AT THE NATIONAL COURT

Por Charlotte Greene

Case Western Reverse University

The legal language class went to see a hearing at the Audiencia Nacional (National Court).  We witnessed the trial of a woman, Maria Jesus Arriaga, accused of participating in a terrorist car bombing in 1985 in Pamplona.  She had been charged with transporting the terrorists who carried out the attacks.  I was extremely curious to see what an ETA trial would be like.  I had assumed there would be strong anti-terrorist sentiment, similar to that in the United States.  In reality, all parties remained extremely respectful and understanding the to the accused.  One of the most interesting parts was the testimony of a witness.  This witness had previously testified that the accused was guilty and helped sentence her to 30 years in jail.  The witness had rescinded her previous testimony, and was now proclaiming the innocence of Arriaga.  The witness claimed she had been coerced into her previous false testimony.  I wondered how long ago the witness decided to change her mind or what prompted her to come forward with the truth.  I saw the witness speaking with the family of the accused and they seemed friendly which came as a surprise to me.  It seemed as if the family of the accused had been fighting for a very long time to free Arriaga. 

                The Audiencia Nacional was not quite what I had expected.  I had expected it to be more similar to trials in the United States.  The most noticeable difference was in the behavior of the lawyers.  The lawyers did not stand and argue their cases; they questioned the witness from a seat on the same level as that of the judges.  Another difference was the dress.  Judges in Spain wear old fashioned robes with lacy sleeves.  It seemed odd to me because although the dress was very formal, the trial overall seemed much less formal than those in the United States.  Also, all of the family of the accused, visitors and members of the media sat behind a glass wall in a separate room- we were actually not in the same room as the trial.  The trial was certainly different but I found it followed a similar format as those in the United States.  Overall, I enjoyed visiting the Audencia Nacional and seeing what a legal proceeding is like in Spain.