Judge celebrates ‘time for 2 or 3 shots of whiskey’ in order

The head judge of the 14th Labor Court of Salvador, Benilton Brito Guimarães, celebrated the cancellation of a teleface hearing scheduled for this Friday (4). In the order attached to the process on Thursday, Guimarães said that he could take advantage of the time for “two or three shots of whiskey.”

“Best for the judge and the secretary of hearing, who will be able to use their time for recreational activities, such as having two or three shots of whiskey, no more than that”, wrote the magistrate.

Guimaraes told leaf that he just wanted to express his dissatisfaction with the situation, as the cancellation of the hearing compromised the speed of the proceedings, but that he did not celebrate the fact. “I just used an irony to express my dissatisfaction with the fact that I was not able to give the processes the celerity that society deserves”, she said.

“I never imagined that a simple order, intended solely and exclusively to ratify the withdrawal of a process from the agenda, would generate so much fuss. The fact is that I practiced an act that was out of line with my ordinary behavior”, he said.

The lawsuit filed by a former employee of a food company provided for a hearing on Friday, at 3 pm.

However, on January 31, a joint ordinance by the presidency of the TRT-5 (Regional Labor Court of the 5th Region) and the regional internal affairs department suspended face-to-face activities until February 28.

As a result, the hearing would be held via teleconference. The parties to the proceedings may object and request adjournment until it is possible to hold the meeting in person.​

According to the order of Judge Guimarães, the company did not want to keep the date of the teleface hearing, resulting in the removal of the case from the agenda. “Wait for the return of face-to-face activities,” he wrote.

THE leaf, Guimarães said that “with absolute certainty” he did not intend to offend or harm anyone. “I did it because I had to reschedule hearings whose scheduling had cost me serious commitment.”

The CNJ (National Council of Justice) informed that it could not comment on the case because it may be urged to evaluate the case in the future if someone formally questions the judge’s position. The OAB (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil) in Bahia was contacted earlier this afternoon, but had not responded until 5 pm.