Erich Schmidt-Leichner

Dr. Erich Schmidt-Leichner (October 14, 1910–March 17, 1983) was a German lawyer who made a name as a distinguished defense counsel at the Nuremberg Trials. In 1978, he was a defense counsel in the "Klingenberg Case", where a married couple were accused of negligent homicide for failing to call a medical doctor during an exorcism of their daughter. In this case, Schmidt-Leichner unsuccessfully claimed that exorcism was legal as the German constitution protects citizens in the unrestricted exercise of their religious beliefs.

Klingenberg case

The Klingenberg case is a courtroom case involving the trial of two priests and the parents of Anneliese Michel. They were charged with negligent homicide for failing to call a medical doctor when they believed their daughter was possessed by demons and for allowing her to starve after she had been diagnosed with grand mal epilepsy and depression by a neurologist from the Psychiatric Clinic of Wurzburg.

The trial started on March 30, 1978, at the Landgericht ("district court") Aschaffenburg. The prosecution claimed Anneliese's epilepsy was related to mental health problems causing hallucinations and delusions that took on religious meaning due to the beliefs of Anneliese, her family and her priests. The priests had attempted to exorcise Anneliese repeatedly but her symptoms continued. The defendants were ultimately found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to six months on probation.

The case has been adopted into two films. The first was the 2005 movie "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", by Scott Derrickson. A German-language film called "Requiem", by Hans-Christian Schmid, was released in 2006 and stays truer to the real-life events.

Bibliography

* Erich Schmidt-Leichner, "Unrechtsbewusstsein und Irrtum in ihrer Bedeutung für den Vorsatz im Strafrecht", Breslau-Neukirch, 1935.
* "Festschrift Für Erich Schmidt-Leichner Zum 65. Geburtstag", ed. Rainer Hamm, Walter Matzke "et al." 1977.

External links

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Persondata
NAME = Schmidt-Leichner, Erich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = German lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH = October 14, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH = Berlin
DATE OF DEATH = March 17, 1983
PLACE OF DEATH =