THE PROTECTION OF JURORS IN TRIALS OF HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUALS AND THE GUARANTEE OF INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL JUDGMENT

Abstract

The Jury Court is one of the most traditional and symbolic institutions of the Brazilian penal system, with its constitutional legitimacy ensured by article 5, item XXXVIII, of the Federal Constitution. Its main characteristic is to allow the direct participation of society in the trial of intentional crimes against life, reinforcing the democratic ideal of active citizenship. However, the current scenario of organized crime in the country imposes new challenges to the maintenance of impartial and safe trials, especially in cases involving defendants linked to criminal factions. The exposure of jurors to high-risk contexts makes them vulnerable to threats, pressures and reprisals, generating an environment of fear that can compromise freedom of conscience and the impartiality of the verdict. In addition, the lack of technical preparation of these citizens, associated with the lack of adequate public protection policies, weakens the quality of decisions and the very credibility of the Jury Court as a guarantor of criminal justice. In this work, I critically analyze the structural gaps in jury protection and examine the effects of this reality on due process. From a qualitative approach, based on doctrinal, legislative and jurisprudential review, I propose concrete mechanisms to mitigate such risks, such as the use of technologies for remote trials, the confidentiality of the identity of jurors, the institutional reinforcement of security and the implementation of specific protection programs. I intend, therefore, to contribute to the improvement of the current model of the Jury Court, in order to reconcile popular sovereignty with the principles of impartiality, security and legal rationality.