The astonishing case of Germaine Berton, who was acquitted on
Wednesday, December 26th, of the murder of M. Plateau, the journalist on L'Action Francaise, to which she fully admitted, is an event of some importance. It is another example of the already constantly exem- plified fact that the jury of a French Court of Justice never feels itself bound to express an opinion as to whether a person is guilty or innocent according to the legal meaning of those words, but merely expresses its decision as to whether he or she should in this particular instance be punished or not. This attitude is, of course, utterly opposed to all Anglo-Saxon conceptions of justice. It seems difficult to suppose that such incidents are not detrimental to the stability of French society, but it is unwise to dogmatize about a foreign country. Perhaps France can afford such legal vagaries.
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