Brazil’s trial of the year: what you need to know

On Thursday, Brazil’s Supreme Court kicked off what has been billed as the biggest trial of 2019. In three separate cases, the country’s highest court will provide a definitive decision on whether or not defendants may be imprisoned before exhausting all of their routes of appeal. A complicated matter that dates all the way back to the 1940s, a change in precedents now could see the release of high-profile figures from jail, including none other than former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Political observers in the country dropped everything that they were doing to watch the trial yesterday, but were left frustrated. The initial stage of oral arguments took up the entire Supreme Court session, with none of the justices having time to issue their votes. The expectation is that the trial will be completed next Thursday, with votes starting in a court session on Wednesday.

What does ‘Second instance’ mean?

For foreign observers, the case at hand in the Supreme Court is a complicated one to comprehend, owing much to Brazil’s unique justice system. When a defendant is put to trial, his or her guilt is initially decided by a single trial court judge—as public juries in Brazil only exist for crimes against human life, such as homicide. This initial ruling is known as the “first instance” in Brazil, and allows defendants to appeal their conviction at liberty, unless in cases of preventive detention for violent crimes or other cases.

The first appeal is denominated the “second instance,” wherein a panel of three appellate judges choose whether or not to uphold a given...