Audiências de Instrução e Julgamento por Videoconferência no Contexto da Pandemia do COVID-19: a experiência das Varas de Tóxicos da Comarca de Salvador/Bahia

Abstract

This work focused on the exercise of the right to full defense during instruction hearings held via videoconference in the context of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, aiming to describe it in the most in-depth and detailed way possible. To theoretically support the research, initially, it was analyzed how the concept of time relates to the concept of Law based on the teachings of François Ost, having concluded that both operate at different cadences, and that the harmo nization must be aimed. Subsequently, progress was made on the concepts of acceleration and globalization proposed by the philosopher Milton Santos; of technique and technology, based on the thoughts of Heidegger and James Bridle; as well as about the political biases that all these discussions assume, which was done by mobilizing the lessons of Herbert Marcuse, Paul Virilio and Evgeny Morozov. The way in which this discussion finds contours within the scope of the criminal process was analyzed based on the lessons of Aury Lopes Jr., and it was partially concluded that, currently, under the pretext of speeding up the criminal process, procedural guarantees have been sacrificed, and, with the help of James Byrne's lessons, it was concluded that such desires to accelerate the criminal process have contributed to further widening the disparity between rich and poor defendants. Subsequently, the concept of broad defense was analyzed, having concluded that its realization demands the simultaneous achievement of a bundle of rights whose realization requires conducts of do's and don'ts on the part of all ac tors/actresses of the criminal justice system, not just the accused person and his/her defender. A brief history of the use of videoconferencing in Brazilian criminal proceedings was also out lined, noting that the attempts to definitively absorb it into legal frameworks appear periodically in bills that aim to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, although nothing was done in this regard during the context of the pandemic caused by COVID-19. Then, armed with theoretical support, forty-seven instruction hearings held via videoconference by the Drug Courts of the District of Salvador/BA were observed, recording their procedure in field diaries for analysis. After analyzing the records, it was concluded that the hypothesis was partially confirmed that the use of videoconferencing in the context of pre-trial hearings implies the restriction of the right to full defense, since in all the hearings observed the accused people remained handcuffed; they did not always understand what was being said; there were no guarantees that the witnesses were truly alone and uncapable of communicating with others; personal recognitions were car ried out in disregard of the procedure provided for in the CPP and the recent jurisprudence established on the subject, and; carrying out the prior and reserved interview was made difficult by the distance and the lack of safe ways to do it. It was also found that its use did not mean accelerating or optimizing the Courts' routines, as the difficulty in understanding the function ing of the systems used made proceedings slower. It was identified, however, that videoconfer encing can bring closer proximity to accused people who are far away and that it can mean convenience for those who do not wish to miss a day of work or who cannot easily travel to the headquarters of the judgment. In the end, guidelines were developed to increase the degree of reliability of hearings held via videoconference, based on conduct that ensures the observance of the right to full defense