Overview

• Sterman took office on September 30 in Brasília at a ceremony attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, STF ministers, the defense minister and the OAB president.
• She fills the civilian advocacy seat vacated by José Coêlho Ferreira’s April retirement on a 15‑member bench that includes 10 military ministers.
• The Senate confirmed her after a CCJ hearing by a 51–16 vote, following her nomination by Lula on March 8, International Women’s Day.
• The STM is preparing to receive ‘indignidade’ representations related to STF convictions of Jair Bolsonaro and allied officers, a process that can result in loss of rank and exclusion from the Armed Forces.
• An experienced lawyer with PUC‑SP training and specialization at FGV, she has represented Alckmin, Gleisi Hoffmann and Paulo Bernardo, and she rejected opposition claims that she inflated her academic résumé.