Maradona trial judge removed from post, banned from serving in the judiciary

A Buenos Aires Province judiciary board decided to officially remove Judge Julieta Makintach from her post and sentence her to a lifelong ban from serving in the Argentine judiciary. The verdict comes in the impeachment trial filed against her after she was accused of orchestrating the filming of a covert documentary of the trial on football star Diego Maradona’s death.  The first trial in the case over Maradona’s death started in March 2025, with judges Makintach, Maximiliano Savarino, and Verónica Di Tommaso heading the court. The process was declared a mistrial in May, after Makintach resigned when accusations that she was involved in a documentary called Justicia Divina (Divine Justice) surfaced. The judge was initially given a 90-day suspension by the Buenos Aires Province Supreme Court and later had an impeachment complaint filed against her by the San Isidro Bar Association. Universidad Austral, the university where she taught criminal law, announced they had suspended her and started an internal investigation. Impeachment proceedings against Judge Makintach began on November 6. She was accused of violating a direct prohibition on recording or filming hearings by allowing a film crew to shoot the trial for a documentary miniseries. The indictment also alleges that Makintach interfered with the work of police personnel who attempted to prevent audiovisual recording inside the courtroom. Makintach’s side of the story The judge testified on the opening day, saying she regretted what happened and insisted she had had no contact with the producing team. “I wish I could turn back the clock, but I swear it on my children, I never met the producers,” she said. “I never thought my impartiality as a judge would come into question.”  She also insisted that she told all members of the court that there would be a camera in the room pointing at her and said that everyone agreed it was “a brilliant idea.” Makintach reiterated many of the claims in her final statement. “I apologize, without hesitation,” Makintach said in her final address to the court. She added that she was offering up her resignation to the post, as she “no longer wished to be part of the judiciary.” The judge insisted the filming “wasn’t concealed” from other members of the court and that while she was “mistaken” to agree to participate, she committed “no crimes, no irregularities.” Makintach’s lawyer, Darío Saldaño, claimed that the judge had received no guarantees regarding her appearance in the documentary, adding that her involvement came “at the request of a friend.” He asked that his client be acquitted and that her resignation be accepted.