Porto’s Court of Appeal has overturned a decision by an Aveiro court that applied a papal amnesty to a driver caught for drunk driving, finding that the pardon does not apply to defendants who have not yet appeared in court.
In a ruling dated February 28, which Lusa saw this Friday, the Porto Court of Appeal upheld the appeal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OP), withdrawing the appealed ruling and deciding to continue the case.
We are talking about the Law that approved the regime of pardon of sentences and amnesty for violations on the occasion of World Youth Day in Portugal, for criminal sanctions related to unlawful acts committed before 00:00 hours on June 19, 2023 by people who at the time of the commission of the act were from 16 to 30 years.
Law No. 38-A/2023 also establishes that those convicted of dangerous driving of a road vehicle and driving a vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.
In October 2023, the Aveiro court dismissed the criminal case against a 24-year-old driver accused of drunk driving, considering this crime amnestied.
According to the judge analyzing the case, the exceptions provided for in the amnesty law only applied to defendants who had already been “actually convicted of the relevant crime”, so they could be applied to those who had not been tried or convicted, such as the driver .
Conversely, the Court of Porto concluded that a person who has committed the crime of driving while intoxicated will not be able to benefit from the amnesty provided for by the above-mentioned Law, even if he has not yet been tried and convicted.
“Consequently, to exclude pardon and amnesty, it is the type of crime that matters, and not the state of the criminal process,” the judges state, concluding that the exception provided by law applies not only to those convicted of this type of crime. crimes, but also not yet convicted, that is, having the status of accused or suspects in criminal proceedings for this type of offense.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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