Criminal sentencing: Obligation to consider cumulative "cut-off effect" of prior judgment on total sentence

The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) fourth Criminal Senate rejected the defendant's revision against a judgment of the Bielefeld District Court, upholding the lower court's conviction and sentencing while ordering the defendant to bear the costs of the legal remedy. The dispute concerned a criminal appeal where the defendant challenged the sentencing, noting that the Landgericht had erroneously failed to consider the "cut-off effect" (Zäsurwirkung) of a prior 2023 municipal court judgment, which mandated the formation of two cumulative sentences under German criminal law principles. Although the BGH acknowledged this procedural error in the sentencing framework, it held that the error did not result in a legal disadvantage to the defendant, as it excluded the possibility that the lower court would have imposed milder penalties even with correct consideration of the cumulative sentencing obligations, rendering the revision unfounded under § 349 Abs. 2 StPO.