The West German Supreme Court at Karlshruhe yesterday ordered a new trial for Rabbi Aron Ohrenstein, one-time Chief Rabbi of Bavaria, who was convicted of fraud by a Munich court which held him guilty of false certification of indemnification claims by DP’s.
The Supreme Court ordered a change of venue for the trial, and set his trial before an Augsberg court. The new trial will have no effect on the original findings of the court. Dr. Ohrenstein’s attorneys complained, and were upheld by the Supreme Court, that a Munich judge who disqualified himself after being challenged by the defense as a former Nazi, had handpicked the judge who did try Dr. Ohrenstein, rather than assigning the next judge on the calendar. This, Dr. Ohrenstein’s attorneys charged, had deprived the defendant of his “lawful judge.”
A month ago, while considering the appeal, the Supreme Court took an unprecedented action in ordering Dr. Ohrenstein released from jail pending its decision.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
