Brazil's&nbsp;Supreme&nbsp;Court&nbsp;began debating on Thursday whether to overturn a three-year-old rule that convicted criminals must go to prison right after losing their first appeal and not wait until they have exhausted their appeal options.

The rule contributed to the success of&nbsp;Brazil's biggest&nbsp;corruption&nbsp;investigation, the so-called <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/brazils-ex-president-michel-temer-arrested-reports-204712">Car Wash operation</a> that put dozens of company executives and politicians in jail for bribes and kickbacks,&nbsp;including&nbsp;former leftist <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ex-brazil-president-lula-convicted-on-graft-charges-sentenced-to-nearly-10-years-in-jail-17870">President Luiz Inacio&nbsp;Lula&nbsp;da Silva.</a>

The prospect of serving immediate prison time after losing a first appeal encouraged suspects to negotiate plea deals with prosecutors, providing them with information that helped unravel the biggest graft scheme in&nbsp;Brazil's history.

Lula&nbsp;and many others convicted of&nbsp;corruption&nbsp;in the Car Wash investigation&nbsp;could&nbsp;be released from prison if the top&nbsp;court&nbsp;reverses the rule, as expected when the justices vote on October 24.

Justice Marco Aurelio de Mello, the second-longest-serving justice on the 11-member&nbsp;court, told Reuters on Wednesday he would vote for a return to the original rule that all appeals must be exhausted before a convicted defendant goes to prison.

Mello rejected criticism that the debate was geared to benefit&nbsp;Lula, who went to jail in July 2018 for 8 years and 10 months for receiving bribes from engineering companies in return for government contracts.

Mello told reporters at the&nbsp;court&nbsp;on Thursday that he expects a 7-4 decision in favour of allowing defendants the right to a full appeals process before they are imprisoned.

Former judge Sergio Moro, who handled most of the Car Wash trials and is now justice minister in the government of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, said such a decision would be a big setback for&nbsp;Brazil's fight against&nbsp;corruption.

In Thursday's session, lawyers for political parties opposed to the rule and the&nbsp;Brazilian Bar Association argued that it violated the constitution, which establishes the presumption of innocence of a defendant throughout the appeals process.

"Whether we like it or not, whether we disagree with the Constitution or find it out of date, the fact is that this is what the Constitution says," said Jose Eduardo Cardozo, a former justice minister.

The top public prosecutor and the government's solicitor general, who have both defended the current rule, will have the closing arguments before the justices cast their votes.

According to the National Council of Justice, some 4,895&nbsp;convicts&nbsp;could&nbsp;potentially benefit from the rule change.

Brazil's Supreme Court began debating on Thursday whether to overturn a three-year-old rule that convicted criminals must go to prison right after losing their first appeal and not wait until they have exhausted their appeal options.

Brazil's Supreme Court began debating on Thursday whether to overturn a three-year-old rule that convicted criminals must go to prison right after losing their first appeal and not wait until they have exhausted their appeal options. The rule contributed to the success of Brazil's biggest corruption investigation, the so-called Car Wash operation that put dozens of company executives and politicians in jail for bribes and kickbacks, including former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The prospect of serving immediate prison time after losing a first appeal encouraged suspects to negotiate plea deals with prosecutors, providing them with information that helped unravel the biggest graft scheme in Brazil's history. Lula and many others convicted of corruption in the Car Wash investigation could be released from prison if the top court reverses the rule, as expected when the justices vote on October 24. Justice Marco Aurelio de Mello, the second-longest-serving justice on the 11-member court, told Reuters on Wednesday he would vote for a return to the original rule that all appeals must be exhausted before a convicted defendant goes to prison. Mello rejected criticism that the debate was geared to benefit Lula, who went to jail in July 2018 for 8 years and 10 months for receiving bribes from engineering companies in return for government contracts. Mello told reporters at the court on Thursday that he expects a 7-4 decision in favour of allowing defendants the right to a full appeals process before they are imprisoned. Former judge Sergio Moro, who handled most of the Car Wash trials and is now justice minister in the government of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, said such a decision would be a big setback for Brazil's fight against corruption. In Thursday's session, lawyers for political parties opposed to the rule and the Brazilian Bar Association argued that it violated the constitution, which establishes the presumption of innocence of a defendant throughout the appeals process. "Whether we like it or not, whether we disagree with the Constitution or find it out of date, the fact is that this is what the Constitution says," said Jose Eduardo Cardozo, a former justice minister. The top public prosecutor and the government's solicitor general, who have both defended the current rule, will have the closing arguments before the justices cast their votes. According to the National Council of Justice, some 4,895 convicts could potentially benefit from the rule change.

Brazil Supreme Court ruling could free corruption convicts, including Lula da Silva

Brazil&#39;s Supreme Court lashed out Saturday after a report that President Michel Temer had ordered the country&#39;s intelligence services to dig up dirt on the judge overseeing his corruption case.

