"A Lawyer Is Not a Gang Member", Says Brazil's Justice Minister

02/20/2015 - 08h37

Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo said this Thursday (19) that "an attorney is not a member of a gang" for defending a defendant and it is the authorities' duty to meet them in case they suspect there is lawlessness in the process.
 
"I do not accept the criminalisation of attorneys. The authorities must meet them, and if an attorney makes an improper proposal, they should take appropriate legal action."
 
The statement was made after Cardozo met attorneys defending the contractors involved in the Car Wash probe, conducted by the Federal Police, an agency subordinate to the Ministry of Justice.
 
"I recently saw a parliamentarian saying: the Justice Minister cannot meet gang members. I consider it an offense to Brazilian attorneys. Those who advocate for clients being investigated are not members of the gang, they are attorneys. It's disgusting", Cardozo said after a news conference about accidents on federal highways.
 
"I met, over time, many attorneys who represented against Federal Police operations. I met attorneys who plead against disciplinary decisions, against my decisions of cancelling Ministry of Justice biddings. I will keep meeting attorneys, with all the formal precaution, because the law states so", he said.
 
BY CHANCE
 
In response to criticism, Cardozo said he met Odebrecht's attorneys -one of the companies investigated by the Car Wash Operation - once and it only occurred after "formal representation".
 
According to him, encountering lawyer Sergio Renault, who works for UTC and claims to be Cardozo's friend "for 30 years", happened by chance.

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

Read the article in the original language

	Alan Marques/Folhapress
	Brazil's Justice Minister, José Eduardo Cardozo