Judge Mônica Cataria Perri Siqueira, of the 1st Criminal Court of Cuiabá, declared “to hell with the OAB” during a trial before the Court with Jury, following a complaint from the defense, and ordered the Military Police to remove from the plenary the lawyers of the Prerogatives Commission of the OAB of Mato Grosso. The episode occurred on the 15th, during the trial of a civilian police officer accused of murdering a police officer.
In a note, the Mato Grosso Justice Court reported that lawyers were recording jurors, a practice prohibited by resolution of the National Council of Justice. In the video that has gone viral on social networks, the judge calls out to the lawyers. “You can even call the president of the OAB,” she said, after the lawyer asked her to reconsider removing the entity’s representatives.
Then the judge says, “Damn, you’re just increasing the OAB. Maintain respect. It’s absurd what’s happening here. You can remove all three,” she ordered. “Stop it, Your Excellency. Arrest the lawyers. Arrest them! I surrender my freedom to Your Excellency. Arrest me! I abandon my liberty for the defense of the accused. Your Excellency exceeds all limits,” reacted one of the lawyers.
The discussion took place during the trial in the Tribunal with Jury of Mário Wilson Vieira da Silva Gonçalves, a Civil Police investigator accused of shooting dead military policeman Thiago de Souza Ruiz in April 2023. The day after the riot in the Tribunal with Jury, lawyers from Mato Grosso, accompanied by the president of the section, Gisela Cardoso, attended the Cuiabá Forum to follow the trial. According to reports, the group was prevented from entering the building by the security team, on the orders of the judge.
The lawyers’ entry was only allowed after Gisela contacted the Presidency of the State Court of Justice. The president said that, given the facts, the OAB of Mato Grosso “dialogued with the judge, asking above all respect and cordiality.”
Lawyer Cláudio Dalledone, who was on the jury and claimed to have been one of those offended, said there had been a violation of prerogatives and “a rapid show of force, according to the old adage ‘you confused one, you confused all'”.
On Tuesday the 23rd, the trial resumed, but the judge dissolved the Sentencing Council on suspicion that the jurors might have been influenced by the discussion. The formation of a new council was scheduled for May 12, 2026.
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The Association of Magistrates of Mato Grosso came to the judge’s defense, saying that “the statements were taken out of context.” “The magistrate would have warned the defense lawyers that they must ensure respect for procedural decorum and the solemnity of the jury, before convening the OAB,” noted the association.
OAB National Prerogative Defense Attorney Alex Sarkis released a video stating that the episode is “serious, unacceptable and directly violates the Constitution, legal procedure and the legal profession.”
The information comes from the newspaper The State of São Paulo.
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