Although the judge braced himself for a grueling battle, the marijuana case ended in minutes.
The defendant was caught in his parents’ home with 7.5 ounces of marijuana, and the judge was ready for the prosecution to try him as an adult since he was 18 years old and may technically be liable under adult law.
But the district attorney said he plans to hear the case under German youth law.
That gave Judge Andreas Müller an opportunity. Presiding over the courtroom in a traditional black robe and white tie, he immediately dismissed the case, citing a youth court statute that encourages rehabilitation rather than punishment.
“Maybe one day, when you have the opportunity to learn how to be a competent entrepreneur, you can become an entrepreneur in the cannabis business,” Mr. Müller told the defendant, sparking laughter. giggles in the courtroom in Bernau bei Berlin, a picturesque little community north of the German capital. The defendant, Justin H., whose last name is protected by Germany’s strict privacy laws, was too stunned to react beyond nodding.
Judge Müller is well known in Germany for his relentless criticism of laws that criminalize marijuana possession. Often in a clear angry voice, he argued against German cannabis laws in numerous televised discussions; at pro-cannabis rallies; In a book; and even in a rap videos, all while serving as an active judge. In his courtroom, where he primarily hears juvenile cases but also adult cases, he has repeatedly brought small possession cases.
“I am very angry when I see so many young people being detained and convicted of crimes just because they use marijuana and not alcohol,” he said during a smoking break at the busy municipal courthouse. by Bernau.
Part of his anger comes from the frequency of cannabis arrests — 181,000 for possession or small use by 2021 — and the billions of euros spent enforcing what he calls the law. “absurd” against being high.
In 2020, Judge Müller wrote his first complaint to Germany’s highest constitutional court, asking it to repeal the cannabis law. Other judges have followed suit, and the court is currently considering 10 drug cases submitted by three different courts in Germany.
Rapper GReeN, 33, who often sings about cannabis, said: “For young people like us, it’s inspiring to have someone from the older generation as a judge, defending something that’s right. may go against the conventional wisdom. “It’s important – we need people like him to change.”
GReeN, whose real name is Pasquale Denefleh, knew the judge from a video they did together. The judge, playing himself, raps about the evils of marijuana bans. “Smoking weed is not a crime; Smoking marijuana is normal,” he sings.
The German government has begun siding with the judge in the cannabis debate just as the judge, 61, is due to retire.
In mid-April, Karl Lauterbach, the country’s health minister, presented a plan to legalize cannabis for personal use; In the coming months, a more comprehensive plan that will eventually legalize and tax the sale of cannabis is expected to be proposed.
After years under a conservative government, the new centre-left coalition led by Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrats, has signaled that the proposal is likely to be approved. this, which would make Germany the first European country to not only own, but also possess. The public sale of marijuana is not only legalized, but legalized.
Although changes to the law would have occurred without his help, Judge Müller and others believe he played a small role in the overhaul.
Ates Gürpinar, a member of Parliament and spokesman for drug policy, said: “It is fair to say that he is credited with pointing out that the demands for reform are not only coming from the cannabis community but also from the cannabis community. even from an older point of view. -left Die Linke Party, which supports legalization of marijuana.
Before the coalition’s latest plan was announced, Judge Müller had threatened to organize street protests to put pressure on the government.
That belligerence is part of the judge’s style.
“Because of his rough edges, he was not only famous but also feared,” says Mr. Gürpinar. “He will bombard everything even when he knows it could upset potential allies.”
Judges in Germany hold a great deal of power in their courtroom, but with a few exceptions — such as a judge arrested for participating in a plot to overthrow the federal government December last year – they tend to stay out of political conflict.
Not so Judge Müller, who is frequently controversial on Twitter, where he has 60,000 followers. He is also deputy director of the German chapter of LEAP, or Law Enforcement Action Association, a cannabis advocacy group run by law enforcement officials, lawyers and politicians.
Some law enforcement officials said the judge did not adequately separate his active work from his day job. In 2020, the local district attorney’s office filed a petition asking him not to hear marijuana cases. Ricarda Böhme, a prosecutor, said in an interview that with “an objective view of his public statements” the judge “wasn’t able to make an objective decision” about the allegations. such problem.
But a higher court has ruled for the judge and he can continue to hear those cases.
Judge Müller was born in the town of Meppen in Lower Saxony. His father, traumatized by his experience as an 18-year-old soldier during the Second World War, committed suicide by drinking alcohol when the judge was 11 years old. His brother was in prison for drugs and died young. Judge Müller was the first member of his extended family to graduate from high school.
“It was a gift for my mother,” he says of his career choice.
Starting as a judge in Bernau in 1997, Judge Müller belongs to a generation of judges from the former West Germany to the former East Germany to help modernize and democratize the judicial system after the fall of communism.
For all the leniency he has shown in the cannabis trials, he has a reputation for being an uncompromising judge in other cases.
“I put quite a few people in jail,” he said. A tabloid began calling him “The Cruel Judge” until he threatened legal action.
Before being known for advocating cannabis, Judge Müller scared off the youth of the far right with his aggressive stance on prosecuting neo-Nazis.
For a time, he claimed a specific pair of shoes worn by German neo-Nazi skinheads as an identification mark – Dr. Martens – a weapon in his courtroom, forcing guests and witnesses in boots to appear in his courtroom. sock. He issued conditional sentences that forced right-wing youth to visit mosques and share meals with immigrants from inner-city districts. He had people visit concentration camps and write essays. He was sentenced to prison for his first offenses.
Hasso Suliak, lawyer and editor of Legal Tribune Online, said: “He is an activist in some ways and has been committed to drug liberal policies for many years, but When it comes to other offenses, he is also known as a stern and uncompromising judge. a German legal news site who has followed the trials of Judge Müller.
All of this has made the judge at least a minor celebrity, especially in Bernau bei Berlin. A recent busy day of trial in Bernau had to be adjourned because Judge Müller heard that a local electrician wanted to see him.
When he found his fan, he handed him his latest business card: a cigarette wrapper with the judge’s picture on one side and the words “legalize it” on the other.
