The coup of the judge on duty – 10/17/2023 – Elio Gaspari

With a surgical vote from the national justice inspector, minister Luis Felipe Salomão, unanimously, the CNJ removed Bahian judge Luiz Fernando Lima from his duties. On September 30th, he ordered the transfer of the criminal Dadá to house arrest.

Dadá was not just any criminal, and the removal of the Bahian judge becomes an example of speed and rigor. The CNJ broke the old scam of resorting to on-duty judge, practiced for decades in all instances of the Judiciary. It works like this: you wait for the weekend (or recess), take the request to the sensitive magistrate who took over the shift and, bingo, the problem is resolved.

In the case of the criminal Ednaldo Freire Ferreira, known as Dadá, judge Luiz Fernando Lima followed the writing, but exaggerated.

Dadá is one of the founders of Bonde do Maluco, BDM, and has been in a maximum security prison since September. He had been captured by the Federal Highway Police and was serving a 15-year sentence, imposed in 2008. The BDM is the largest criminal faction in Bahia.

The judge on duty received the request for conversion to the house arrest regime at 8:42 pm on Saturday the 30th and signed the granting of the benefit the following morning. Dadá should go home to take care of an autistic son. If this child exists, Bonde do Maluco’s business never allowed Dadá to take care of the son. Hours later, another magistrate revoked the measure. It was late, Dadá had been released and, predictably, he didn’t go home. He got away.

In his vote, Inspector Salomão recalled:

“Judge Luiz Fernando Lima received the request just a few hours before the start of normal court proceedings, a situation that, in itself, would already give rise to a minimally careful analysis of the case. (…) There was no minimum analysis of the profile and background of the applicant”.

In September, when Dadá was captured, he was behind the wheel of a SW4 Diamond, valued at R$400,000. That month, the war between Bahian gangs and police action resulted in the death of 70 people, including a Federal Police agent.

When penning Dadá’s release, the judge knew what he was doing. On a previous shift, dealing with a similar case, with different backgrounds, Lima rejected the request, indicating that it was not a matter to be decided by a person on duty. Inspector Salomão recalled that, in that case, the Public Ministry had recommended granting the measure. Yesterday’s stern judge became a sweetheart the morning he released Dadá.

Once removed, the judge will be able to defend himself. By his reckoning, he is close to retirement, but perhaps he can answer one question: did you really think that Dada would comply with the conditions of house arrest?

The unanimous, quick and severe decision of the National Council of Justice may inhibit the group that resorts to the on-duty scam, especially because there is a suspicion that organized crime has started to apply it. There are about five cases where it worked.

In the case of the Bahian judge, it worked for the criminal, but it cost the magistrate.

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