Judicial investigation

Defense before the investigating judge: +33 1 87 66 00 48

The investigating judge has just opened a judicial investigation against you. You will be summoned for a first-appearance interrogation, a confrontation, or a hearing as témoin assisté. This investigation phase will determine the entire direction of the proceedings: requalification, dismissal, referral to the correctional court, or indictment before the assize court.

The investigation is an in-depth inquiry led by an independent investigating magistrate who looks for evidence both for and against the defense. The procedure can last several months or years and requires a technical, rigorous and combative defense at every step.

Mr. Charles Bruguière, criminal defense attorney at the Paris Bar, appears before the investigating judges of Paris and the Île-de-France region to defend you during mise en examen, request exculpatory investigative acts, challenge expert reports, raise procedural nullities and argue for your release or for a dismissal.

What is a judicial investigation?

The judicial investigation (information judiciaire) is an in-depth inquiry led by an independent investigating magistrate, the investigating judge, who has wide investigative powers to gather evidence and establish the truth.

When is the investigation mandatory?

Opening a judicial investigation is mandatory in two situations:

• For all crimes (offenses punishable by criminal imprisonment)
• Where a minor is implicated in an offense (with limited exceptions)

For offenses committed by adults, the investigation is optional. The prosecutor decides to open one when the case is complex, requires long inquiries (expert reports, international rogatory commissions, wiretaps), or raises significant legal issues.

Opening the investigation

The investigation is opened by an introductory indictment from the public prosecutor seizing the investigating judge. The judge can also be seized by a complaint with civil-party application filed directly by the victim where the prosecutor has dropped the case or failed to act within 3 months.

Learn more about general criminal law

Mise en examen: status and consequences

Mise en examen is the legal act by which the investigating judge formally notifies a person that serious or corroborating evidence makes their participation in the offense plausible.

Conditions for mise en examen

The investigating judge may only place a person under mise en examen where two cumulative conditions are met:

• There exists serious or corroborating evidence making the person's participation plausible
• Mise en examen is indispensable to establishing the truth or preserving evidence

First-appearance interrogation

Mise en examen takes place at a first-appearance interrogation during which the investigating judge:

• Verifies your identity and informs you of your right to a lawyer
• Notifies you of the alleged facts and their precise legal characterization
• Informs you of your right to remain silent or to make statements
• Formally places you under mise en examen for specific facts
• Rules on your placement in pretrial detention or under judicial supervision

You have a minimum 24-hour period between summons and interrogation so your lawyer can review the file. In the event of deferment, you are brought before the judge immediately after police custody ends without the benefit of this period.

Rights of the person under mise en examen

From the moment of mise en examen, you enjoy extensive procedural rights:

• Mandatory assistance of a lawyer at every investigative act
• Right of access to the investigation file through your lawyer
• Right to request exculpatory investigative acts (hearings, expert reports, confrontations)
• Right to challenge the validity of investigative acts before the investigating chamber
• Right to request release or modification of your judicial supervision
• Right to appeal the investigating judge's orders
• Right to request a dismissal where the evidence is insufficient

Learn more about pretrial detention

Status of témoin assisté

The témoin assisté (assisted witness) is an intermediate status between simple witness and person under mise en examen, designed to protect those against whom evidence is insufficient to justify mise en examen.

Who can be a témoin assisté?

The investigating judge must grant témoin assisté status in two situations:

• You are named in the introductory indictment or in the civil-party complaint, but no serious or corroborating evidence exists against you
• You request to be heard as témoin assisté (and the judge agrees)

Rights of the témoin assisté

The témoin assisté enjoys rights similar to those of the person under mise en examen:

• Mandatory assistance of a lawyer during hearings
• Access to the file through their lawyer
• Right to request investigative acts
• Right to remain silent
• Protection from mise en examen for the same facts (absent new evidence)

Unlike a person under mise en examen, a témoin assisté cannot be placed in pretrial detention or under judicial supervision.

Investigative acts

The investigating judge has very wide investigative powers to gather evidence and establish the truth. They may carry out, or have carried out, any investigative act they deem useful.

