Key legal question
Whether the complainant was entitled to free legal counsel in the cantonal criminal appeal proceedings.
Extracted holding
No. The case was neither complex nor onerous, and the complainant could adequately protect his interests without counsel.
Extracted reasoning
The court held that free legal representation is only necessary when required to safeguard rights. In an ordinary dismissal appeal arising from a verbal neighborhood dispute, a 60-year-old German-speaking complainant without substantiated health or language problems could present his claims, including moral damages, himself.