1970-01-01 02:00:00
Luis Felipe Salomão, Minister of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and National Justice Inspector, determined the initiation of a procedure to investigate the performance of Marcelo Malucelli, a judge from Paraná who is part of the Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region.
As has already been written here, Malucelli decided to suspend a decision by Judge Eduardo Appio, of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, and, by doing so, in practice, restored a preventive detention decree that existed against lawyer Rodrigo Tacla Duran. The measure had been revoked in the wake of a decision by Ricardo Lewandowski, then Minister of the STF, who suspended two criminal actions against Duran for procedural defects.
I always understood, and I drew your attention here, that Malucelli’s decision was illegal because a lower court judge (TRF-4) would, in practice, undo a higher court decision.
Besides, something strange happened, didn’t it? TRF-4 itself reported on its page, with quotes from Malucelli’s dispatch, that Tacla Duran’s preventive detention was back in effect. Then the text disappeared — but it could be recovered from the “cache”, as I reported here. When such a decision was made public, Appio sent a question to the judge: which instance should issue the arrest warrant? The 13th Federal Court or the TRF-4?
And behold, Malucelli preferred to respond to Rosa Weber, president of the STF, stating, surprisingly, that there was no preventive detention against Duran. Well, the court he is part of said the opposite in that text that disappeared. Strange.
And I also noticed that there was cause for impediment or suspicion of the judge, depending on where you read the thing. And Solomon also touches on the subject when asking for verification. Why? Let’s go to a summary.
THE SUMMARY
Remember. Duran worked for Odebrecht and was accused of laundering money for the group, allowing, according to the indictment, the payment of bribes to be disguised. It turns out that he claims to have suffered extortion. According to his indictment, Carlos Zucolotto, Moro’s lawyer and compadre, asked him for $5 million to do well in Lava-Jato. I would speak on behalf of the then judge and Deltan Dallagnol, at the time Lava Jato coordinator and now federal deputy (Podemos-PR).
Duran, who also has Spanish citizenship, claims to have paid US$ 613,000 to another lawyer, Marlus Arns, a friend of Rosângela Moro (União Brasil-PR), now also in the Chamber. After moving to Spain. All deny the accusation and say that the speech of a criminal should not be given credence. Duran claims to have proof of what he says.
There is a criminal notice to investigate the case in the STF and it targets Moro, an advisor of his, Dallagnol and Zucolotto. The senator appealed. He maintained that the court was not the proper venue for the case. The PGR disagreed, and Lewandowski, still a minister, decided that the investigation continues in court. He wrote in his decision:
“According to the Attorney General’s Office, ‘[a] The chronology of the facts exposed in this manifestation points to the eventual interference of Sérgio Moro in the judgment of the processes involving Operation Lava Jato — including the processes involving Rodrigo Tacla Duran –, even after his dismissal from the position of Judge of Law, but also undergoing acts practiced as Minister of State for Justice, as well as the news of alleged interference by the Senator of the Republic Sérgio Moro, as a former titular Judge of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba in the practice of decision-making acts in the records of Criminal Action No. 5019961- 43.2017.4.04.7000/PR” (pgs. 28/29, emphasis added). Thus, I verify that, at least in this initial phase, the competence for supervising and investigating the facts reported in this file lies with the Federal Supreme Court, in terms of of article 102, I, b, of the Constitution of the Republic. The precedent established in Criminal Action 937/DF regarding the extension of competence applies to the case, considering that, according to the PGR, some of the alleged acts may have been practiced in the exercise of positions with special jurisdiction by prerogative of function.”
WE’RE BACK
As remains visible, the imbroglio opposes Tacla Duran and Moro. It is unequivocal that if the former Odebrecht lawyer is unsuccessful, the senator from Paraná does well. But the opposite can happen. And here we enter another delicate aspect of the thing.
The Inspector General of Justice also asks that Malucelli’s possible suspicion to act in the case be investigated. Why? João Eduardo Barreto Malucelli, his son, is a partner of Moro and Rosângela at the law firm Wolff Moro Sociedade de Advocacia. He is also the boyfriend of Júlia, daughter of the Moro couple, and has a commissioned position in the Legislative Assembly of Paraná, in the office of state deputy Luiz Fernando Guerra Filho (União Brasil). This, in turn, is the brother of businessman Ricardo Augusto Guerra (União Brasil), second alternate in the Senate guess who… Yes, de Moro. Malucelli’s decision prevented Duran from coming to Brazil to participate in an audience with Appio.
Salomão gave the judge a period of five days to provide clarifications.
Article 252 of the Code of Criminal Procedure defines the grounds for impeding a judge. Item IV says that he cannot exercise jurisdiction over the process in which “he himself or his spouse or relative, consanguineous or related in a direct or collateral line up to and including the third degree, is a party or directly interested in the deed.” Article 254 deals with suspicion. Item III defines that the judge will act as a suspect — and, if he does not, he may be refused by either party, “if he, his spouse, or relative, consanguineous, or similar, up to and including the third degree, sustains a claim or responds to a lawsuit that has to be judged by either party”. Seems to be the case, doesn’t it?
Let’s see what Malucelli’s response to Salomão will be.
REPUBLIC OF CURITIBA
Such a specious case reminded me of those times when Lava Jato did whatever it wanted in Paraná and Brazil. In 2019, on the occasion of the five years of the task force, a billboard appeared in Curitiba. It brought Deltan Dallagnol to the center, flanked by his braves from the task force, with the following text:
“Welcome to the Republic of Curitiba. Land of Operation Lava Jato, the investigation that changed the country. Here the law is fulfilled. March 17th. 5 years of Operation Lava Jato. Brazil Thanks”.
It was later discovered that it had been commissioned by the then attorney Diogo Castor de Mattos. one of the boisterous men in Dallagnol. The absurdity earned him his resignation. He starred in some events in the operation. Search. Or this text goes on too long.
In any case, it was taken for granted that there was a certain “Criminal Law of Curitiba”, which, for some reason, was imagined to be different from what was happening in the rest of the country. Don’t even say! The Lava Jato judge is a senator. The star prosecutor is a deputy. Really, very different…
AND FINALLY
The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, decided to activate the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Council of Justice against Judge Mário Helton Jorge, of the Court of Justice of Paraná. When lamenting the existence of cases of corruption in his state, he said:
“Because it’s widespread robbery. And that’s in Paraná, which is a state that has a higher cultural level than the North of the country, the Northeast, etc. It’s a country that doesn’t have the political game of other states. Here in Paraná, it’s a shame”.
When his speech won the country, he came out with this:
“There was no intention to belittle or establish a prejudiced comparison against any person, institution or region. The magistrate regrets what happened and sincerely apologized for the comment”.
If there was no intention, agree, he pretended very well.
CLOSING
Judges, prosecutors, and other law enforcement officials are possible remedies for society’s dysfunctions, aren’t they? They cannot be confused with the evils they are paid to fight. Anywhere in Brazil.
#law #requires #judge #explain #act #Duran #link #Moro