A top prosecutor has sharply criticized Judge Juan Carlos Peinado for pushing the Begoña Gómez case forward at breakneck speed, leaving defense lawyers scrambling and raising questions about fairness in high-profile Spanish legal proceedings.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado called a key preliminary hearing in the Begoña Gómez case with barely a day's warning. The move set off a storm. Prosecutor José Manuel San Baldomero fired back, calling the judge's rush both unusual and unacceptable. He said the defense was left out and lawyers had no real chance to respond.
Peinado retired just days after this push. Before stepping down, he tried to move the case against Begoña Gómez—wife of a well-known political figure—toward trial. Defense teams scrambled. Jaime Campaner, Gómez's new lawyer, had to drop everything and fly from Barcelona to Madrid. A local court canceled his other hearings so he could make it. The hearing started 45 minutes late. Campaner barely made it from the airport.
Judge Peinado signed the order to open an oral trial with a jury for Begoña Gómez on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement just before his retirement, as confirmed by RTVE and Democrata.
The rush hit others too. Cristina Álvarez, an aide at La Moncloa who also faces charges, was in Miami and could not attend. Her lawyer, José María de Pablo, asked for a delay. He said Álvarez would not return until September 28. Peinado said no. The hearing went ahead. De Pablo appealed, but the judge dismissed it right before retiring, according to legal sources.
San Baldomero put his criticism in writing on September 20. He said this kind of speed is not normal in Spanish courts. He accused the judge of pushing past reasonable limits and ignoring the needs of the lawyers. The prosecutor pointed out that the tight schedule forced "intense and fortunate" travel—his way of describing Campaner's mad dash across Spain.
Still, San Baldomero did not back the defense's call to throw out the hearing. He admitted the defense had reason to be frustrated. But he argued Spanish law does not require the accused to be present at this stage. He also said the law expects hearings to happen as soon as possible. Waiting for Álvarez to return, he wrote, would have been hard to justify with September deadlines looming.
According to RTVE and Democrata, the case originated from a complaint by the Manos Limpias union and was under investigation for nearly two and a half years before reaching this stage. The next phase will be handled by the Audiencia Provincial de Madrid, which must set a trial date and select a jury—a process that could take 4 to 8 months, with some legal experts suggesting hearings might be postponed until the end of 2027.
This case shows the clash between speed and fairness in high-profile trials. When a judge puts speed first, the risk is more than just hassle. It can make the process look unfair. That shakes trust in the courts. San Baldomero's blunt criticism is rare. Even inside the justice system, there are limits to how fast things should go. In Spain, where court cases often crawl, Peinado's rush stands out. Not in a good way.
