Why wasn’t the judge in Vlad Pascu’s case suspended, who searched the courtroom for the young man killed in the accident? CSM explanations

The Superior Council of the Magistracy argues that the judge Ancuța Ioana Popoviciu from the Mangalia Court, who handles Vlad Pascu’s case, was not suspended because “the continued exercise of the position is not likely to affect the impartial conduct of the disciplinary procedure” in her case . We remind you that at the first term of the case, the judge asked if Sebastian Olariu, one of the young people killed in the accident caused by the young man who got behind the wheel while drugged, was in the courtroom.

The section for judges in disciplinary matters of the CSM rejected, on Wednesday, unanimously, as unfounded the proposal of the Judicial Inspection to suspend from office the judge Ioana Ancuța Popoviciu, who judges the case of Vlad Pascu, the driver who, being drugged, drove his car into two groups of eight young people on May 2, and two students died in August 2023.

How does the CSM justify the decision to keep the judge in Vlad Pascu’s case in office

The CSM justifies its decision by saying that the suspension of a judge can only be decided in two situations, according to the law:

• 1. if the continued exercise of the position could affect the impartial conduct of disciplinary procedures;
• 2. if the disciplinary procedure is likely to seriously damage the prestige of justice.

“Analyzing the reasons cited by the Judicial Inspection in formulating the proposal for suspension from office, the Section noted that, in the present case, no elements of the nature of those that can be circumscribed to the cases regulated by the law have been identified”, says the Superior Council of the Magistracy .

The judges of the CSM claim that the rejection of the suspension proposal does not affect the further development of the disciplinary procedure in the case of the judge, and the disciplinary investigation “is not likely to harm the prestige of justice”.

What CSM says:

• “With reference to the first case that allows for the measure of suspension, the Section held that the continued exercise of the position by Judge Popoviciu Ioana Ancuța is not likely to affect the impartiality of the disciplinary procedure towards her.
• Thus, the aspects presented in the public space were aimed at criticism of the manner in which the judge conducted the judicial investigation in a criminal case, for which there are other procedural remedies. Also, the aspects regarding the violation of the rules of criminal procedure can also be invoked through the formulation of legal appeals and can be relevant for establishing the guilt of the judge in the case of exercising a disciplinary action.
• With reference to the second case that allows the measure of suspension, the Section held that the disciplinary procedure, by itself, is not likely to affect the prestige of justice, its role being, on the contrary, that of sanctioning non-compliant conduct precisely for the purpose to contribute to ensuring the prestige of justice.
• The section also noted the fact that up to this point no disciplinary action has been taken against Judge Popoviciu Ioana Ancuța, although the president of the Superior Council of the Magistracy ordered, as early as 23.02.2024, the notification of the Judicial Inspection to carry out legal checks regarding to the issues revealed in the press on February 22 and 23, 2024.
• The rejection of the suspension proposal does not affect the further development of the disciplinary procedure against the concerned judge, being within the competence of the Judicial Inspection the legal prerogative to exercise the disciplinary action if it considers that the legal conditions are met”.

Upon leaving the CSM, the judge sat in front of the journalists for 70 seconds, without saying anything

On Wednesday, upon leaving the CSM, the judge remained for 70 seconds in front of the journalists who asked her questions, without answering or leaving, according to the images broadcast by Antena 3.

The Judicial Inspection announced, on March 16, that it had sent a proposal to the Superior Council of the Magistracy to suspend judge Ioana Ancuța Popoviciu from the judiciary.

“The judicial inspectors assessed that the continued exercise of the function by the judge could affect the impartial conduct of the disciplinary procedures and would be likely to seriously damage the prestige of the judiciary”, it was stated in a press release of the Judicial Inspection.

The decision was taken after, at the first term, the judge asked if Sebastian Olariu, the boy killed in the accident, was also in the room.

Then, Sebastian Olariu’s father left the court crying, saying that the judge would have asked, in the courtroom, “where is Sebastian” and asked for the boy’s report: “I have never felt anything like this in my life, I have never seen such a judge. He wanted his bulletin (no – the bulletin of Sebastian Olariu, the boy who died in the accident)”. The Judicial Inspection then announced that it had self-referred to the case of the judge.

Who is the magistrate who judges the trial of Vlad Pascu

According to her CV, Ancuța Ioana Popoviciu graduated in 2006 from the Faculty of Legal Sciences of the University of Oradea, then pursued a master’s degree in Private Law. He became a judge in 2011, when he joined the Ineu Court (Arad County), where he worked until 2022. Since then, he has been a judge at the Mangalia Court.

In 2023, the judge was targeted by an action by the Judicial Inspection, being sanctioned with a warning by the Section for judges of the Superior Council of the Magistracy (CSM), wrote Ziua de Constanța.

The judge was sanctioned for “exercising the position with serious negligence”, more precisely for the violation of art. 271 letter s) thesis II referred to art. 272 paragraph (2) of the law on the status of judges and prosecutors:

• “exercise of the function with serious negligence” / “there is serious negligence when the judge or prosecutor negligently disregards, in a serious, undoubted and inexcusable way, the norms of material or procedural law”.

The accident took place on August 19, 2023, on DN 39, near the town of Vama Veche, after Vlad Pascu drove into a group of eight young people who were walking on the side of the road. Roberta Marina Dragomir (20 years old) and Sebastian Andrei Olariu (21 years old), both being students at the Faculty of Geography of the University of Bucharest, died on the spot. Three other youths were injured.

The accident revealed shocking details. Vlad Pascu had been stopped by the police twice – the day before the tragedy, at a filter, and the same night. He was allowed to leave the police station without being drug tested even though drugs were found in his car and the car did not have valid RCA insurance. Less than an hour later, Vlad Pascu caused the accident.

READ ALSO: