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STJ: Judge can annul sentence after 400 pages of process disappear

3rd panel concluded that the disappearance of the leaves is one of the situations in which the principle of the sentence's inalterability must yield to the principles and rules of common sense.

 

 

This Tuesday, the 14th, the 3rd panel of the STJ decided that the disappearance of 400 pages from a case is one of the situations in which the principle of inalterability of the sentence must give way to the principles and rules of common sense. The rapporteur, minister Ricardo Villas Cueva, stated in his vote that "it cannot be believed that they disappeared out of nowhere". "It doesn't matter whether these pages were taken intentionally or not, but they were taken."

 

In this case, a financial institution appealed the TJ/BA ruling that annulled a first-degree decision that had recognized the nullity of the sentence, as it had been handed down without considering the disappearance of more than 400 pages from the file.

 

The Bahian Court understood that the first degree court could not declare the sentence null and void after its delivery, as it represented an affront to the principle of the sentence's inalterability.

 

The institution, in a special appeal, claimed that it cannot be penalized for the disappearance of evidence from the case file and that the only solution would be to recognize the legal non-existence of the sentence.

 

 

Session of the 3rd class of the STJ this Tuesday, 14th. (Image: Reproduction/YouTube)

Minister Cueva, in his vote, highlighted that this is one of the situations in which the principle of inalterability of the sentence must yield to the principles and rules of common sense.

 

"The judge annulled the sentence and will judge appropriately with the 400 pages in hand - that's what this is about."

 

According to the rapporteur, the judge did not have access to these pages before handing down his sentence, and upon realizing the seriousness of the problem, he had no alternative but to annul the sentence.

 

Therefore, the appeal was granted in a unanimous decision.

 

 

Decision

Lawyer is convicted of stealing documents in legal proceedings

The defendant allegedly took an authorization signed by the defendant so that a team of police officers could carry out searches at his residence.

 

A lawyer suspected of stealing documents from a criminal case to benefit a client, accused of involvement in international drug trafficking, was sentenced to one year in open detention, plus the payment of a 15-day fine. The decision is made by the 5th class of the TRF of the 3rd region.

 

According to the court, the lawyer removed the file for photocopying and returned it to the court where it was being processed without an authorization signed by the defendant so that a team of police officers could carry out searches at his residence. In the first instance, the plaintiff was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

 

In the TRF, the decision was reformed. For judge Paulo Fontes, rapporteur, the responsibility attributed to the accused is unequivocal, since he withdrew the case on the day of the disappearance and that the fact would benefit his client.

 

" There is a conviction that the disappearance of the aforementioned document would only benefit the defense of his client, as the defendant used a ruse with the intention of annulling the criminal proceedings for the crime of international drug trafficking. In this context, the aforementioned document has the power to do evidence against the defense in criminal proceedings, even if this did not prevent the conviction of the defendant's client ."

 

Process : 0002967-67.2003.4.03.6119