Depoimentos de policiais e o princípio da livre convicção motivada – análise de audiência em varas criminais na comarca de Juiz de Fora

Abstract

This paper proposes to demonstrate that the credibility level given to the testimonial evidence in the criminal process must be questioned, mainly because it is considered a necessary evil. A critical approach is done regarding the use of the principle of rational persuasion in order to validate the condemnatory decree based only on the testimony of the policemen, highlighting the role of the magistrate as a judge-actor and his preference for the inquisitorial model when the goal is to reveal the real truth in a condemnatory sentence. This work also shows how the forensic routine turns the criminal process into a staging game and how the magistrate must be aware of the need to rigorously apply the guarantees of the accusatory system, in order to reduce the remnants of the inquisitorial system. Through the cartographic method, in the face of practical experience in the 4th Criminal Court of the Judicial District of Juiz de Fora, the paper carries out a critical and reflexive analysis on how to get testimonial proofs and use them to base a condemnatory sentence.