authority, the Federal Tribunal considered that the facts alleged against S. did not meet the conditions of this offense. As a mere passenger in the car, S. had not prevented or hindered the action of the police, nor had he participated in a decisive manner in the decision or execution of the offense committed by the driver. His purely passive behavior could not be equated to resistance to acts of authority, in the absence of a legal duty on his part to intervene.
As for the sentence, the Federal Tribunal considered that the reasoning of the cantonal court was insufficient to justify the severity of the 12-year confinement sentence imposed on S. Such a sentence, comparable to that incurred for serious…