The case in summary: The re-admission commission has never before had so many cases of rag shaking Six parents who have been convicted of shaking their child so violently that it has been injured want to have their case tried again In addition to the increase in rag shaking cases, there is also a general increase in the number of cases that have been requested to be reopened The Commission’s head, Kamilla Silseth, is concerned about what the increased caseload is doing to the processing time The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Six cases of violence against babies are currently awaiting processing in the Re-admission Commission. In all six cases, there is talk of rag shaking, or “Shaken baby syndrome”, where parents are convicted of having shaken their child so violently that it has been injured. These parents believe they have been convicted innocently and want to have their case tried again. The head of the commission, Kamilla Silseth, says they have never had so many such cases before. – Before, there was a case like this every now and then, says Silseth. The commission’s leader, Kamilla Silseth, says that new court decisions affect the type of cases that are requested to be reopened. Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes / news Increased focus on rag shaking In recent years, a heated debate has arisen around the diagnosis, and what is required of evidence in such cases. Some believe the damage may have other causes than violent shaking. One year ago, in December 2022, a man was acquitted in the Borgarting Court of Appeal. He was accused of possessing fillers and injuring his three-month-old son. Silseth believes this case, and the focus around the diagnosis, is much of the reason why so many want to have their case treated again. – We have received cases that are very much linked to medical assessments, of the injuries, she says. Six filler-listing cases have been requested to be reopened A father who was sentenced to one year in prison by Borgarting Court of Appeal for having fillerista his four-month-old son A father who was sentenced to ten months in prison in Gulating Court of Appeal for having fillerista’s six-week-old son A mother who was sentenced to one year in prison by the Eidsivating Court of Appeal for having fillerista her two-month-old son A mother who was sentenced to 14 months in prison for grievous bodily harm against her five-month-old son A father who was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for having fillerista’s four-month-old twins. A father who was sentenced to 15 months in prison in the Agder Court of Appeal for having his six-month-old son stuffed – Big consequences Lawyer Jannicke Keller-Fløystad represents a father who has been convicted of injuring his son. He is one of the six who have applied for readmission. They submitted the application in December 2022. Keller-Fløystad says that they were told that the commission would start dealing with the case in September this year. Now the treatment has been postponed, she says. – It is a big burden for him that the case has been postponed until next year, says Keller-Fløystad. She says the waiting time has very big consequences for the father, who wants to be allowed to spend more time with his boy. Now he gets to see him for a total of four hours each year. Lawyer Jannicke Keller-Fløystad believes that new research and knowledge is the reason why so many racketeering cases have been requested to be reopened. Photo: Morten Waagø / news Risk of forced sale In addition, the man risks losing his home. The reason is the compensation sum of NOK 1.8 million, which the father has been ordered to pay to his son. Keller-Fløystad finds it disappointing that the Re-admission Commission is taking a long time, while at the same time the National Collection Center is not waiting for a decision. – On the one hand, the state takes a long time to deal with the case of resumption, on the other hand, the state is quick to request a forced sale. Keller-Fløystad believes this goes beyond her client’s legal certainty. The lawyer also points to the acquittal in the racketeering case by the Borgarting Court of Appeal in 2022. Following this judgment, it was said that the decision could affect other racketeering cases in the future. Could be a record year In addition to an increase in the number of racketeering cases, there is also an increase in other cases. According to the commission’s annual report for 2022, there was an increase of 58% from 2019 to 2022. news has received fresh figures from the commission which show the number of cases submitted as of 30 November this year, compared to previous years. The figures show that only in 2021 had more cases been submitted at this time. This means that if the commission receives many new cases in December, 2023 could be a record year. The manager, Kamilla Silseth, is concerned about what it does to processing times. – I absolutely do not think it is right that we now have such a long processing time. I think that is problematic, both with regard to the convicted person and any aggrieved parties. Silseth says that the cases are also more complicated and extensive, and that each individual case then takes more time. – There are requests to a much greater extent for investigation steps which it is desirable that the commission should carry out, says Silseth. The commission for resumption of criminal cases Body that assesses whether a criminal case that has been legally decided by the courts must be re-processed by the court. The commission is independent of the courts and will thus contribute to greater legal certainty in Norway. The commission has five permanent members. The chairman, deputy chairman and one other member must have a law background. In 2022, the commission dealt with 242 cases. Of these, 44 were definitely reopened. If the case is reopened, the question of guilt and/or the sentencing must be tried again. The case will then go before a different court than the one that handed down the judgment in the first instance. Source: Store norske lexikon og spoortagene.no Trying to make it more efficient – Have you done anything to reduce the processing time? – We have made a number of efficiency measures to see if we have the opportunity to process the cases more quickly. The manager calls this a mild specialisation, in that some case managers are given responsibility for a certain type of case, so that they gain greater competence. Silseth says that they now try to process similar cases at the same time, and that the processing time is then around one year. She nevertheless emphasizes: – Each case requires individual treatment. – A political question Keller-Fløystad says she has submitted a complaint about the processing time for her client, but that she has not received any response to the complaint. She calls this a political issue and believes that the commission needs more money and more case managers. – It says something about the resource situation when they can’t even respond to the complaint, says Keller-Fløystad. news contacted the Ministry of Justice on Monday with questions about what Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) thinks about the processing time in the commission. Mehl has not answered the question. Hello! We are a group of news journalists who have reported on ragging and violence against children since 2018. Do you have any tips for us, or other input? Contact. Signal: + 47 928 58 483Solveig Nyhus Aksnes, Elin Fossum, Olav Holger Næss and Silje Thalberg JournalistsSend us an e-mail
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Long processing time in the Re-admission Commission causes concern – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
