The Brazilian Federal Constitution established a framework of laws that allow for the Supreme Court to act over the social life and branches of the government. Since 1988 there has been a gradual evolution in the effective enforcing of this power over congress, mainly in judgements on parliamentary inquiry committees, the political system and unconstitutional omissions, while the topics of presidential impeachment, legislative process and removal from office for breach of congressional decorum met with greater reluctance to intervene. The North American experience in institutionalism and analysis of these six jurisprudential fields by different approaches to institutional theory - attitudinal, strategic, constituent and historical - demonstrate that the panorama among state departments is not asymmetric. In fact, the separation of powers game can create groups of scenarios that generate decisions based on the preference of individual judges, or that restrict the autonomy of the court when criticism or external retaliations threaten its authority.