Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha (; 19 April 1954) is a Brazilian jurist and member of the Supreme Federal Court since 2006. She is the second woman to have been chosen as a justice for the Court and Chief Justice and a professor of Constitutional Law at Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais. She was nominated by former President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Antunes Rocha's work has been marked by the rigor with which she tries corruption cases and her firm stance regarding women's rights.
She is currently the President of the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil. She was the President of the Supreme Federal Court. She became Acting President from April 13, 2018, until April 14 of the same year, as President Michel Temer attended the VIII Summit of the Americas, and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia, and the president of the Senate, Eunício Oliveira were outside Brazil.
At her introduction to the role she was championed by José Celso de Mello Filho, the most senior justice of the court. Lucia replaced Ricardo Lewandowski who had been known for championing a reduction in oversight and an increase in remuneration for judges. Her champion gave a speech talking about the need to remove corruption, although the event had presence of a number of alleged suspects. In 2018, the minister Dias Toffoli succeeded Carmen Lúcia as president of the Court.
Supreme Federal Court She was nominated by then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the position of Justice of the Supreme Federal Court, filling the vacancy left by Justice Nelson Jobim, who retired on May 26, 2006.
In the Federal Senate, she was considered an excellent phrase-maker. During her confirmation hearing, Lúcia stated: "When they find me, not even in death will they see me with my arms crossed, in the face of what has been my struggle for us to have a just Brazil." Her nomination was approved by the Senate by 55 votes to 1 on May 24, 2006.
Mensalão scandal In October 2012, during the trial that convicted José Dirceu, Marcos Valério, and 23 others, Lúcia voted to acquit 13 defendants accused of conspiracy in the Mensalão scandal. Her vote for acquittal was criticized by then-Supreme Court Justice Joaquim Barbosa.
Prisons
Natan Donadon In June 2013, Lúcia issued an arrest warrant for Congressman Natan Donadon (PMDB-RO), who was sentenced to 13 years, 4 months, and 10 days in prison, initially under a closed regime, for the crimes of conspiracy and embezzlement. Lúcia was the rapporteur for the case. With the Supreme Court's decision, Donadon was sentenced not only to prison but also to the loss of his political rights.
Delcídio do Amaral In November 2015, Lúcia voted in favor of the arrest of then-Senator Delcídio do Amaral, at the time the leader of the government of former President Dilma Rousseff. It was the first time in history that a sitting senator was arrested in Brazil, and the reading of her vote became symbolic of the event. In it, Lúcia makes a statement in favor of do Amaral's arrest, comparing "the overcoming of hope over fear"—a motto of the Workers' Party's political campaign for the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president of the republic—to the Mensalão scandal, and the mockery of believing that immunity is synonymous with impunity.
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