The report in Veja magazine on Friday quoted an unnamed aide to Temer saying that the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, known as Abin, had been tasked with finding compromising material on Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin.

Although the presidential palace quickly issued a statement denying the report, the Supreme Court came out with an unusually strongly worded statement of its own Saturday to denounce any pressure on its judges.

&quot;It is inadmissable to commit a very serious crime against the Federal Supreme Court, against democracy and against liberty,&quot; said the statement signed by Chief Justice Carmen Lucia.

Describing pressure against judges as &quot;the practice of a dictatorship,&quot; Lucia said the court &quot;vehemently rejects spurious, unconstitutional and immoral snooping against any citizen and even more so against one of its members -- even more so if aimed at embarrassing a judge.&quot;

The statement warned of &quot;legal, political and institutional consequences&quot; if the reported operation were &quot;proven at any time.&quot;

Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot sent his own statement, saying he &quot;vehemently repudiates&quot; any attempt to gather embarrassing details on a judge.

The Supreme Court is overseeing scores of corruption cases against Brazilian politicians, including ministers, senators and lower house deputies, whose cases are not handled by lower courts.

The slew of graft cases have been unleashed by investigators with the &quot;Car Wash&quot; operation against embezzlement and bribery at the top levels of politics and business. Fachin is the head judge for &quot;Car Wash&quot; matters.

&#39;Now it&#39;s war&#39;

Temer himself is now under investigation for bribe taking and obstruction of justice related to the array of interlocking &quot;Car Wash&quot; corruption scandals.

In a separate case Friday, Temer was narrowly exonerated by the seven judges on the Supreme Electoral Tribunal who had been examining whether his 2014 election was marred by illegal campaign donations.

Temer denies all the charges against him, but now that the election controversy has been put aside he is believed to be gearing up for an intensified fight with prosecutors over the corruption allegations.

Veja, which specializes in political scoops, published its story on the alleged use of the intelligence agency against Justice Fachin with a cover showing Temer dressed as a soldier and the headline: &quot;Now it&#39;s war.&quot;

The presidential palace quickly responded, saying Temer &quot;never deployed (Abin) to investigate the life of Supreme Court Minister Edson Fachin, as was reported.&quot;

&quot;The government does not use the public machinery against Brazilian citizens, much less in any sort of action that would not respect the strict rules of the law.&quot;

The statement also insisted on the Temer government&#39;s support for &quot;Car Wash.&quot;

Temer is under investigation for bribe taking and obstruction of justice related to the array of interlocking 'Car Wash' corruption scandals

Brazil's Supreme Court lashed out Saturday after a report that President Michel Temer had ordered the country's intelligence services to dig up dirt on the judge overseeing his corruption case. The report in Veja magazine on Friday quoted an unnamed aide to Temer saying that the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, known as Abin, had been tasked with finding compromising material on Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin. Although the presidential palace quickly issued a statement denying the report, the Supreme Court came out with an unusually strongly worded statement of its own Saturday to denounce any pressure on its judges. "It is inadmissable to commit a very serious crime against the Federal Supreme Court, against democracy and against liberty," said the statement signed by Chief Justice Carmen Lucia. Describing pressure against judges as "the practice of a dictatorship," Lucia said the court "vehemently rejects spurious, unconstitutional and immoral snooping against any citizen and even more so against one of its members -- even more so if aimed at embarrassing a judge." The statement warned of "legal, political and institutional consequences" if the reported operation were "proven at any time." Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot sent his own statement, saying he "vehemently repudiates" any attempt to gather embarrassing details on a judge. The Supreme Court is overseeing scores of corruption cases against Brazilian politicians, including ministers, senators and lower house deputies, whose cases are not handled by lower courts. The slew of graft cases have been unleashed by investigators with the "Car Wash" operation against embezzlement and bribery at the top levels of politics and business. Fachin is the head judge for "Car Wash" matters. 'Now it's war' Temer himself is now under investigation for bribe taking and obstruction of justice related to the array of interlocking "Car Wash" corruption scandals. In a separate case Friday, Temer was narrowly exonerated by the seven judges on the Supreme Electoral Tribunal who had been examining whether his 2014 election was marred by illegal campaign donations. Temer denies all the charges against him, but now that the election controversy has been put aside he is believed to be gearing up for an intensified fight with prosecutors over the corruption allegations. Veja, which specializes in political scoops, published its story on the alleged use of the intelligence agency against Justice Fachin with a cover showing Temer dressed as a soldier and the headline: "Now it's war." The presidential palace quickly responded, saying Temer "never deployed (Abin) to investigate the life of Supreme Court Minister Edson Fachin, as was reported." "The government does not use the public machinery against Brazilian citizens, much less in any sort of action that would not respect the strict rules of the law." The statement also insisted on the Temer government's support for "Car Wash."

Brazil: Supreme Court lashes out at Temer 'snooping'

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Brazil Supreme Court ruling could free corruption convicts, including Lula da Silva

Brazil: Supreme Court lashes out at Temer 'snooping'