Buenos Aires, November 18, 2025 - The Impeachment Jury unanimously ruled to remove Judge Julieta Makintach. She presided over the Oral Federal Court No. 4 during the controversial trial over the death of Argentine football idol, Diego Armando Maradona.
The decision, made after a marathon hearing at the Council of the Magistrature, deems the serious irregularities committed by the magistrate as grave. Her participation in the filming of a documentary about the process generated accusations of partiality and ethical violation, which led to the annulment of the trial last May.
Makintach, a 47-year-old judge with 20 years of service in the federal judiciary, faced the impeachment jury since November 6. She was accused of "malfeasance" for her starring role in the miniseries "Divine Justice," produced by a streaming service during the Maradona case hearings.
The jury—composed of three judges, three prosecutors, and three lawyers—unanimously dismissed her arguments, considering that her conduct "discredits the judicial institution and violates the Magistracy's Code of Ethics".
The dismissal implies a perpetual disqualification from holding public office, leaving Makintach without a full pension and exposed to a potential criminal trial.
The ruling revives the debate on the politicization of Justice in Argentina.
"This is not justice, it is a media show that undermines impartiality," declared the case prosecutor, Rodolfo Moure, while presenting evidence showing Makintach posing for cameras and commenting on sensitive details of the file.
The scandal broke on May 27 when a clip of the documentary went viral on social networks, revealing undercover footage in the courtroom. Hours later, the judge stepped down voluntarily, which forced the Court of Criminal Cassation to declare the trial null, indefinitely delaying the search for responsibilities in Maradona's death, which occurred on November 25, 2020, from a cardiorespiratory arrest in a recovery house in San Andrés de Tigre.
The subsequent investigation, led by the Public Prosecutor's Office, escalated in September with the charges against Makintach for passive bribery, abuse of authority, and embezzlement.
The documentary, which portrayed the judge as a "judicial heroine" in the case of negligent homicide against seven health professionals, included scenes filmed in the court without explicit authorization from the Council of the Magistrature or the complaining parties.
"She not only filmed in a sacred space like the court, but she monetized the tragedy of a family and a country," Prosecutor Moure stated in his final plea this Tuesday.
The Maradona family, through Dalma and Gianinna, issued a statement demanding "a new speedy trial without media interference."
Now, the Federal Chamber of Cassation must appoint a new tribunal, possibly drawing judges from other jurisdictions to avoid bias.
This dismissal, the second of a federal judge in 2025 after the case of Mariel Borruto in Comodoro Py, highlights the credibility crisis in the Argentine Judiciary.
Experts like constitutionalist Andrés Gil Domínguez question if the scandal was not "an intentional short circuit" to archive the case, in the context of judicial reforms pushed by the government of Javier Milei.
The Maradona case, initiated in 2021 with the exhumation of the body for autopsies, exposed flaws in the private health system and the medical follow-up of the "Ten" after his brain surgery.
One of the defendants, Leopoldo Luque, celebrated the ruling as "a step towards the truth," though he warned that the delay has already prescribed key evidence.
According to the prosecution, the judge received undeclared payments—estimated at $150,000—from the audiovisual producer in exchange for privileged access to the file and exclusive interviews.
