Italian proposal would stall some cases

ROME, June 18 (UPI) -- A judges group Wednesday warned about 100,000 criminal trials would be halted in Italy if a proposal is OK'd to fast-track trials for serious crimes.

Under the Senate-approved measure, trials for to crimes committed before June 30, 2002, would be suspended for a year, excluding those where the defendant could receive a jail sentence of more than 10 years, ANSA reported.

The National Magistrates' Association said the proposal would mean ''chaos without precedent'' for the justice system.

Cases connected to the Mafia or workplace accidents would also be exempt, the news agency said.

Proponents say the plan would help unclog the nation's court system, while critics say it is aimed at helping Premier Silvio Berlusconi get out of an ongoing corruption scandal.

Berlusconi is accused of paying British corporate lawyer David Mills $600,000 for not revealing details of his media empire in previous Berlusconi trials.

Democratic Party Senate Whip Anna Finocchiaro, who led the Senate walk-out to protest the plan. She said the so-called "premier-saving" amendment meant that the opposition would no longer work with the government.

''Maybe Berlusconi will manage to avoid being sentenced, but he has without a doubt let slip a great opportunity to renew Italy,'' she said.