How does the State Court of Justice of Minas Gerais handle racial crimes?

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze how the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais (TJMG) adjudicates cases involving racism and racial slander submitted to its jurisdiction. The research was conducted through the examination of judicial decisions made available on the TJMG's official website, indexed using keywords designed to identify racial disputes, resulting in the identification of 599 cases. From this corpus, 262 decisions were randomly selected for detailed analysis, utilizing a structured questionnaire focused on procedural dynamics within the justice system and the manner in which racial conflicts were addressed by the court. The findings reveal a tendency among judicial actors to categorize offenses exclusively as racial slander, frequently employing reasoning aimed at mitigating or dismissing the gravity of these infractions. This pattern underscores a judicial reluctance to effectively sanction acts of racism, reflecting a broader systemic inclination to minimize or disregard its occurrence