The lawyer did not put up with this and obtained a conviction for slander, against which the woman defended herself with a constitutional complaint, claiming that her fundamental right to freedom of expression had been violated. In Germany, unlike in Italy, anyone who has used all legal remedies and feels that a fundamental right has been violated can appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court did not accept the complaint for formal reasons, but did not refrain from labelling the decisions made to the detriment of the complainant as incorrect.

The courts had “lost sight” of the fact that in the “fight for justice” it is generally permissible “to use particularly strong and forceful expressions to emphasize legal positions and concerns”. This was not sufficiently taken into account when examining an offence.