Facts
The appellant, lawyer [X.] , was the official defender in the criminal proceedings against [A.] . The District Court of Brugg awarded her compensation of CHF 23,613.20. [A.] appealed and the High Court of the Canton of Aargau reduced the compensation for the official defender to a lump sum of CHF 12,000.--. The appellant requests the repeal of the high court's judgment and the remittal of the case for re-evaluation.
The appellant complains of a violation of Art. 404 para. 1 CrimPC, her right to be heard, the prohibition of arbitrariness, and the freedom of trade. She argues that the reduction of the compensation ex officio is inadmissible, as the judgment of the court of first instance on this point remained unchallenged.
Considerations
The Federal Court examines whether the lower court rightly reduced the compensation for the official defense. It finds that the appellant has submitted a detailed invoice specifying the exact subject and the person involved. The lower court justified the reduction of the compensation by stating that the claimed expenditure of 94.31 hours is massively excessive and bears no relation to the importance of the case.
However, the Federal Court comes to the conclusion that the decision of the first instance regarding the fee for the official defense is not contrary to the law or grossly unfair. The lower court did not sufficiently justify the reduction of the compensation and…