Brazil senate confirms new supreme court justice News
Brazil senate confirms new supreme court justice

The Brazil federal senate [official website] on Wednesday confirmed [press release, in Portuguese] President Michel Temer’s [official profile] nominee for the vacant Supreme Court [official website] seat, Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes, a 49-year-old lawyer, professor and current justice minister, was approved by a vote of 55-13 in the senate. The seat had been open since the January 20 death [JURIST report] of former justice Teori Zavascki. Zavascki was considered a reformer and had overseen anti-corruption measure Operation Carwash [JURIST report]. Left leaning senators objected [Reuters report] to the appointment as a move designed to insulate the Temer administration from review.

Brazil has endured tumultuous times as former president Dilma Rousseff was ousted for corruption [JURIST report] during a time of economic turmoil. Charges have been filed against some of Brazil’s most powerful politicians, including [JURIST report] former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In late September former finance minister Antonio Palocci was arrested [JURIST report]. In November Rousseff’s lawyers filed documents [JURIST report] with the Superior Electoral Court in Brazil alleging that her former vice president and current President Michel Temer took a large bribe.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.