José Antonio Dias Toffoli (born November 15, 1967) is a Brazilian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

who has been a member of the

Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for consti ...

of Brazil since 2009, nominated by President

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...

. Toffoli was the president of the Supreme Federal Court for the 2018–20 term.

Biography

José Dias Toffoli was born in

Marília Marília () is a Brazilian municipality in the midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. Its distance from the state capital São Paulo is by highway, by railway and in a straight line. It is located at an altitude of 675 meters. The popula ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

in 1967, the son of Luiz Toffoli and Sebastiana Seixas Dias Toffoli. He attended the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

of the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

from 1986 to 1990, graduating with a bachelor's degree in law.http://www.stf.jus.br/arquivo/cms/sobreStfComposicaoComposicaoPlenariaApresentacao/anexo/cv_diastoffoli_2011maio18.pdf While in college, Toffoli presided the student union. From 1996 to 2002 he was a professor of constitutional and family law at

Centro Universitário de Brasília The University Center of Brasília ( pt, Centro Universitário de Brasília, UNICEUB) is a private university located in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It is third largest University in Brasília. To join the university they must pass a bian ...

. In 1994 and 1995 Toffoli took

examinations An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

for a position as a judge in the state of São Paulo, but was twice rejected. Toffoli was then the legal representative for the Workers' Party (PT) in the presidential campaigns of

in 1998, 2002 and 2006. Advogado geral da União Antônio Dias Toffoli

From March 2001 to December 2002 Toffoli was a co-owner of the law firm Toffoli & Telesca Advogados, and from 2005 to 2007 co-owned the firm Toffoli & Rangel Advogados. In 2007, Toffoli was appointed

Attorney General of Brazil The Attorney General Office ( pt, Advocacia-Geral da União, AGU) is a cabinet-level position in the Brazilian government charged with advising the Executive Branch and representing the federal government of Brazil in legal proceedings egally kno ...

by President Lula.

Supreme Court nomination

On 17 September 2009 President Lula nominated Dias Toffoli, then his

, for the

seat vacated by the death of Justice Carlos Alberto Menezes Direito two weeks prior. Upon his nomination, Toffoli resigned as Attorney General, and was replaced by Evandro Costa Gama. After being confirmed by the Senate to the Supreme Court, Toffoli took his seat as Justice on 23 October 2009, aged 41. He was, at the time, the youngest person to become Supreme Court justice since 1988, and remains as one of the youngest people to enter the court. He was the eighth Supreme Court nomination by President Lula.

Presidency of the Supreme Federal Court

On 13 September 2018, Toffoli succeeded Justice

Carmen Lúcia ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Op ...

as the president of the Supreme Federal Court. The court's vice president in this term is

Luiz Fux Luiz Fux (; born 26 April 1953) is a Brazilian judge and the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Federal Court. He is of Romanian Jewish descent, and the first Jewish Brazilian member of the Court. He was previously a minister of the Superior ...

Odebrecht report

In April 2019 the ''Crusoé'' magazine reported that a document from

Operation Car Wash Operation Car Wash ( pt, Operação Lava Jato) was a criminal investigation by the Federal Police of Brazil's Curitiba branch. It began in March 2014 and was initially headed by investigative judge in France, but unlike judges in the common law ...

reveals that then-Solicitor General Toffoli was involved in the

Odebrecht Odebrecht S.A. (), officially known as Novonor, is a Brazilian conglomerate, headquartered in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, consisting of diversified businesses in the fields of engineering, construction, chemicals and petrochemicals. The company w ...

scandal, according to the company's former chairman

Marcelo Odebrecht Marcelo Bahia Odebrecht (; born 18 October 1968) is a Brazilian businessman and the former CEO of Odebrecht, a diversified Brazilian conglomerate. In March 2016, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for paying more than $30 million in bribes. ...

. On 15 April STF justice

Alexandre de Moraes Alexandre de Moraes (; born 13 December 1968 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian jurist, currently serving as president of the Superior Electoral Court and as a justice of the Supreme Federal Court. Life Married with three children, Alexandre de Mor ...

ordered that ''Crusoé'' take down the article from their website. Toffoli himself later requested a probe into whether ''Crusoé'' illegally leaked the document. The Court's decision on the matter was criticized by outlets such as ''

The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reported ...

'' on the basis of

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

and attack on the

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toffoli, Dias 1967 births Living people Supreme Federal Court of Brazil justices 20th-century Brazilian lawyers University of São Paulo alumni People from São Paulo (state) Government ministers of Brazil People from Marília Vaza Jato 21st-century Brazilian judges