A judge in Germany ordered a drink for an alcoholic whose withdrawal symptoms were affecting his testimony in a murder trial, a report said.
According to a MailOnline report, Judge Frank Rosenow, 53, told the witness: “I think you need a drink.” to which homeless man Miroslav Waldchek, 50, replied: “I think I do, too, your honour.”
The judge then reportedly sent a court official to buy two small bottles of Weinbrand – a strong German brandy. The courtroom assistant returned and put the bottle into the shaking hands of Waldchek.
He was allowed to go into a sideroom adjacent to the State Court in Hanover to guzzle his potion under the eyes of a doctor.
Forty minutes later he returned, refreshed and steady, to testify against a fellow Pole accused of trying to knife him to death in a drunken row two years ago.
“I am mightily grateful your honour,” said Waldchek after his brandy break, the first of its kind thought to have been granted in German judicial history.
But not everyone was happy with the state-subsidised schnapps.
According to the report, Marcin Raminski, a lawyer for the accused, said: “It should not be allowed that courts, at state expense and during a hearing, administer alcohol. Will it soon be the case that drug-addicted witnesses will be offered heroin on the stand?”
Judge Rosenow replied: “It was not ordered that the witness drink alcohol… The witness had the opportunity to take alcohol for his and the court’s benefit.” (from IOL)
According to a MailOnline report, Judge Frank Rosenow, 53, told the witness: “I think you need a drink.” to which homeless man Miroslav Waldchek, 50, replied: “I think I do, too, your honour.”
The judge then reportedly sent a court official to buy two small bottles of Weinbrand – a strong German brandy. The courtroom assistant returned and put the bottle into the shaking hands of Waldchek.
He was allowed to go into a sideroom adjacent to the State Court in Hanover to guzzle his potion under the eyes of a doctor.
Forty minutes later he returned, refreshed and steady, to testify against a fellow Pole accused of trying to knife him to death in a drunken row two years ago.
“I am mightily grateful your honour,” said Waldchek after his brandy break, the first of its kind thought to have been granted in German judicial history.
But not everyone was happy with the state-subsidised schnapps.
According to the report, Marcin Raminski, a lawyer for the accused, said: “It should not be allowed that courts, at state expense and during a hearing, administer alcohol. Will it soon be the case that drug-addicted witnesses will be offered heroin on the stand?”
Judge Rosenow replied: “It was not ordered that the witness drink alcohol… The witness had the opportunity to take alcohol for his and the court’s benefit.” (from IOL)
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