The 2nd Panel followed Gilmar Mendes’ vote and understood that the value of the stolen items does not justify the movement of the judicial apparatus
By majority vote, the 2nd Panel of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) acquitted a man who had been sentenced to 1 year and 2 months in prison, in an initial semi-open regime, for stealing a radio and a pen drive from a store in Pouso Alegre (MG), worth a total of R$60.
The vote of Minister Gilmar Mendes prevailed, applying the so-called principle of insignificance. According to him, it is unreasonable to mobilize the police and judicial apparatus to attribute relevance to a case involving objects of such little value.
Node habeas corpusthe Public Defender’s Office of Minas Gerais questioned a decision by the STJ (Superior Court of Justice) that had rejected the application of the principle of insignificance because the man is a repeat offender of crimes against property.
In an individual decision, the rapporteur, Minister Dias Toffoli, did not find any illegality in the STJ’s decision, leading DP-MG to file the appeal (procedural appeal) judged by the 2nd Panel in the virtual session that ended on September 6.
In his vote before the panel, Toffoli reiterated his understanding, and was followed by Minister Nunes Marques. Minister Gilmar Mendes noted that, according to the STF’s case law, recidivism does not prevent the application of the principle of insignificance.
According to him, the specific circumstances in which the crime occurred must be analyzed. In this case, he emphasized that, in addition to the low value of the objects, there was no loss, as they were returned to the store.
For the minister, criminal law should only “act to protect the legal assets of greatest relevance and transcendence for social life”. Gilmar Mendes was accompanied by ministers Edson Fachin and André Mendonça.
With information from STF.
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