The (National Council of Justice) decided that the vacancy for judge at the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina was illegal and ordered that the judge be included in a new case.
Margani was excluded after the governor’s son (), lawyer Filipe Mello, reported her for disturbing the peace in September 2025. At the time, the general commander of Santa Catarina, Emerson Fernandes, sent a letter reporting the events to the Court.
When contacted by the report, the Court of Justice claimed judicial secrecy, said that it does not comment on CNJ decisions and limits itself to complying with the body’s decisions.
The governor’s son, who lives on the floor above the judge in a building in a wealthy area of Florianópolis, called the police in the early hours of September 27th.
During the incident, twelve military police officers – some from the tactical platoon – and several vehicles were mobilized, according to images obtained by Sheet and witness reports. The report contacted Filipe Mello at the time, but he did not respond.
One month and eight days later, the judge and her colleagues were surprised when voting on the names put forward for promotion to judge. The general inspector of justice, judge Luiz Antônio Zanini Fornerolli, read the open investigation report after receiving the letter from the PM.
The document, which was confidential, was read in full, including parts that said she was “altered” because of “alcoholic drinks consumed”. Then, Fornerolli recommended voting against it. Of the 79 judges, Margani received the vote of only 19, thus being excluded from the list.
The judge considered that she had been harmed and appealed to the CNJ. She claims that she was denied the right to defense and the presumption of innocence, in addition to being the target of gender discrimination.
Councilor Renata Gil de Alcantara Videira, from the CNJ, argued that the recommendation that Margani not be promoted was illegal and ignored his “unblemished disciplinary history.”
“I reaffirm that the full reading of the confidential investigation report, in a public session, widely publicized, with exposure of personal data and aspects of the magistrate’s private life, at a time prior to the exercise of defense and the formation of any definitive judgment, exceeded the limits of reasonableness and legality”, he decided.
The counselor decided not to cancel the promotions made in November, but determined that the judge be included in a new process.
Margani de Mello was accused of two infractions. The first would be disturbing the peace, which supposedly would not have stopped after the police arrived. The other would be to use the prestige of the position to try to obtain an illicit advantage, in addition to trying to embarrass the police. She denies the accusations.
The judge says she arrived home around 12:30 am that September night, accompanied by her husband and three other couples. “The ambient sound was turned on in the room, where we were talking. All the doors were closed”, he says. The inquiry that gave rise to the Internal Affairs report, however, states that there were more than ten guests and that the sound emission was at “excessive volume”.
Then the intercom would have rang. “It seems to me that it was the doorman, but I can’t say. From then on, my husband was the one who dealt with the situation. Then the police arrived.”
According to the police, the neighbor, the governor’s son, had contacted the doorman and the property manager. But, due to the alleged refusal to reduce the volume, Filipe went down to the sidewalk, according to the report, and called police officers who were patrolling the area.
On November 10, Filipe Mello met with Margani and her husband, Ghesler Cavalcanti Soares, and extinguished the detailed term (registration of infractions with less offensive potential). “The meeting was marked by mutual respect and the spirit of conciliation”, says a note released at the time.
The judge says she does not know if there were reasons for Filipe or his father’s government to want to harm her.
The Military Police were asked about sending the letter to the Court of Justice, but said they would not comment, claiming that they seek a good institutional relationship with the Court.
