Dias Toffoli
José Antonio Dias Toffoli is a Brazilian lawyer who has been a member of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil since 2009, nominated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Toffoli was the president of the Supreme Federal Court for the 2018–20 term.
Biography
José Dias Toffoli was born in Marília, São Paulo, in 1967, the son of Luiz Toffoli and Sebastiana Seixas Dias Toffoli. He attended the University of São Paulo law school from 1986 to 1990, graduating with a bachelor's degree in law. While in college, Toffoli presided over the student union. From 1996 to 2002, he was a constitutional and family law professor at Centro Universitário de Brasília.In 1994 and 1995, Toffoli took examinations for a position as a judge in the state of São Paulo, but was twice rejected. Toffoli was then the legal representative for the Workers' Party in the presidential campaigns of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
From March 2001 to December 2002, Toffoli was a co-owner of the law firm Toffoli & Telesca Advogados, and from 2005 to 2007 co-owned the firm Toffoli & Rangel Advogados. In 2007, President Lula appointed Toffoli as Attorney General of Brazil.
Supreme Court nomination
On 17 September 2009, President Lula nominated Dias Toffoli, then his Attorney General of Brazil, for the Supreme Federal Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Carlos Alberto Menezes Direito two weeks prior. Upon his nomination, Toffoli resigned as Attorney General and was replaced by Evandro Costa Gama.After being confirmed by the Senate to the Supreme Court, Toffoli took his seat as Justice on 23 October 2009, aged 41. At the time, he was the youngest to become a Supreme Court justice since 1988, and remains one of the youngest to enter the court. He was the eighth Supreme Court nominee by President Lula.