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A Frenchman has escaped a court trial for car theft because his lawyer proved that at the time of his arrest he was exactly ONE MINUTE away from adulthood.
Lawyer Delphine Branquet said she told the court in the western French city of Nantes that her client was arrested on his birthday, November 28 2009 but later she discovered he was arrested at 10.49pm, just one minute short of the precise time of his birth - 10.50pm.
"Jurisprudence... shows that the day is not sufficient to establish whether a person is an adult, it is the time of birth that counts," she told AFP.
The court declared it was not competent to try the youth, who now has to appear before a youth court to answer charges of stealing a vehicle and driving without a licence.
Lawyer Delphine Branquet said she told the court in the western French city of Nantes that her client was arrested on his birthday, November 28 2009 but later she discovered he was arrested at 10.49pm, just one minute short of the precise time of his birth - 10.50pm.
"Jurisprudence... shows that the day is not sufficient to establish whether a person is an adult, it is the time of birth that counts," she told AFP.
The court declared it was not competent to try the youth, who now has to appear before a youth court to answer charges of stealing a vehicle and driving without a licence.
