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As is the case almost every month, the large hall of Gustavia's harbor master's office hosts a hearing of the criminal court. On this Thursday, October 24, twenty-nine cases are due to be examined by the president of the tribunal de grande instance in Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe), Ségolène Pasquier, and the public prosecutor, Xavier Sicot. It's a very busy schedule, beginning with a good hour of debates to clear up any requests for postponement to a later date. These requests proved to be numerous, to the point of provoking a slight irritation on the part of the public prosecutor.
As a result, the representative of the public prosecutor's office reminds us that the court has "a hearing to hold and deadlines to respect". A remark that echoes the request for a postponement from a defendant who has indicated, through a lawyer, that he is absent from the island and will only return between April 15 and June 15. The prosecutor raises his voice to underline the fact that for most cases, if the defendant is absent, he can be represented by a lawyer in order to be tried, or be tried in absentia, i.e. in his absence. The question of postponing cases seemed to be closed when a man who had arrived late took the stand and asked for his case to be postponed. He explained that he was off work and hadn't had time to find a lawyer. The chairwoman shows a disappointed pout, and the prosecutor no longer even tries to conceal his exasperation. Nevertheless, after the umpteenth postponement, the first defendant is called to the stand.
3.45 grams in the blood
The man strides forward with a shuffling gait. He is 58 years old and is being prosecuted for driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. On February 1, he was leaving a restaurant and returning home on his scooter. As he tackled an uphill slope, he failed to pick up enough speed and fell onto the pavement. When the gendarmes examined his blood alcohol level, the breathalyser showed a reading equivalent to 3.45 grams of alcohol per liter of blood. "At more than three grams, in theory, you're in a coma," remarked the defendant's lawyer. However, the latter expressed himself clearly when he spoke to the gendarmes. He had undergone an operation in the morning and had been prescribed Tramadol for the pain," pleads his counsel. At the restaurant, he had a glass of Bourbon, which wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. But this level is not a sign of inebriation. Rather, it's a reaction to his treatments. "The man suffers from a number of pathologies. The chairwoman points out, however, that the defendant has been convicted twice, in 2002 and 2017, of drink-driving offences. Nevertheless, the magistrates were convinced by his impressive medical file. The man's driving license is revoked, and he is banned from taking it again for a month.
A brawling holidaymaker
For the next defendant, absent from the hearing, it was both alcohol and a quarrelsome temperament that brought him to justice. On November 26, 2023, the 33-year-old was celebrating his holiday on the island with friends in a nightclub. Probably out of clumsiness, another partygoer pushed him. A verbal and then physical altercation ensued. The belligerents end up in the club parking lot, drunk and angry. "We're dealing with someone who's out of his depth," remarks the prosecutor. In fact, the accused did not content himself with his fists and feet, with which he crushed the hand of one of his opponents. He also fetched a box cutter and a hammer from a vehicle. Numerous witnesses witnessed the scene, and seven people eventually lodged complaints against the out-of-control holidaymaker. He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years.
A botched procedure
Checked by the gendarmes on March 17 while riding an uninsured quad bike, the next defendant is 31 years old. He combined a lack of insurance with drug use and a blood alcohol level of the highest order: 2.37 grams of alcohol per liter of blood. Fortunately for him, he enlisted the services of a scrupulous lawyer who detected a series of procedural flaws. In particular, the blood tests did not comply with the regulations. Faced with these arguments, the president had no choice but to declare the procedure null and void. The drunk driver thus avoided a conviction. Not so for the following defendants.
Domestic violence
A 50-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man were called to the stand. They were a couple. More precisely, a couple in divorce proceedings. Nothing that would interest a criminal court, on the face of it. Except that on December 4, 2022, an argument escalated into a physical confrontation and exchange of blows. Although separated for several years, the ex-spouses continue to live under the same roof with their children. "Daily quarrels" have punctuated family life for almost five years, explains the man. On December 4, 2022, a number of disagreements combined with a territorial battle within the house led to jostling and blows being exchanged. In front of the children. "In this case, no one ever made the right decision, and the children were the indirect victims," scolds the prosecutor, who chose to prosecute both protagonists. "Because neither of them can justify their violent actions," he adds. For the mother's lawyer, it's a case that illustrates the subject of violence against women. Nevertheless, the defendant and her ex-spouse received a suspended fine of 500 euros. The man was also fined 1,000 euros for moral prejudice.
"Not very clever
At the age of 20, the accused had a passion for doing "wheelies" on his scooter. The problem, apart from the fact that this practice is forbidden on the road, is that on July 15 he was spotted by a gendarmerie patrol. While driving in a zigzag, he then performed a wheeling maneuver over a distance of almost 150 meters. On arrival at his place of work, he was inspected. No proper driving license, no insurance, the whole works. "That's a lot of offences," says the prosecutor, before lecturing the young road user. "I just wasn't very clever," concedes the defendant. He was fined 300 euros.
He was followed on the stand by a 32-year-old man who had been controlled on an uninsured 125cc scooter without the appropriate license. "Many people own a scooter that they're not allowed to drive", the president of the court despaired. Despite a logorrhea of excuses of all kinds, the defendant was sentenced to a 120-day fine of 5 euros.
Another man in his thirties (aged 31) also appeared in court for traffic offences. He was stopped on July 28 on an uninsured scooter, wearing headphones under his helmet but no gloves. The court imposed three fines: 150 euros for the lack of insurance, 100 euros for the headphones and 75 for the gloves.
