THE APPLICATION OF FREE JUSTICE IN CRIMINAL LAW, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENSE OFFICE

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.2163292323102

• Palavras-chave: Public defense. Exemption. Procedural Costs. Free Justice. Legal Assistance.

• Keywords: Public defense. Exemption. Procedural Costs. Free Justice. Legal Assistance.

• Abstract:

  In view of the search for strengthening democracy and equity among citizens, the 1998 Federal Constitution established in its article 5, item: LXXIV, that the State has the obligation to provide full and free legal assistance to those who prove insufficient resources (BRASIL, 1998). Legal assistance is understood as the granting of free justice to the guarantee of legal assistance provided by the Public Defender's Office, respecting the principles of broad defense and adversarial proceedings, as well as bringing those most in need closer to access to justice. Through research into doctrines, laws, jurisprudence, and a case study in a specific Criminal Court in the Southern Region of Minas Gerais, it was found that there is a divergence of understandings regarding the granting of free justice to those assisted by the Public Defender's Office. - that these are people with insufficient resources - in criminal proceedings. In view of this divergence, this research exposed the arguments in favor of granting exemption from procedural costs, and the arguments that support the opposite understanding, concluding that the benefit must be guaranteed for those assisted by the Public Defender's Office after analyzing these reflections.