Criminal defence lawyer in Metz

Police custody lasts 24 hours, extendable once with the prosecutor's authorisation, and longer for organised crime. Since the Act of 14 April 2011, a person in custody may speak with their lawyer for thirty minutes and be assisted at every interview and confrontation. The lawyer reviews the record of the notification of rights, the medical certificate and the interviews already conducted, and may submit written observations that are added to the file.

The voluntary interview (audition libre) follows similar rules: you may leave at any time and be assisted by a lawyer if the offence carries a prison sentence. In both cases, the right to silence is not a confession and cannot be held against you. The rights are detailed in the police custody guide and the glossary entry on rights in police custody.

If the prosecutor decides to prosecute, the person may be referred (déféré) to the Palais de justice de Metz. They are then brought before the prosecutor, who chooses the route: immediate appearance before the tribunal correctionnel the same day or the next, deferred appearance, a summons to a later hearing, or CRPC, in which a sentence is proposed in exchange for an admission of the facts and approved by a judge.

Each of these routes is prepared differently. In immediate appearance, requesting an adjournment to prepare the defence is a right; the court then rules on continued detention or judicial supervision. In CRPC, the proposed sentence can be refused without affecting the presumption of innocence. The immediate appearance guide explains how a hearing unfolds in Metz.

The most serious cases are entrusted to a juge d'instruction of the tribunal judiciaire de Metz. Being formally charged (mise en examen) opens access to the file, the right to request investigative steps and to challenge procedural defects. Pre-trial detention is decided by the liberty and custody judge after an adversarial hearing at which the lawyer argues for judicial supervision or house arrest; it is served at the Metz-Queuleu prison and can be challenged before the investigation chamber of the cour d'appel de Metz.

Serious crimes are tried by the cour d'assises de la Moselle, with a lay jury, or by the departmental criminal court for crimes carrying 15 or 20 years' imprisonment. These trials are prepared over months: witness hearings, expert reports, advocacy strategy. Experience gained in the advocacy competition and as Secretary of the Conférence of the Metz Bar comes into its own here.

The victim of an offence may file a complaint at the police station or directly with the public prosecutor in Metz, then join the proceedings as a civil party (partie civile) before the investigating judge or at the hearing to obtain damages. The lawyer makes sure the loss is quantified head by head and, if the offender is insolvent, applies to the CIVI (crime victims' compensation board) at the tribunal judiciaire de Metz or to the SARVI.

For bodily harm, compensation follows the personal injury rules: medical assessment, Dintilhac nomenclature, consolidation. See the guide to personal injury in Metz and the assault victim guide.