BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Cristiano Zanin, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s former defense lawyer, to serve on the country’s Supreme Court.
Zanin, 47, will be the youngest justice on the 11-member court and could remain there for 28 years.
Zanin, a partner at law firm Zanin Martins Advogados, gained recognition in recent years for defending Lula against corruption charges, helping to throw out a conviction at the Supreme Court and release him in 2019 after 580 days in jail.
The Senate voted 58-18 to confirm Zanin. Support for Zanin’s candidacy was helped by his role defending Lula against charges in the “Car Wash” investigation, which landed dozens of politicians in jail for graft tied to contracts with state firms. That probe has come under fire in recent years amid allegations of political motivations and procedural lapses.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by David Gregorio)
