The 2022 coup plot trial, which condemned former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), marks a new phase of the process at the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
After publication of the document, the defenses have five calendar days to file a motion for clarification, an appeal designed to point out omissions, contradictions or unclear sections in the trial. The deadline, however, will only begin to run after the defendants’ lawyers have been notified.
In practice, this type of appeal rarely changes the result, serving only to adjust the form or clarify the text of the ruling. Even so, the defenses of Bolsonaro and other defendants have already signaled that they will appeal.
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What happens next
After the embargoes are presented, the case rapporteur, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, must forward the case to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) for an opinion, before returning the case to the First Panel of the STF.
The President of the Panel, Minister Flávio Dino, is the one who defines the date of the trial, which can take place in person or virtually. If the embargoes are rejected, Moraes will be able to order the immediate start of serving the sentence.
Other possible features
Defenses may also file infringing embargoes, which seek to reverse the outcome of the trial. The STF’s Internal Regulations provide for this appeal only when there are two divergent votes, which does not apply to Bolsonaro’s case, as only Luiz Fux voted to annul the criminal action.
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Even so, lawyers for Bolsonaro and other defendants say they will insist on the thesis that the regulations do not make this limitation explicit, and that the appeal could be analyzed even with just one dissenting vote. Moraes, however, can reject the request individually.
Supreme Strategy
Behind the scenes at the Supreme Court, the assessment is that the court should close all appeals in 2025, before the start of the electoral calendar.
The ministers’ intention would be to prevent the case from having direct repercussions on the 2026 presidential campaign. If the appeals are rejected, Bolsonaro could be arrested to begin serving his sentence even before the next election year.
