Judicial Work and Judges’ Motivation: The Perceptions of Brazilian State Judges

• Author: Adalmir Oliveira Gomes,Tomas Aquino Guimaraes,Eda Castro Lucas de Souza
• Date: 01 April 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/lapo.12050
• Published date: 01 April 2016

Judicial Work and Judges’ Motivation: The

Perceptions of Brazilian State Judges

ADALMIR OLIVEIRA GOMES, TOMAS AQUINO GUIMARAES, and

EDA CASTRO LUCAS DE SOUZA

The professional ethos of judges has undergone many changes in Brazil in recent years,

generating conflicts about the role of these professionals in society. This article examines how

Brazilian judges deal with those conflicts. The objective is to identify how judges perceive their

social role and, based on that, what motivates them in their work. A series of twenty-five in-depth

interviews was carried out with Brazilian state judges working in all regions of the country in

different judicial specialties. The findings indicate that the judges interviewed can be classified

into four different profiles according to the predominant social role: (1) social activist; (2)

service provider; (3) judicial restraint; and (4) defender of the status quo. Each profile

corresponds to a specific individual and social motivation.

INTRODUCTION

The Brazilian judiciary has undergone important changes over the last two decades as it

has modernized its operation, expanded access to citizens, and improved the quality of

judicial services. Judges are among the actors most affected by these changes, and the

changes have had direct effects on their ways of working, technical tools that they use,

and their personal relationships. Perhaps the most important change is the increased

scope of the judge’s role in society. The traditional role of the judge is the interpretation

and application of the law. However, the role of the judge now goes beyond that and

involves solving social problems, with responsibility for meeting society’s expectations

and implementing social justice. Another more recent role involves the figure of the

judge–manager, who seeks first of all to solve the administrative problems of the

judiciary.

The different social roles performed by judges in Brazil are the starting point of the

empirical puzzle that this work aims to solve. The purpose of this study is to identify how

judges perceive their social role, and, based on that, what motivates them at work. It is an

assumption of this study that judges’ motivation depends directly on their perceived social

role. A series of twenty-five in-depth interviews were carried out with judges who work in

districts of the Brazilian State Justice System in several regions of the country and in dif-

ferent judicial specialties.

The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the Brazilian National Council for Technological

Development and the helpful comments and suggestions from anonymous reviewers at Law & Policy.

Address correspondence to: Adalmir Oliveira Gomes, University of Brasilia—Management Campus

Universitario Darcy Ribeiro, Asa Norte, FACE, Room A1 62/4, Brasilia, Distrito Federal 70910-900, Brazil,

Telephone: 55-61-98048080; E-mail: adalmirdeoliveira@gmail.com.

LAW & POLICY, Vol. 38, No. 2, April 2016 ISSN 0265–8240

V

C2016 The Authors

Law & Policy V

C2016 The University of Denver/Colorado Seminary

doi: 10.1111/lapo.12050