Supreme Court adjusts for big trial

The routine at the Brazilian Supreme Court (“STF”) has undergone some significant changes for the judgment of Penal Case 470, the mensalão. For the first time, a whole case has been put into digital form. Justice Joaquim Barbosa, who organized the case (“redator”), wanted to avoid having delays due to paperwork by attorneys in a case that runs to over 50,000 pages.

Also, due to the large number of defendants, 38 of them, the court has changed its schedule and added more sessions. Between August 3 (today) and August 14, the court will be in session daily for five hours to hear all the defense lawyers (each defendant gets an hour). On August 15, the justices will begin reading their opinions in three sessions each week.

Beyond the Supreme Court there have been changes in the times and days that sessions take place at the National Justice Council (“CNJ”) and the Superior Electoral Court (“TSE”), where Supreme Court justices also sit.