Lula appeals against the curtailment of his right to defense, requesting that the cases be returned to the Supreme Court.

Conjur - Claiming that the Supreme Federal Court itself recognized that Judge Sergio Moro illegally released conversations intercepted by the Federal Police, the defense of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva filed an appeal with the STF on Tuesday (June 28th) to keep the cases involving the Workers' Party leader in the Supreme Court. On the 13th of this month, Minister Teori Zavascki ordered the transfer of the cases in which Lula is being investigated regarding the property in Atibaia (SP) and the apartment in Guarujá (SP) to the first instance court. The case will now proceed in the 13th Federal Court, under Moro's jurisdiction.

In the appeal, Lula's defense also alleges that there was a denial of due process, since Teori himself allegedly prevented the former president from accessing the case files. According to the lawyers, the very decision against which they are now appealing makes references to data in proceedings that are unknown to Lula and his lawyers.

“Now, denying access to the content of the proceedings cited in this complaint to the very lawyers appointed by the appellant implies annihilating the adversarial process and the right to a full defense right from its starting point: the right to information about the content of all the proceedings. It should be noted, importantly, that this curtailment of the right to a defense imposed serious harm on the appellant, including in the preparation of this appeal,” the lawyers wrote in the petition.

Another point is that the initial complaint could not have been judged monocratically. This argument is supported by the new Code of Civil Procedure. Regarding procedural law, the lawyers point out that it stipulates that, in this type of appeal, the president of the court will order the immediate execution of the decision, with the judgment being drafted later. “As can be seen, article 993, transcribed above, contemplates the drafting of a judgment. Now, if the legislator refers to the existence of a judgment, it must be understood, ipso facto, that a collegial decision is essential,” argued the defense.

"The single-judge decision on the complaint in question, which involves highly relevant issues, ends up harming the adversarial process and the right to a full defense, insofar as it eliminates the possibility of certain means of challenging the claim, including oral arguments by the parties involved," they pointed out.

Criminal conduct
According to the investigation by the Attorney General's Office, Lula was allegedly one of the people who committed a crime within the scope of the "Lava Jato" operation. Since part of this operation is being handled by the Supreme Court, it should remain entirely within that court, as this systematization prevents the existence of multiple investigative procedures with the same subject matter.

Finally, the defense argues that the Supreme Federal Court itself acknowledged that Moro illegally lifted the confidentiality of the intercepted conversations. Since this conduct could, in theory, constitute a crime, the application of Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is mandatory, with a copy of the case file being sent to the Attorney General of the Republic for any appropriate action.

Lula's defense team has already asked Rodrigo Janot, the Attorney General of the Republic, to investigate alleged irregularities committed by Judge Sergio Moro. The petition points to excesses in the searches and seizures and in the disclosure of intercepted conversations between Lula and his family members, as well as with then-acting President Dilma Rousseff.

Lula's defense is being handled by lawyers Roberto Teixeira, Cristiano Zanin Martins, and José Roberto Batochio.