During a hearing at the 4th Labor Court of Diadema/SP, lawyer Rafael Dellova arrested judge Alessandra de Cássia Fonseca Tourinho, alleging alleged abuse of authority. The incident took place on July 2.
Article 301 of the Brazilian Penal Code guarantees that any citizen has the power to arrest another person who is committing a crime in flagrante delicto, without the presence of an authority on site. In practice, however, the application of the arrest warrant is not so simple.
Understand what happened
Lawyer Rafael Dellova was accompanying his client, who is a plaintiff in a labor lawsuit. During her testimony, he interrupted her speech. At that point, the judge ordered the hearing to continue, giving the floor to the defendant’s lawyer, instructing her to continue asking questions and for the lawyer’s client to answer them.
The judge ordered the hearing to be postponed after the lawyer insisted that he would interrupt the proceedings again if the judge’s instructions were followed in the same way. That was when the lawyer arrested the judge.
Entities took a stand in defense of the judge
Organizations have come out in defense of the judge. In a statement, the Brazilian Magistrates Association (AMB) cited “intimidation” and “threats” against the judge. In defense, the Association of Magistrates of the Labor Court of the 2nd Region (AMATRA-2) also classified the lawyer’s actions as “complete violation of the law.”
Note – AMB
“The Brazilian Magistrates Association (AMB) expresses support and solidarity with Judge Alessandra de Cássia Fonseca Tourinho, who was the target of intimidation and threats while performing her duties by a lawyer who was unhappy with the progress of the case.
AMB is an uncompromising defender of judicial independence — a constitutional guarantee that allows judges to judge impartially and impartially, free from any pressure, based solely on the law and evidence.
Disrespectful behavior, in addition to violating due process, in no way contributes to the real and legitimate interests of citizens who, through their lawyers, are seeking justice.”
Association cites “machismo” in lawyer’s attitude
In a public statement of redress, the Association of Labor Court Judges of the 2nd Region (AMATRA-2) says that it is possible to notice the reproduction of discriminatory gender patterns when the State makes firm decisions regarding a woman. Read the full statement below.
Public Note of Redress (Association of Labor Court Judges of the 2nd Region)
AMATRA-2, accompanied by ANAMATRA and the other AMATRAs in the country, entities that bring together more than 4 thousand labor judges throughout Brazil, hereby demonstrate their unrestricted support for Judge Alessandra de Cássia Fonseca Tourinho, member of AMATRA-2, in view of the events that occurred on July 2, 2024, involving Lawyer Rafael Dellova, OAB 371.005/SP.
On the aforementioned date, at a hearing held at the 4th Labor Court of Diadema/SP, during the plaintiff’s personal testimony, her lawyer, Rafael Dellova, interrupted the testimony, and, after the judge ordered that the defendant’s lawyer continue asking the questions that the plaintiff answered, the lawyer continued insisting and stating that he would make further interruptions if the instruction continued in this way.
In the exercise of the police power guaranteed by articles 765 of the CLT and 360 of the CPC, the Judge decided to reschedule the hearing. Unhappy with the conduct of the recently concluded hearing, the Claimant’s Attorney stood up in an agitated manner and accused the Judge of having committed the crime of abuse of authority, arresting him, in complete disregard of the law, causing a commotion in the court unit.
The Lawyer’s conduct, in addition to contravening articles 5, 6 and 361, sole paragraph, of the CPC, also violates art. 33, II, of the LOMAN (Complementary Law 35/79), which grants the magistrate the prerogative of “not being arrested except by written order of the Court or the Special Body competent for the trial, except in the case of flagrant non-bailable crime, in which case the authority will immediately communicate and present the magistrate to the President of the Court to which he is linked”.
It should be noted that the alleged infraction alleged by the lawyer does not constitute a non-bailable crime, nor is it conduct typified by Law 13.869/2019, whose article 1, § 1 requires characterization of specific intent. Furthermore, according to art. 7º-B of Law 8.906/94, the alleged violation of art. 7º, VI, b and X, of the same law does not constitute a crime of abuse of authority. Therefore, the lawyer’s conduct is completely unreasonable and lacks legal support.
Thus, when exercising its jurisdictional functions, notably with the aim of presiding over the session, the Judiciary cannot tolerate conduct that advocates against the literal provision of the law, with the intention of disrespecting magistrates, creating a disturbance and/or obtaining clicks on social networks, in a flagrant threat to the integrity of the Judiciary.
It should be noted that all the facts were recorded on video, both by the judicial unit and by witnesses to the incident, in which it is possible to note the reproduction of unconscious and involuntary gender-discriminatory patterns, since firmer decisions taken by the State-judge in the figure of a woman are often interpreted by the sexist part of society as aggression and abuse, when, in truth, it is these Magistrates who suffer biased gender-based violence, with intimidation, threats and offenses.
A case like that of so many other female judges, who suffered and suffer, in statistical terms, as a significant majority of episodes of disrespect and offense to the exercise of the Judiciary.
It is worth remembering that an offense to a Magistrate means an offense to the entire class, and it is imperative for democracy that abusive behavior of this nature finds an exemplary response from the Judiciary.
Democracy is weakened when derogatory attacks are perpetrated against the State-judge, especially in the figure of a woman, and when the President of the hearing is intimidated and arrested, without any legal support, including when trying to prevent her free movement, as a strategy to disqualify the exercise of her function, the very importance of the Judiciary is affected.
It is essential that all participants in the judicial process, including lawyers, an essential function of justice, are attentive and vigilant to the correct application of the laws and civility.
In this way, all the Labor Magistrates Associations identified below hereby support Judge Alessandra de Cássia Fonseca Tourinho and all others who have suffered similar violence in recent times. Respect for the prerogatives of the judiciary is a core and sensitive issue for these entities, which will always act, without sparing any effort, in favor of their members.
Positioning of the parties
A CNN sought the defense of lawyer Rafael Dellova but had not received a response by the time this article was published. The Brazilian Bar Association in São Paulo (OAB-SP), judge Alessandra de Cássia Fonseca Tourinho and the 4th Labor Court of Diadema/SP were also contacted, but they also did not respond.
Source: CNN Brasil
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