SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE NULLITY OF JURY TRIAL DUE TO EXTRA-JUDICIAL INFLUENCE: ANALYSIS OF AGRG CASE IN ARESP No. 2,178,933.

Abstract

This scientific article examines the admissibility and recognition of the nullity of the verdict issued by the Jury Court due to extrajudicial influence on the Council of Sentence. The issue is analyzed through the lens of the sovereignty of the verdicts versus the fullness of defense, as it is essential that the jurors' decision be formed by their intimate conviction, free from external pressure or elements. The study focuses on recent jurisprudence from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), highlighting the precedent of the Agravo Regimental no Agravo em Recurso Especial (AgRg no AREsp) n. 2.178.933, which dealt with annulment due to the breach of juror non-communication and emotional influence stemming from off-the-record narratives. It is concluded that the use of elements extraneous to the process, capable of contaminating the juror's impartiality, constitutes an absolute nullity. To mitigate the subjectivity of this assessment, the Tripartite Contamination Test (TTC) is proposed as an objective analysis tool. The TTC demonstrates that nullity should be decreed when three factors are cumulatively present: the external element, the sensitive procedural moment, and the causal link to the juror's reaction, thus overcoming the need for proof of injury (pas de nullité sans grief) in cases of such severe procedural defect.