Brazil Supreme Court President in Hospital With Possible COVID-19 Infection
The court's vice president assumes the lead as new coronavirus infections rise to hot spot levels and political investigations engulf Brazil's president.
May 25, 2020 at 01:00 PM
3 minute read
Supreme Court of Justice, Brasília, Brazil / Photo: Shutterstock.com
The president of the Brazilian Supreme Court has been hospitalized with respiratory symptoms that suggest he may be infected with the coronavirus, the court said Sunday in announcing a temporary replacement.
José Antonio Dias Toffoli is breathing without the aid of machines, the court said. But Vice President Luiz Fux will assume the presidency for at least seven days pending test results and signs of improvement for Dias Toffoli. The court's statement said the Supreme Court president initially went to the hospital to have an abscess drained.
The hospitalization comes as Brazil became the latest hot spot for COVID-19. The country reported more than 360,000 confirmed cases as of this past weekend, the second-highest infection rate for the virus after the United States.
The U.S. on Sunday announced a ban on entry for most travelers from Brazil in an effort to stem further contagion.
President Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed the need for social isolation during the health crisis, while citing the pandemic as the reason for a host of emergency measures he has implemented in recent months. These measures have expanded executive powers in Latin America's biggest economy.
The Brazilian high court has been very active during the health emergency to provide checks on executive power. Last week, it authorized the release of a videotaped April 22 cabinet meeting in which Bolsonaro urged replacement of the head of Brazil's federal police to prevent Bolsonaro's family and friends from getting "screwed."
Justice Minister Sergio Moro, a popular anti-corruption crusader, resigned soon after that April 22 meeting, accusing the president of meddling with an investigation into questionable dealings by his inner circle. Those accusations have led to a federal criminal probe.
And in May, the court suspended a government order requiring phone carriers to share personal information of customers with the country's statistics agency purportedly to compile more complete data during the COVID-19 health emergency.
The court has also been asked to intervene to make sure that public entities respond to information requests in a timely manner during the health crisis, and that government officials be held accountable for negligence in the battle against the new coronavirus.
READ MORE:
Brazil's High Court Strikes Down Pandemic Order to Share Phone User Data
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
As Uncertainty Continues Over PGA Merger, LIV Golf Hires Entertainment Industry Veteran as Legal Chief
Ted Olson, Legal 'Titan' and Former US Solicitor General Who Argued Bush v. Gore, Dies
Trending Stories
- 1Court Rules Mere Conduit Defense Not Suitable for a Motion to Dismiss
- 2Ironclad Officially Launches New Gen AI Assistant Jurist
- 3After Litigation with Ex-COO, Proskauer Fills Role
- 4Federal Judge Sends Novel Damages Question in Employment Dispute to State Court
- 5Trade Secret Litigation: How Will AI Innovations Likely Be Litigated?
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
