The Supreme Federal Court (STF) takes an average of 553 days to judge criminal cases, but concluded the case that resulted in the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro for attempted coup in 153 days. The court's slower-than-average turnaround time has drawn criticism from the former president's defense and allies.
The survey, carried out by USP researcher and ESPM-SP professor Ana Laura Barbosa , based on the STF's Corte Aberta platform, analyzed criminal actions between 2001 and 2025, considering the period between the filing of the criminal action, when the process is formally registered with the Supreme Court after the complaint is accepted, and the final decision, taken jointly by the ministers in the Panels or in the Plenary.
The average time for this type of action in this segment was 553 days, equivalent to 1 year and 6 months. The criminal action at the crucial core of the coup was concluded in 153 days, approximately 5 months.
The researcher highlights that, starting in 2023, there was a significant drop in the average time of collegiate trials, driven, among other factors, by the priority that the STF began to give to cases linked to the coup acts of January 8th.
In Ana Laura Barbosa's assessment, these processes were treated as central to democracy. There was also concern that they would not impact the election period.
"Because it's an important matter, it makes perfect sense to prioritize it," he says, highlighting that the organization of the offices also contributes to faster processes.
During this same period, the Supreme Court amended its internal regulations and returned criminal cases to the Panels, a measure aimed at streamlining processing. The pace, however, fueled criticism.
Since the investigation began, Bolsonaro's allies have accused rapporteur Alexandre de Moraes of artificially expediting the case. In the criminal cases under his jurisdiction during this period, the average length of time has been about 1 year and 3 months (457 days), almost three times longer than the coup plot, which took 153 days.
Criticism intensified in the political arena. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), son of the former president, told Estadão that the speed of the proceedings demonstrated"a rigged trial" and that there was "not enough time" for the defense to analyze the documents, a statement made during the amnesty rally at the end of July on Paulista Avenue.
In the court itself, Luiz Fux's dissenting vote reinforced this line by pointing to a lack of defense in light of the"tsunami of data" gathered in the case files. The minister acquitted Bolsonaro of all the crimes in the indictment.
The researcher, however, considers that the mere length of the process is not enough to conclude that there was an undue restriction or anticipation, since all legal steps were followed."This does not mean that there was any harm to the defense," she adds.
Bolsonaro was sentenced by a 4-1 vote by the Supreme Court's First Chamber this Friday, the 11th, to 27 years and 3 months in prison. The decision covered all five crimes in the indictment: coup d'état, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, armed criminal organization, aggravated damage to federal property, and deterioration of listed heritage.