Interrogations and confrontations

The investigating judge may interrogate you as many times as deemed necessary. These interrogations are always with your lawyer present. The judge may also organize confrontations between you and witnesses, victims, or co-defendants to clarify contradictions.

Expert reports

The investigating judge frequently orders technical expert reports:

• Medical or psychiatric reports (mental state, criminal responsibility, dangerousness)
• Accounting and financial reports (fraud, misuse of corporate assets, money laundering)
• Technical reports (ballistics, DNA, toxicology, IT)
• Personality reports (psychological and social evaluation)

Your lawyer may attend expert operations, put questions to the expert, and request a counter-expert report where the findings are unfavorable to you.

Searches and seizures

The investigating judge may order searches at your home, your workplace, or any place likely to contain evidence. These must comply with strict rules (legal hours, presence of witnesses, adversarial record). Any irregularity may lead to the search and all resulting evidence being annulled.

Wiretaps and surveillance

For offenses punishable by at least 3 years' imprisonment, the investigating judge may order wiretaps, geolocation of your car or phone, or extended surveillance. These measures are time-limited (4 months maximum, renewable).

The lawyer's role during the investigation

File access and in-depth analysis

From the moment of your mise en examen, Mr. Bruguière reviews the entire investigation file at the investigating judge's clerk office. This allows him to:

• Examine every element for and against the defense
• Analyze the witness and co-defendant interview records
• Study expert reports and technical elements
• Identify procedural flaws and irregularities
• Build a defense strategy fitted to the file

Requests for exculpatory acts

The lawyer actively requests exculpatory investigative acts from the investigating judge:

• Hearings of witnesses favorable to your defense
• Additional expert reports or counter-expert reports
• Confrontations with prosecution witnesses or co-defendants
• Technical inquiries (DNA analysis, IT reports)
• Material verifications at the scene of the offense

Challenging irregular acts

Mr. Bruguière systematically raises all procedural nullities and irregularities:

• Nullity of police custody (breach of rights, unlawful extension)
• Nullity of searches (irregular hours, no witnesses)
• Nullity of wiretaps (no reasoning, time limits exceeded)
• Nullity of expert reports (incompetent or biased expert)
• Nullity of interviews (breach of defense rights)

Closing the investigation: the judge's orders

At the end of the investigation, the investigating judge issues a closing order that determines the final orientation of your file.

Dismissal order (non-lieu)

Where the evidence is insufficient or your innocence is established, the investigating judge issues a dismissal order. This decision definitively ends the prosecution for the facts covered by the investigation. Mr. Bruguière actively seeks a dismissal where the file allows, by filing reasoned briefs and arguing before the investigating chamber if necessary.

Referral to the correctional court

Where the evidence is sufficient and the facts constitute an offense, the investigating judge refers you to the correctional court. The order sets out the legal characterization adopted and specifies the facts on which you will be tried.

Indictment before the assize court

Where the facts constitute a crime, the investigating judge issues an indictment order referring you to the assize court. This order is necessarily submitted to the investigating chamber, which checks the regularity of the procedure and the strength of the accusation.

Learn more about the assize court

Appeal before the investigating chamber

The main decisions that can be appealed before the investigating chamber:

• Mise en examen order
• Placement in pretrial detention
• Refusal of release
• Refusal of investigative acts requested by the defense
• Referral to the correctional court
• Dismissal order (appeal by prosecution or civil party)

Mr. Bruguière files appeals within the statutory deadlines (generally 10 days) and argues before the investigating chamber to overturn unfavorable decisions.

Why choose Mr. Bruguière for the investigation phase?

Expertise in complex investigation procedures

Mr. Bruguière regularly appears before investigating judges across the country in complex offense and crime cases. This deep experience allows him to master every procedural subtlety of the investigation and to anticipate the magistrate's strategy.

Technical and combative defense

Judicial investigation requires an active and rigorous defense at every stage. The firm systematically requests all exculpatory investigative acts, challenges every procedural irregularity, and argues actively for the most suitable security measures.

Continuous file follow-up

An investigation can last months or even years. The firm maintains constant follow-up of your file, regularly consults its progress, and keeps steady pressure on the investigating judge to advance exculpatory acts and speed up closure.

Related practice areas: assize court · pretrial detention · general criminal law.