Judges and Prosecutors for Life: The actions that turn the courts into a show field are reprehensible

The Union of Judges and Prosecutors condemns the “anti-institutional and anti-procedural behavior of the advocate – president of the party of the Hellenic Parliament against the President and the Prosecutor of the Single-Member Misdemeanor Court of Volos” says the relevant announcement about Zoe Konstantopoulou.

In its announcement, the Union of Judges and Prosecutors states: “Such acts, although rare but not negligible, constitute disciplinary controllable behaviors, which insult the prestige of its co-officials
Justice and undermine citizens’ trust in the institution. The State and the competent institutions must take all legislative and other measures to deal with these phenomena. The Courts are places where legal and substantive claims are contested, with the aim of strengthening the law and awarding the Right. Actions that aim to turn courtrooms into a field of communication “show” are reprehensible and even more so when they come from a person who has sworn to protect the Constitution and strengthen the principle of the Rule of Law.

The Association of Prosecutors of Greece for the Life of Konstantopoulou

The Union of Prosecutors of Greece also issued a related announcement. In it he states:

“The Lawyer – according to the Code of Ethics of the Bar
Operation – he is a co-operator of Justice and his position is fundamental, equal, independent and necessary for its award. In the
and in the context of exercising his duties, during the representation and defense of his principal in every Court, he must demonstrate
decency and respect for the Officers of Justice. Unfortunately, more and more often, it is observed that certain advocates prefer a confrontational method of defense, lying outside the procedural limits, with unacceptable and unacceptable behavior, especially towards the members of the criminal courts, distinguished by a complete lack of decency and moderation. The culmination of such behaviors is the recent unacceptable, undignified, disciplinary and criminally hellish behavior of a lawyer towards the members of the single-member Misdemeanor Court of Volos, which not only exceeded the limits of decency and violated the procedural rules, but was accompanied by insults and immoral characterizations to Judicial Officers, in violation of what is imposed by the KPD and the Code of Ethics of the Legal Profession. The above unacceptable and abusive behavior, as well as any similar “show of force” through shouts, threats and insults, obviously does not aim at the proper administration of Criminal Justice, but at obstructing the process of this administration and at thwarting the purpose of the criminal trial. The EEE unequivocally condemns practices of this kind, which deeply offend our legal culture, and calls on the authorities to take the necessary measures to impose the prescribed sanctions and eliminate similar phenomena.”

What happened in Volos with Konstantopoulou and the president of the court – She filed a lawsuit, they took away her speech

Unprecedented tension prevailed on Monday in the courts of Volos on the occasion of the trial of Thomas Klimopoulos and Ar. Fragoudakis, after a lawsuit by city councilors of the Beu faction, for incidents at a meeting of the City Council in 2017, between Zoe Konstantopoulou and the president of the seat.

During the trial, the president of Plevsis Eleftherias, which defends the two defendants, attacked the president of the chamber, saying, among other things, that she works “in favor of Beu”, while she filed a lawsuit against her, but also answered requests to exclude her from the case , which were rejected.

The president, for her part, addressed Konstantopoulou in a strong tone, while after repeated interruptions she took away her floor and did not allow her to ask questions to witnesses.

More specifically, everything started when Zoe Konstantopoulou announced to the court that one of the defendants, Mr. Fragoudakis, felt unwell due to high blood pressure and was taken to the Hospital. The president of the court gave her just two minutes to file her statement and that’s when the first explosion came.

“You caused extreme tension earlier, as a result of which Ar was taken to the hospital. Frangoudakis. He claimed his rights and you intentionally caused him harm. You targeted defendants for the umpteenth time. You are the mayor’s court,” she said and submitted a written request asking to know why 5 witnesses were examined without her being present.

“You’re acting like a judge taking orders from Ah. Beo and despises the defendants”, he also told the president of the Court, requesting that the trial be suspended so that Mr. Fragoudakis’ health could be established, which was not accepted.

In fact, the president of Pl. Eleftherias accused her of bias in favor of Ah. Beu. “You are extremely subservient to the municipal authority,” he stressed.

Constantopoulou’s request was rejected, she filed a lawsuit

The president of the chamber rejected her requests, as well as the re-examination of the 5 witnesses. This was followed by Konstantopoulou’s statement that he would file a lawsuit against her for breach of duty.

Another interruption followed and after the president of the seat asked to be informed by the Complaints Department if a lawsuit had been filed against her, Ms. Konstantopoulou stated that the president was ridiculing the process. He filed a new request to disqualify the president and there was another interruption.

After all of Ms. Konstantopoulou’s exemption requests were denied, the depositions began, with Konstantopoulou once again enraged that former city councilor D. Livoyiannis, who was the one who sued the defendants, was called to testify. There the president removed her floor and began to examine the witness, while then she did not allow the president of Plevsis Eleftherias to ask questions to witnesses.

Instead, he called the other plaintiff, A. Zervas, to file another new exemption request, with the complaint that Mr. Livoiannis had an acquaintance with the president.

The proceedings continued, with Z. Konstantopoulou shouting “shame” when the president did not allow questions to one of the witnesses. In fact, the president of the court allegedly forbade witnesses to give answers to certain questions of the prosecutors’ lawyers. There came the second lawsuit by Konstantopoulou who called the police department and asked for an automatic procedure to be applied against the president.

The incredible thing is that during the tension, the testimony of witnesses continued and the two who sued the defendants, admitted that they did not remember if they had actually used violence against them.

At the end, Zoe Konstantopoulou made the following statements: