Knox, Sollecito judge rapped but disciplinary case shelved

Interviews 'inappropriate' but no sanctions taken

(ANSA) - Rome, April 16 - The Italian judiciary's self-governing body, the CSM, on Wednesday formally shelved a disciplinary case against a Florence judge who broke Italian legal convention by giving press interviews after heading a panel that in February convicted Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito of the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher. But, as in the past, the CSM rapped Judge Alessandro Nencini's comments to the press as being out of line with conduct expected from the judiciary. The CSM called the interviews "inappropriate". But it unanimously ruled that it was an isolated incident and there were insufficient grounds for a transfer or other disciplinary measures.

In Italy, judges usually only talk about their verdicts via written explanations published at least a month after they are handed down. But Nencini, the head of the panel that sentenced Sollecito to 25 years and American citizen Knox to 28 and a half years at the repeat of the appeals-level trial, gave three interviews to different newspapers that were published February 1.

As a result, Nencini was accused of being biased. One of the most controversial aspects was that in one of the interviews, Nencini seemed to suggest that the fact Sollecito had not allowed himself to be cross-examined had damaged his chances of getting off.

The judge told a CSM panel in March that he had not given interviews but had rather spoken in passing to reporters at the courthouse. He also denied saying the murder was the result of "kid's play" gone wrong, or expressing an opinion on Sollecito's defense strategy.