Traffic warden charged with telling a judge he "is no God"

The Court of Rio de Janeiro has sentenced a traffic warden to pay $1,980 in damages to a magistrate after pulling him over.

The case began three years ago, when traffic warden Luciana Tamburini caught judge João Carlos Correa driving a plateless vehicle without a driver's license during a traffic stop in the Southern area of Rio. As she ordered the seizure of the vehicle, the judge reportedly tried to use his position to evade law enforcement, eventually using his powers of arrest to take her to a police station.

The traffic warden sought damages for embarassment and duress coercion, but Correa appealed and sued her for insulting him by saying that he “is a judge, but is no God.”

The court decision on the case was announced Friday (Oct. 31). José Carlos Paes, of the Court of Justice of Rio, ruled that “upon finding that the defendant [Correa] was driving a plateless vehicle without a driver's license, the plaintiff [Tamburini] abused her authority by insulting him even though she was aware of his important public role [as a judge]. By stating that the defendant 'is a judge, but is no God', the traffic warden made little of his position and its social significance.”

Paes also found that “the plaintiff clearly meant by such conduct to confront and insult the magistrate,” and that it was an act of “defiance of the magistrate class at large and all that it represents.” She may still appeal the decision.

The case has sparked wide media coverage and advocacy for the traffic warden on social media. Supporters even organized a crowdfunding campaign to raise the indemnity amount she was ordered to pay, grossing over 70% of the money on the first day alone.

The president of the Magistrates' Association of Rio de Janeiro, Rossidélio Fonte, thinks the decision has not been motivated by class bias. “I think this was an individual situation, but only by seeking evidence in the case records can any definite statements be made,” he said, adding that a judge should behave like any ordinary person should when they are pulled over.

Armando Souza, of the Traffic Laws Committee of the Bar Association of Brazil, said he sees “no intention by the traffic warden to attack the magistrate's honor. The court held otherwise and convicted her some damage that I can't see in this case to the best of my judgment.”

Souza went on: “We're all equals under the law and this is also true of the magistrate, so he, too, must abide by the law. All people – senators, judges, footballers, lawyers alike – are equal. We must all abide by the law.”

In a statement, the local Traffic Department of Rio stated that no offenses were committed by the involved traffic officers. According to the statement, “all drivers pulled over are subject to the same procedures and the actions of the traffic officers have been in accordance with the law.”

*With additional reporting by Maurício de Almeida, TV Brasil

Translated by Mayra Borges