When news broke about the string of text messages between Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court Judge Ronit Poznanski-Katz and Israel Securities Authority investigator Eran Shaham-Shavit, which suggested the two had coordinated arraignment proceedings in Case 4,000 involving corruption allegations against the prime minister, many were appalled – and rightfully so. But those privy to the inner workings of the legal system, particularly with respect to arraignments, know that is simply how the system works.
The system is flawed and at time things verge on the illegal, but in a week or two, after lawmakers sacrifice Poznanski-Katz and Shaham-Shavit's careers for the sake of restoring balance, the judiciary will bounce back from this scandal.
Hopefully, this will put an end to this texting culture or at the very least, make those texting look over their shoulder to make sure there are no TV cameras around.
The Israeli detention method is, to put it simply, a bad one. Until such time as an indictment is filed, the suspects' lawyers are kept in the dark, making the court their eyes and ears. More often than not, it seems the police exaggerate when motioning for a suspect to be remanded to custody to ensure the ruling provides them with the number of days they really need.
When it comes to arraignment hearings, the police make all the rules. Often, police officers will stop by the presiding judges' chambers beforehand to present them with their findings and – since they're already there – give the judges an ex parte briefing, even though the law prohibits them from speaking with the judge before the hearing.
In high-profile cases, the judges are often familiar with the details of the case before arrests are even made, as they are the ones who issue search, seizure and arrests warrants in these cases.
"In the course of a covert investigation, a connection is often formed between the police officers seeking warrants and the judge issuing them," a former senior police officer told Israel Hayom.
"By the time an investigation like Case 4,000 reaches its overt stages, we're talking about boxes and boxes of evidentiary material, which can easily take up all of an arraignment judge's time – and they hear dozens of cases a day.
"This is why many times, apart from the case file itself and the clandestine report investigators give the judges, they also brief them on the progress of the investigation and grounds for arrest. They're not supposed to do that, but it often actually helps the suspects, who can argue for fewer days in custody," he said.
The majority of cases brought before arraignment judges involve violent crimes, sexually based offenses, and property crimes. This makes for something of "conveyor belt" proceedings that simply move forward throughout the day.
Poznanski-Katz was an arraignment judge for a year and a half and, unlike other judges, her rulings were never thought of as being a rubber stamp for police motions. On the contrary, many of the cases she heard saw her level harsh criticism at the police.
As their dockets are overflowing, many arraignment judges are admonished by the police if investigators feel they are too lenient and set to many suspects free.
"I found myself before the president of the court more than one to protest the fact that some judges let all the suspects go," one former police investigator said. "It wasn't to terrorize a specific judge, just to make them read the case files more carefully and note the evidence, even though they don't have much time to do so.
"Let's just say that after this type of conversation you can notice a difference. Many times, I would instruct officers to schedule an arraignment in the evening, when the judges have more time to study the case," he said.
Law enforcement officials agreed Monday that the texts caught on camera made the judiciary look bad, but they stressed that reality is completely different, saying the public should not buy the media spin promoted by politicians who know little about the things of which they speak. Still, the consensus is that even if the system is not perfect, Poznanski-Katz and Shaham-Shavit simply went too far.
