Otto Brixner
Otto Brixner (born in 1943) is a former German judge. He was the presiding judge of the 7th Chamber of the criminal division of the Nuremberg-Fürth District Court, Germany.
Brixner became publicly known as part of the chamber that sentenced Gustl Mollath to a forensic hospital, where he spent more than seven years. In 2011, research by journalists raised doubts about the allegations against Mollath and the procedure. In 2014, in a retrial of the case, the Regensburg regional court determined that the conditions for confinement of the accused were not satisfied.[1]
Life and career
In the 1950s and 1960s, Otto Brixner's parents operated a restaurant in Herrenberg.
As a teenager, Brixner was athletic. He sprinted 100 metres in 11.2 seconds[2] and had a talent for handball. Brixner was an active handball player in the 1. FC Nuremberg club, and the TSV 1860 Ansbach as well as the TSV 1891 Frauenaurach. For many years, he also coached the women's handball team of the 1. FC Nürnberg.[3] Brixner was also the coach of the Bavarian Handball C youth until 1991.
After military service in the Bundeswehr, Brixner studied law. On 1 April 1973, he applied as a prosecuting attorney in the Bavarian judicial service. In his three years as a prosecutor, he was considered meticulous at his job. In his first official assessment, he was considered to have been "born" for this job.[4]
In 1976, Brixner became a judge at the Erlangen district court in criminal and civil cases. In October 1987, Brixner changed to the Nuremberg-Fürth district court, also working in criminal and civil matters. In July 1998, after his appointment as chairman of the Nuremberg-Fürth district court, Brixner took over the chairmanship of the 6th Chamber of the criminal division, primarily judging invocations of drug related matters. Most recently, he was chairing the 7th Chamber of the criminal court, responsible for drug and general criminal matters in the first instance.
Brixner never made use of communication in criminal proceedings (a so-called "deal on penalty"). On the other hand, Brixner demanded in interviews with legislators to abolish life imprisonment and introduce temporary sentences of up to 40 years instead.
Brixner retired by the end of June 2008.
Brixner was married to Christa Brixner, born Hofbauer (1946-2013). The couple had two children and four grandchildren. Brixner lives in Herzogenaurach. He is a lieutenant colonel in the reserve.
Trial of Gustl Mollath and allegations against Brixner
In September 2003, Gustl Mollath was accused of dangerous bodily injury and false imprisonment to the detriment of his then wife to a criminal case before Nuremberg District Court. Since this court considered an accommodation as possible, it sent the case to the Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court. Under the chairmanship of Brixner, the Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court pronounced Mollath in August 2006 not guilty by reason of insanity, as it deems the deeds proven, but the "Cancellation of control capability [...] according to Template:German law section StGB [...] could not be ruled out. " Instead of punishment, Mollath was confined to forensic treatment in a closed psychiatric facility, as, according to the court, Mollath continued to be a threat to society. Mollath has in the opinion of the court a "paranoid thought system ". This was partly due to the conviction that his former wife, as an employee of the HypoVereinsbank, was involved in a complex system of money laundering.
An internal audit report of Hypovereinsbank from 2003[5] supports much of Mollath's black money allegations. However, this report had been kept secret by the bank for many years, so that it was not known to the district court of Nuremberg-Fürth in its ruling in 2006. In November 2012, the content of the audit report became public. The report stated that all of Mollath's verifiable allegations were accurate.[6][7] Mollath's lawyer, Gerhard Strate, successfully applied for a retrial in August 2013. The district court of Regensburg finally came to the conclusion that the prerequisites for Mollath's confinement to psychiatry were not met.
These events resulted in a committee of inquiry in the Bavarian state parliament[8] and public debate. Also, the presiding judge, Brixner, was publicly accused. Jurors and witnesses reported that Brixner acted uncontrolled during litigation and interrupted Mollath whenever he began to talk about the money laundering.[9]
References
- ^ Volltext vom Urteil des Landgerichts Regensburg vom 14.
- ^ Auf Absprachen ließ sich der Richter nicht ein; in: nordbayern.de vom 7.
- ^ Ein Richter mit harter Schale.
- ^ Otto Brixner war kein Schiedsrichter, sondern Richter; in: nordbayern.de vom 24.
- ^ Interner Revisionsbericht Nr. 20546 der Hypovereinsbank
- ^ Interview mit der bayerischen Justizministerin Beate Merk vom 9.
- ^ Der Mann, der zu viel wusste; in: Süddeutsche Zeitung Online vom 13.
- ^ Hastige Wahrheitsfindung; in: taz.de vom 17.
- ^ Vom Richter „malträtiert und provoziert“; in: Süddeutsche Zeitung Online vom 24.