Case study
Final acquittal of Grzegorz Wojtera – Mayor of the Suchy Las Municipality
The Client
The law firm’s client, Grzegorz Wojtera, who has continuously held the office of Mayor of the Suchy Las Municipality since 1998, was charged with abuse of authority and causing significant damage to municipal property. The court proceedings commenced in December 2021 and concerned lease agreements for two plots of land (intended for the Octopus water park and a car park in Biedrusko), as well as the construction of a branch of the Primary School in Suchy Las. The defence demonstrated that, in undertaking all of these initiatives, Mayor Wojtera did not act to the detriment of the municipality and exercised due care in managing public finances. Three charges were brought against Grzegorz Wojtera, each of which was successfully rebutted by the defence. In March 2023, the Regional Court in Poznań delivered a judgment acquitting him in full, against which the public prosecutor lodged an appeal. In January 2024, the Court of Appeal in Poznań upheld the acquittal of Grzegorz Wojtera in respect of all the alleged offences. The judgment is final, thereby bringing the proceedings, which had lasted several years, to a close.
Specialisation:
The challenge
The task of the defence team was to demonstrate that the Mayor neither exceeded nor abused his powers, including in the area of public finances, and to prove the legitimacy of the adopted methods for implementing the investments, in the context of the municipality’s economic situation and the necessity to perform its statutory duties, namely meeting the needs of its residents. An additional challenge was to challenge the expert opinion prepared in the case, which formed the basis for the indictment brought by the public prosecutor.
The Result
The Mayor was acquitted by the Regional Court in Poznań, and the judgment was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal in Poznań. In both sets of proceedings, the Mayor was represented by the defence team of SMM Legal.
Challenging an expert opinion in the field of accounting and finance that was unfavourable to the client and constituted the basis for the charges. During two hearings before the court, the expert withdrew from the conclusions previously presented.
Obtaining favourable witness testimony of key relevance to the case, in particular with regard to the legitimacy of the investments and their importance for the municipality’s residents. In the proceedings, 57 witnesses were examined.
Obtaining a professorial opinion challenging the conclusions of the court-appointed expert regarding the legal nature of the agreements entered into by the Mayor.
The court’s dismissal of further evidentiary motions submitted by the public prosecutor, in particular the motion to obtain a supplementary expert opinion concerning additional calculations relating to the alleged damage purportedly incurred by the municipality in connection with the construction of the school.
