Carlo Biotti (1901 – 10 December 1977) was an Italian

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, the President of the Court of Milan and a Magistrate of the

Supreme Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

. His forced recusal from the case brought by the widow of

Giuseppe Pinelli Giuseppe "Pino" Pinelli (21 October 1928 – 15 December 1969) was an Italian railroad worker and anarchist, who died while being detained by the ''Polizia di Stato'' in 1969. Pinelli was a member of the Milan-based anarchist association named ...

against the police commissioner

Luigi Calabresi Luigi Calabresi (14 November 1937 – 17 May 1972) was an Italian ''Polizia di Stato'' officer in Milan. Responsible for investigating far-left political movements, Calabresi was assassinated in 1972 by members of ''Lotta Continua'', who blamed ...

in 1971 became a ''

cause célèbre A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...

''. Biotti was the

presiding judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, the ...

in the case brought by the widow of

against the police commissioner

. Calabresi had led the investigation into the

Piazza Fontana bombing The Piazza Fontana bombing () was a terrorist attack that occurred on 12 December 1969 when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura (the National Agricultural Bank) in Piazza Fontana (near the ''Duomo'') in Mil ...

. Pinelli died in mysterious circumstances during a police interrogation following the bombing. On 27 May 1971, Biotti was

recused Recusal is the legal process by which a judge, juror, or other adjudicator steps aside from participating in a case due to potential bias, conflict of interest, or appearance of impropriety. This practice is fundamental to ensuring fairness and ...

at the request of Calabresi's lawyer, who claimed that in a private conversation Biotti had admitted that for career reasons he had already formed an opinion on the case.De Luna, Giovanni (2009)
''Le ragioni di un decennio: 1969–1979; Militanza, violenza, sconfitta, memoria''
(in Italian). Milan: Feltrinelli. .De Rosa, Giuseppe (6 February 1972)
I problemi della giustizia in Italia
(in Italian). ''La Civiltà Cattolica'' 2919: 271–282. It was a claim that Biotti vehemently denied. Calabresi's attorney sought the recusal when Biotti ordered that Pinelli's body be exhumed. Neither Biotti nor his two fellow judges were convinced that Pinelli had died from falling from the police station window. His forced recusal not only prevented the exhumation of Pinelli's body, but delayed the investigation for two years. Biotti fought for years to clear his name and in November 1974 was completely exonerated by the Court of Florence.''

L'Unità (; English: "the Unity") is an Italian newspaper, founded as the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1924. It was supportive of that party's successor parties, the Democratic Party of the Left, Democrats of the Left, a ...

'' (17 November 1974)
"Il giudice Biotti assolto a Firenze con formula piena"
/ref> He died three years later at the age of 76. In the 2012 film '' Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy'', the character of Carlo Biotti is played by Bob Marchese. From 1964 Biotti was also a director of

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

.Carlo Biotti
magliarossonera.it

References

Further reading