Brazil's Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) published on Monday (14) the rules for the extraordinary plenary session that will decide whether to open an investigation into Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The session is set for Tuesday (15) at 10 a.m. in Brasília. As the case's rapporteur, the court's president, Justice Edson Fachin, will cast the first vote.
Fachin will also read the Federal Police report that gathered 52 messages exchanged between Moraes and Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of Banco Master. According to Folha de S.Paulo, the report identifies Moraes as an interlocutor of the former banker, who is at the center of the Banco Master scandal. Fachin took over the case on Saturday (12), after removing Justice André Mendonça from command of the investigation.
How the session will run
The order of business follows the court's usual practice, according to the guidelines released by the tribunal. After the opening, the justices approve the minutes of the previous session. The clerk then calls the case, the formal start of the trial. Fachin reads his report and defines which questions the full bench will decide. The Prosecutor General's Office (PGR), Brazil's federal prosecutors, may then speak, and there is room for oral arguments.
Fachin votes next. The other justices follow in the order set by the court's internal rules, and the president announces the result. TV Justiça, Rádio Justiça and the court's YouTube channel will broadcast the session live, according to CNN Brasil. The network also reports that Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet will represent the PGR in the trial.
The trial can still stall on Tuesday. If any justice asks for a review period, known as a vista, the analysis of the case is suspended for 90 days, Folha reports.
Reinforced security
The court will operate under a reinforced security scheme, inside and outside its building. According to Folha, the plan joins forces commanded by the judiciary, such as the Judicial Police Secretariat; by the Federal District government, through its public security office; and by the federal executive, including the Planalto Military Command, the Armed Forces and the Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI). According to CNN Brasil, access to the chamber will be limited to confirmed guests, cell phones will be sealed in bags and Three Powers Square will be closed, with air space restrictions and drone monitoring. Journalists will follow the session from the entrance canopy of the court's headquarters.
At stake is whether the court will open an investigation into one of its own justices, in a session that G1 describes as unprecedented. G1 reports that the eve of the trial was surrounded by uncertainty over the quorum and the scope of what will be voted on. The answer starts to come out at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.