Facts
On December 31, 2017, a serious sledding accident occurred, in which two persons were injured. The two victims filed criminal complaints and private lawsuits for serious bodily harm. The public prosecutor's office then opened criminal proceedings against an unknown person for negligent serious bodily harm. One of the private plaintiffs later filed a motion for recusal against the investigating public prosecutor, accusing him of bias. The High Court of the Canton of Obwalden dismissed the motion for recusal. The private plaintiff appealed against this decision to the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court notes that bias on the part of a public prosecutor's investigation is not readily assumed under the case law. It can only be affirmed if, upon objective consideration, there are particularly gross or unusually frequent failures of the investigation management that constitute a serious breach of official duties and have a one-sided impact to the detriment of a party. Premature prejudicial statements by the investigation management may, in justified individual cases, be capable of giving rise to objective doubts about its impartiality if they are very superficial and lack any factually compelling doubts. In the present…