In May 2008, Nunes became a judge of the
Electoral Regional Court of Piauí (TRE-PI). On 12 July 2011, Nunes was nominated by president
Dilma Rousseff to serve as
desembargador of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF-1), due to the "
Constitutional Fifth", after the retirement of
desembargador Carlos Mathias. On 30 September 2020, president
Jair Bolsonaro told the justices of the
Supreme Federal Court of his intention to nominate Nunes to be member of the court, replacing justice Celso de Mello, due to his retirement. His choice was considered, by allies of the president and by the press, as a surprise, given that Nunes wasn't in the lists of potential nominees for the seat. Nunes was classified as "balanced and discreet". At the same time, two members of the high court commented, in a reserved talk with the press, that they were relieved by the nomination, since Nunes wasn't "highly identified with Bolsonaro". ==Personal life==