Right to a defense

Seminar debates action of Public Defender's Office in pre-trial detention

12/12/2013

The actions of public defenders in São Paulo in cases of pre-trial detention will be the topic of a public debate this Monday, at 9 am, at Ibccrim (Brazilian Criminal Sciences Institute) in São Paulo. Participation is open to the public, subject to prior registration by email eventos@conectas.org.

The eight debaters, divided into two panels, will discuss the actions of public defenders in relation to the guideline approved at the 3rd Conference of the São Paulo State Public Defender’s Office, which recommends “seeking the release of all pre-trial prisoners, regardless of either the seriousness of the crime or the likelihood of it being granted”.

The study, conducted by Conectas from 390 criminal cases in 30 of the 31 criminal courts of the São Paulo Criminal Courthouse in Barra Funda – the largest in Latin America – analyzes the quality of the action by the Public Defender’s Office.

“The Public Defender’s Office is a key part of access to justice. It is one of the main democratic achievements of the Constitution of 1988. Our purpose with this study and this seminar is to research and engage in dialogue so Brazilian society can get from its Public Defender’s Office all the potential it has to defend people’s rights,” said Rafael Custódio, coordinator of the Justice program at Conectas.