Dias Toffoli annuls conviction of Antônia Lúcia Câmara

Supreme Court Justice Dias Toffoli has annulled a conviction involving former federal deputy Antônia Lúcia Câmara, ruling that the Regional Federal Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) usurped the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. The decision, signed on September 16 in Criminal Action 2.860, mandates that the case be resubmitted for a new trial within the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

Originally, the 1st Federal Court of Acre sentenced Câmara in December 2023 to seven years and seven months of semi-open imprisonment for embezzlement (peculato) and passive corruption. While a subsequent TRF1 ruling in June 2026 partially acquitted her of corruption charges, it upheld the embezzlement conviction.

Toffoli’s decision is based on a precedent established by the STF in March 2025 (Habeas Corpus 232.627), which determined that the prerogative of forum for crimes committed during and due to the exercise of office remains even after the mandate ends. The ruling clarifies that this interpretation applies to ongoing processes, including those in the appellate phase, meaning the TRF1 should not have proceeded with the judgment.