Facts
The facts of the case can be summarized as follows
- On September 14, 1963, a serious traffic accident occurred, in which the passenger Giger was fatally injured. The driver Müller claimed that Giger had been driving the car.
- However, the District Court of Lucerne-Land and the High Court of the Canton of Lucerne convicted Müller for lack of control of the vehicle, driving at excessive speed, serious violation of traffic rules, driving under the influence of alcohol, and negligent homicide.
- Müller filed a petition for revision and referred to a new expert opinion by Eng. Max Troesch, which allegedly presented the accident differently and supported the claim that Giger had been driving the car.
- The High Court dismissed the petition for revision, as the new expert opinion was unable to shake the previous findings.
Considerations
The Cassation Court provides the following reasoning
- According to Art. 397 of the Swiss Criminal Code, a retrial requires a new significant fact or a new significant piece of evidence that presents the previous facts in a substantially more favorable light for the convicted person.
- Merely making a new fact plausible is not sufficient; rather, the proof of the new submission must be provided at the time of the decision on admissibility.
- The private expert opinion submitted by the appellant merely represents new circumstantial evidence that is…