Hey Judge, What’s Your Name?

You may recall that the term “doctor” is often used in Brazil to respectfully refer to a lawyer. Check out our article here if you missed our discussion on the topic. But now let’s say you need to address a judge. What’s the best word to use?

In Brazil, you’ll find at least four different words to refer to a judge: juiz, desembargador, ministro, and magistrado. It doesn’t mean, however, that you can just pick your favorite or use them randomly. Each is used in a particular context.

Juiz is the person who serves in courts of first instance. These are generally what we refer to in the US as trial courts judges. For example, if you file a lawsuit in a small city within the state of Rio, your petition would likely be addressed to the juiz.

Desembargador is the term adopted by members of each state’s Tribunal de Justiça. For comparison sake, a desembargador is what we think of as an appeals court judge in the US. In the Brazilian court system, 80% of the desembargadores are former juizes approved by the Governor while the remaining 20% must be former prosecutors and lawyers.

Ministro refers to members of the country’s supreme courts, which are the Superior Tribunal of Justice and the Federal Supreme Court.

Finally, the term magistrado is more general and normally used by newspapers and academics when referring to the judiciary.

Now, the next time you must address a  judge in Brazil, make sure you use the correct title.