Day 8 - Monday, May 25, 2009: Vitoria, Brasil (University of Vila Velha)

by Dale Harrison

Flying in to Vitoria for classes at Vila Velha University, I was anxious to see and experience how the law is taught and practiced in Brazil. This curiosity was increased after my host, Guilherme, picked me up from the airport and a friend of his told me that she studied law at the University for two years but dropped out because of her frustration with what she described as an inept process.

When I arrived at the University of Vila Velha, it became immediately apparent the differences between our two legal systems. The law school is part of the large university, like in the U.S., except in Brazil there is only one building with all the students of the university intermingling and sharing class rooms. This is due to the fact that a law degree is earned in Brazil by attending a 5 year program without an undergraduate equivalent - law students in Brazil work towards their law degree immediately after high school. The aesthetics of the university also gave a different feeling than one would have in a U.S. law school; for example, the students can be as young as 17 years old, their lockers lined the halls of the building, and there were small desks in all the rooms. All this gave one the feeling that they were in a high school and not a university - to me it even smelled like my high school.

The Rector, which is the equivalent of the President of the university, gave the first lecture, and the difference in perspective between our two countries became evident from the beginning. After discussing the history and culture of Brazil, the Rector began to discuss the recent election of Barack Obama and its impact on Brazilian-U.S. relations and tied this to a discussion on Affirmative Action in Brazil - which is currently one of the most controversial topics in Brazil. The Rector commented that with the election of Barack Obama as the first African American President that racism no longer existed in the U.S. and insinuated that Affirmative action was no longer needed in the U.S. and is not applicable in Brazil because they did not have race issues like the U.S. The Rector also stated that Affirmative Action in Brazil was unfair because admission is based solely on one exam and there currently exists a quota system to ensure Afro-Brazilian acceptance to Brazilian universities. Therefore, individuals with lower scores gained admittance to universities over those with better scores.

Professor cummings (pictured at far right, with Professor John Taylor, middle, and the Rector) pointed out to that the mere election of a African American does not automatically end race issues in the U.S. and making such a statement can be dangerous. He also pointed out that although quotas for admissions in Brazil may appear unfair, in actuality it is not unfair because of cultural bias of “impartial exams” and the unequal education opportunities of Afro-Brazilians at the grade school and high school level. The Rector did not fully address the issues raised by Professor cummings, but he did state that he was simply giving his opinion and that it was a vaild point that racism is not necessarily nonexistent in the U.S. because of the mere fact there is an African-American as President.

After the Rector’s initial lecture, the group traveled to Espirita Santo’s State Supreme Court and a retired justice, Justice Tasso Lugon (pictured, right) gave a tour of the court building and gave a lecture on the work of a Brazilian judge and the process of becoming a Brazilian judge. Many interesting difference was highlighted by Justice Tasso; for example, judges in Brazil are not appointed, but instead earn judicial posts based only on an exam. Other notable differences of a Brazilan judge and US judge discussed by Justice Tasso was that judges in Brazil are not merely adjudicative referees, but instead are dominant actors in the process where the judge asks his or her own questions, and judges in Brazil rule on thousands of cases at all levels of the judiciary. In fact one new feature implemented in Brazil was the “justice on wheels” program, where a judge will travel via bus to more rural areas and will hear cases of those who can not get to cities and have their cases tried. During Justice Tasso’s lecture/tour the class had an opportunity to see the Supreme Courtroom and take pictures of each of us in the class sitting in one of the 25 seats reserved for the state justices - a very generous gesture by Justice Tasso.

After lunch the a series of lectures were given by professors of the law school, the topics included Brazilian civil procedure, economic conditions of the state, environmental refugees, international law on refugees, and the military priorities of Brazil regarding the Amazon and the Amazons reserve of natural resources, like oil and gas.

In the middle of the Brazilian lectures Professor cummings also gave a lecture on the current economic crisis. Unlike Brazilian law classes, which are lecture based, Professor cummings used the Socratic method to model to the Brazilian law students how the law is taught in the US. The first individual to get the “cummings treatment” was Cris Bombard, whose outstanding performance made the rest of us in the group look good in front of the Brazilian students watching.

During Professor cummings' lecture, the positives of the Socratic Method became clear because, unlike the other lectures, it was engaging and enlightening with students´ differing opinions being discussed and considered. In fact, even a few Brazilian students who were watching the lecture took the opportunity to weigh in on the economic impact of the local economy.

After the lectures which lasted from 9 am until 9 pm some students went home to sleep after a long day and others went out to relax and get a meal. My host took me out to eat and afterwards we went back to his home to study for the next day and get some sleep.

When we got to his home, which was two blocks from the beach, I found that his mother had generously washed all the dirty clothes I had from the Amazon and had them neatly folded on my bed. I told Guilherme his mother did not have to do that but he insisted that the week that I was staying at his home I was his mother’s pale/red headed adopted son, and therefore my cloths were going to be washed despite my protests. Although the rest of the class will without a doubt argue with me on this point, I had the most generous and giving hosts. Words cannot explain my gratitude for hospitality i experienced while staying with Guilherme and his mother - They gave me the full experience of being part of a Brazilin family, and for that I am incredibly thankful.