Court in Rio to Adopt “Faceless Judges” to Combat Death Threats

By Dorah Feliciano, Contributing Reporter

BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL – With over twenty judges threatened with death and living under police protection, the Rio de Janeiro State Court (TJ-RJ) is adopting extreme measures: it is discussing the creation of a special circuit court to prosecute cases involving corruption, drug trafficking, money laundering, organized crime, and paramilitary groups.

The circuit court would have a group of “faceless judges” prosecuting the cases, instead of a single magistrate overlooking a specific case.

The idea of “faceless judges”, say Rio officials was inspired by Italy’s judiciary, who acted similarly in cases involving the Mafia, and by courts in Colombia in the 1990s, who faced the rise of drug trafficking cases.

“We are going to create a specialized circuit so that judges who are suffering from threats in some places, such as [Rio suburbs] Santa Cruz and Seropédica, may oversee these processes in the central courthouse in downtown Rio,” Judge Claudio de Mello Tavares told journalists on Monday.

“In addition to bringing protection to the magistrates who work there, it will hinder the escape of prisoners and invasion of court buildings,” added Judge Tavares, the presiding judge of the TJ-RJ.

According to Tavares, the specialized circuit court should be created by June, and the new staff will begin work with 400 cases related to organized crime.

A rotation of judges will be installed, comprising a principal judge and two substitute judges appointed by the presiding judge of the TJ-RJ. The rotation will be changed every 60 days, to avoid the identification of a specific judge with certain crimes.

The idea is to focus attention away from the judges and prevent them from becoming targets of criminal organizations. Sentence decisions will always be signed by the principal judge of the circuit court at the time.

Tavares pointed out that fifteen justices who work in the western zone of the city – historically dominated by militias – are now being protected by 24-hour police escorts. Besides, seven more judges, because they work in criminal enforcement courts, also have the right to escort.

“My concern is with the magistrates’ protection. Judges are being threatened. One of the concerns of this Court is with their physical integrity. They (judges) call: they are concerned. Some children are threatened, wives are threatened. The magistrates asked for help from the court presidency,” concluded Tavares.

The concerns are justified. The killing of judges and court officials started to gain attention after the 2011 murder of Judge Patricia Acioli, who was executed at the door of her house. At the time, she headed the 4th Criminal Court of Rio suburb São Gonçalo, where she heard corruption and homicide cases committed by police officers.

The subsequent investigations led to the arrest of eleven military police officers, including former lieutenant colonel Claudio Luiz Silva de Oliveira, commander of the 7th Battalion (São Gonçalo).

A year later, Law 12.694/12 established the possibility of a collegiate court, where several judges hear a single case. The law aimed to protect the physical integrity of judges, by making use of electronic (internet) decisions or secret court proceedings in cases of organized crime.