Judicial precedents in criminal matters and criminal procedure in the light of the film “anatomy of a murder”

Abstract

The strengthening of the judge's interpretative activity corroborated to the creation of a scenario of uncertainty arising from the constant divergences in the decisions made by national magistrates. The Civil Procedure Code of 2015 - CCP/2015, vigilant to the situation, brought in its core the figure of binding precedents, aiming to standardize the jurisprudence to guarantee equality and legal security. Considering that, as in the civil field, also in the criminal sphere, the dissent in the interpretation of the law results in similar cases receiving a different jurisdictional response, the present study intends to verify the feasibility of the application of the precedente judicial as provided in CCP/2015, in criminal and criminal procedural. Based on the interaction between Law and Cinema, the film Anatomy of a Crime - which portrays the theme in its plot - is used as a background for the raised hypothesis - analyzing the application of the precedent in the context of the film - and northern law American - and its consequences. It also seeks to address different positions regarding the introduction of a system of precedents in the criminal field, whose strict legality prevails due to the severity of the sanction imposed, that is, the restriction of individual freedom, as well as discussing the existence of legislative gaps to enable the employment of the institute. Also, an examination of the judgments rendered by the Superior Court of Justice is carried out to identify the adoption of the practice in the criminal sphere and its compatibility with the model of the use of precedents portrayed in the aforementioned film. For this, methodologically, the hypothetical-deductive, comparative and dialectic methods are used in a bibliographic and jurisprudencial approach.