Three Supreme Court judges who convicted former Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz delivered paid lectures in a course organized by the Madrid Bar Association, which acted as prosecution in the trial. The course started one day after the trial ended and overlapped with sentencing deliberations. The Bar Association has defended the practice as routine and transparent.
The magistrates Andrés Martínez Arrieta, Juan Ramón Berdugo, and Antonio del Moral, who endorsed the conviction of Álvaro García Ortiz, took part in the 'Casación and Special Turn Course' by the Madrid Bar Association (ICAM). This course, required for of counsel duty in cassation appeals, began on November 14, 2024, one day after the court closed arguments, and ended on November 25.
Martínez Arrieta, the tribunal's president, delivered a two-hour lecture on November 18 about criminal cassation. Berdugo presented a four-hour session on November 19 on cassation appeal modalities. Del Moral, the course director, gave two lectures on November 17 about procedures and appeals. Payment was 90 euros per hour: 180 euros for Martínez Arrieta, 360 euros for Berdugo, and 360 euros for Del Moral, plus 270 euros extra for coordination, totaling 630 euros for the latter.
The ICAM, which filed the first complaint against the Prosecutor's Office for disclosing details about Alberto González Amador, partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and sought four years in prison for García Ortiz, organized the event. Supreme Court sources noted that such professional training collaborations are exempt from incompatibility rules and fulfill an ethical duty to train duty lawyers. Over 60 lawyers enrolled, each paying 175 euros.
In response, the ICAM issued a statement calling judges' involvement in teaching 'routine, normalized, and transparent,' with speakers chosen for merit and expertise. They mentioned that figures like Teresa Peramato, nominated as new Attorney General, have participated in past editions. Judicial sources emphasized that Del Moral has coordinated the course for years, involving speakers from various courts.