The importance of The Supreme Federal Court’s decision in extraordinay appeal no. 973837-MG as indicative political-criminal guidance beyond the use of genetic material for the purpose of maintaining a state database

Abstract

The present study has as its specific objective the consideration of the importance of the future decision of the Federal Supreme Court in Extraordinary Appeal No. 973837-MG as a landmark that will ground the Brazilian criminal policy on, and beyond, the creation of databases of genetic material when it involves criminal situations. The theme is current, complex, controversial and demands scientific reflection. The expected decision will define important features that will guide the national criminal policy in dealing with new technological possibilities and their use in criminal matters. The Extraordinary Appeal with recognized General Repercussion attacks the constitutionality of art. 9-A of Law 7.210/84, introduced by
Law 12.654/12, which establishes the identification and storage of genetic profiles of people
convicted of violent or heinous crimes. The violation of personality rights and of the principle
nemo tenetur se detegere is questioned, which refers to the guarantee of not producing evidence
against oneself (art. 1, III and art. 5, X, LIV and LXIII of the Federal Constitution). A series of
opposing elements orbit around the theme, such as the maintenance of a guarantee structure and
greater protection of the value of human dignity and the contemporary need for the LegalCriminal System to absorb the new technologies that increase the efficiency of criminal
procedure as well as of the legal-penal dogmatic structure itself. In order to reach the chosen
objective, a methodological combination of topical and systematic elements will be used, of
inductive orientation in the hard-case analysis and deductive-bibliographical in the reflective
part about the possible results depending on the position adopted by the Supreme Court in the
time to come.