⚖️ Bench pressed

Brazil’s second-highest court is confronting a corruption scandal. An internal affairs probe at the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) — leaked to newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo — has exposed how a court aide allegedly crafted draft rulings with contradictory reasoning and citations the inquiry deemed inapplicable, while a parallel Federal Police investigation suggests a broader network selling access and outcomes.

The internal case centered on a land dispute tied to Wellington Luiz, the speaker of Brasília’s local legislature, who sought the adverse possession of a state-owned plot. The appeal landed with Justice Nancy Andrighi. 

One of her aides at the time, Márcio José Toledo Pinto, drafted a decision…

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