A senior judge has been filmed necking wine straight from the bottle and lighting a cigarette with a blowtorch during a live hearing. Colleagues watched in shock as Judge Milton Livio Lemos Salles drank and smoked while dressed in a jacket and pair of Bermuda shorts.
The online session was stopped at once and three cases were left unheard. Judge Salles appeared on camera tipping the bottle to his lips and using a blowtorch to light his smoke.
Suspension and Investigation
The National Council of Justice ordered his immediate suspension yesterday (11 Aug) following the virtual hearing of the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The state court had already sidelined him on the same day and launched a formal probe. He is currently banned from all court buildings, computer systems and official cars.
His gun permit and firearm registration have also been suspended. Cases under his name will be reassigned to another judge.
Council's Response
Council officials said his behaviour showed a state "manifestly incompatible with the serenity, lucidity and balance that the function of judging imposes".
They added: "It cannot be admitted that decisions affecting the rights and liberty of parties be rendered by a magistrate who... shows himself ostentatiously deprived of self-control."
The conduct created a "concrete risk" to society and the justice system, they said. Court rules demand the same standards of dress and decorum in video hearings as in person.
Previous Incidents
National law requires "irreproachable conduct in public and private life". This is not the first alcohol-related trouble for the judge.
In 2020, he turned up at a female appeals judge's apartment block carrying a beer can, smelling of drink and walking unsteadily. He received an official warning in 2022 for behaviour incompatible with the job.
According to reports, his partner obtained an emergency protective order against him in April after reporting threats to her job, her mother's property and unauthorised entry to her home.
Reaction and Consequences
The state bar association called the episode an insult that "weakens the justice system" and demanded urgent action.
After the video spread, the judge filmed himself claiming "defamation". He said: "I have 36 years in the magistracy... this court, the supreme court, supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes, they are all corrupt. I'm tired, very tired."
He offered no evidence and later refused further comment. The Minas Gerais Court of Justice has confirmed that a protective measure against the judge is currently still in force.
Experts said penalties could range from a formal warning to loss of office or paid suspension for up to two years.
Two formal investigations into Monday's hearing remain open.
