Facts
Parties: Appellant A. against the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Lucerne.
Court: I. Criminal Division of the Federal Supreme Court.
Date: September 6, 2023.
Facts: The Public Prosecutor's Office accuses A. of committing several traffic offenses between 2014 and 2018. The Criminal Court of the Canton of Lucerne sentenced A. to a total prison term of four years and eleven months. The Cantonal Court confirmed the guilty verdict and slightly reduced the sentence. A. appeals against the judgment and requests acquittal on certain charges as well as a reduction of the sentence.
Main Issue: Whether the house search at the appellant's father's residence constituted an unlawful evidence gathering (fishing expedition) and whether the accidentally found video recordings are admissible.
Considerations
The lower court found that the appellant's father had driven at excessive speed on April 12, 2015, and had no plausible explanation for it. This led to the suspicion that he might have committed further traffic offenses. The house search and the seizure of the GoPro camera including the SD card were deemed lawful, as there was suspicion of further offenses.
The Federal Supreme Court states that coercive measures such as house searches are only lawful if there is sufficient suspicion of a crime and milder measures are not sufficient. A chance finding occurs when evidence is discovered during a lawful measure that is not related to the original offense. An unlawful evidence gathering (fishing expedition) occurs when evidence is collected without sufficient suspicion of a crime.
In the present case, the house search was not suitable or…