The displacements of prisoners for court hearings cost in average, solely to the state of São Paulo, R$17,000,000. 44% of the national jail population is located in that state

The House approved, on Tuesday (9), the possibility of interrogating prisoners by means of videoconferences. The measure is provided for in the Bill 4361/08, from the Senate, which will be submitted to the President’s sanction.

According to the bill, the interrogatory through videoconference can be determined by the judge in four situations:

- When there is a suspicion of breakout during the displacement of the prisoner to court;
- To make his/her participation possible, when there are problems for him/her to appear in hearings or if he/she is sick;
- To prevent the influence of the defendant upon the witness or the victim; and
- Due to a severe problem of civil order.

Other acts that may depend on the participation of the inmate also can be performed by means of those technological devices, such as the confrontation of witnesses, the recognition of people and things, and witness interviews or statement gathering from the victim.

Communication
The parties (the Public Prosecutor Office and the prisoner defender) should be notified ten days before the hearing. If the defendant has a defender at the penitentiary and a lawyer at the court room where the videoconference is held, those two professionals will be allowed to communicate by phone.

The prison room reserved for the videoconference will be inspected by the magistrates, by the judge of each case, by the Public Prosecutor Office and by the Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil (OAB, equivalent to the Bar Association).

Witnesses
The Penal-Procedure Code (Law 3689/41), which is being amended by the bill, already determines that witnesses living in a different judiciary district be heard in their home, according to the determination of the local judge. The judge of the cause should therefore send a letter of request.

Thanks to the amendment approved by the deputies, the witness can be heard through videoconference, including during the fact-finding and trial phases.

If the witness lives in a different country, the bill determines that the requirement to the interview, called rogatory letter, only be sent if it is previously proved that his/her testimony is absolutely necessary.

Nevertheless, if the transcription of the testimony from abroad is not remitted to Brazil before the single discovery and judgment hearing, that hearing will not be postponed, except if one of the parties proves losses. That rule is also valid for letters of request.

Economy
When discussing the matter, Deputy Otavio Leite (PSDB-RJ) reminded that solely the state of Sao Paulo, where there is 44% of the jail population of Brazil, spends in average R$17,500,000 per week with prisoner displacements for court hearings. In one year, that represents R$840,000,000. “It is necessary to try that solution [of the bill], so that resources can be spent in the target activities and that policemen can go after criminals”, said the deputy.

Report - Eduardo Piovesan
Editing - João Pitella Junior
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda