OAB goes to Congress after refusal of oral argument by Moraes

The national president of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), Beto Simonetti, announced that he will present to Congress, next week, a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) to guarantee lawyers the right to carry out oral arguments in courts, especially in the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

The promise to appeal to Congress occurred during the opening of the 4th National Conference of Young Advocacy, in Bonito (MS), this Wednesday (10). When mentioning the measure, Simonetti received an ovation and said “we’re going to get there” after a shout of “out, Xandão”.

The decision comes after yet another case in which Minister Alexandre de Moraes denied the right to oral argument to a lawyer, based on an interpretation of the STF rules.

“Dialogue was not enough to resolve this issue. We did our best to protect the right of lawyers to hold oral arguments in Brazilian courts”, declared Simonetti.

Simonetti added in his speech that recourse to Congress is necessary because a federal law, which is above court rules, is not being complied with.

Since the STF decided to schedule trials relating to the acts of January 8th for the virtual plenary session without the possibility of in-person oral argument, the OAB has fought to maintain the broad right of defense for the accused.

Following a request from the OAB, the president of the Supreme Court, minister Luís Roberto Barroso, approved the change in the internal regulations to allow in-person trials of criminal actions, with the possibility of oral arguments. However, the OAB states that this decision was disregarded in trials related to grievances.

“The right to represent the Brazilian people on the sacred platform of defense, to remove their anxieties and undo the injustices perpetrated against the citizens of Brazil, is a right that we will reaffirm”, concluded Simonetti.

Last week, when Moraes denied oral argument to lawyer Gustavo Mascarenhas in a procedural appeal, invoking the Court’s internal regulations to justify the decision, the lawyer and member of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), Alberto Toron, asked the word to argue in favor of the colleague.

At the time, Toron stated that there is specific legislation to regulate the decision in a manner contrary to the Supreme Court’s internal regulations, suggesting that Mascarenhas should be authorized to speak. Toron emphasized that “both laws deal with the same subject, but one comes after the other”, arguing that the more recent law should prevail.

Moraes tried to interrupt the lawyer, saying: “Thank you, doctor.” However, Toron continued his argument, highlighting that “this criterion of chronology should prevail”.

The minister resumed speaking, explaining that “the principle of specialty that governs the rules of procedure of the Federal Supreme Court prevails”, and warned of the complication that would arise if oral arguments were allowed in all cases of regulatory appeals.