Hearsay testimony: criminal jurisprudence of the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice in counter-epistemic innovation

Abstract

This article analyzes the limitation of the probative value of indirect witnesses (hearsay) based on the importation of a U.S. legal doctrine as if it were comparable or applicable to the Brazilian criminal procedural epistemology. The article examines cases in which courts rely on hearsay and subsequently argues that incorporating the doctrine as a prohibition on the use of a legally admissible means of evidence constitutes a misapplication, infringing upon the principle of reasoned judicial discretion. Methodologically, the article adopts an exploratory approach and relies on a literature review concerning the hearsay doctrine.