Facts
On 27 August 1976, Mr. A violated traffic regulations in Horgen/Käpfnach by running a red light and overtaking several properly stopped vehicles. The single criminal judge of the Horgen district found him guilty of a traffic violation and sentenced him to two months' unconditional imprisonment based on the results of the blood analysis indicating a blood alcohol concentration of at least 3.34‰. The Cantonal Court of Zurich dismissed Mr. A's appeal.Considerations
1. The court rejected Mr. A's requests for evidence (witness testimony, expert reports) on the grounds that they would not have led to a more reliable result. Although the judge has discretion in evaluating evidence, they cannot a priori exclude a means of proof provided for by law. Here, the court relied on the blood analysis and the forensic medical report, which falls within its sovereign discretion. 2. However, the forensic medical expert did not sufficiently justify their conclusions, by not commenting on the discrepancies between the physician's clinical findings and the results of the blood analysis. The law requires the forensic medical expert to take into…