Law and Order: American Style

(L-R) Judge Sam Medina shares his expertise of the criminal justice system with Cristal González, Ariadna Camacho, and Heather McDonald, staff attorney of the Innocence Project Clinic.

The way Ariadna Camacho and Cristal González see it, they’re making history every day they’re in the United States.

These two lawyers from Mexico City are participating in a U.S. AID -led effort to assist Mexico with significant legal reforms.

Where the Problem Lies

In Mexico, even causal complaints can lead to serious investigations, said Gonzalez.

Unlike in the United States, where evidence comes from police reports and testimonies, the Mexican judicial system is crowded by he-says/she-says rumors, forcing defendants and judges into a "guilty until proven innocent" state of mind.

"We have a system where when the district attorney receives a complaint, it is investigated 99 percent of the time," said Gonzalez. "There are no unbiased filters that are independent and separate for the district attorney to rely on when considering whether or not to press charges."

Camacho said people who come to trial in Mexico don’t get tried by a jury of their peers. Instead, it is only one official judge who is responsible for giving his or her verdict. Also, only the wealthy can afford an attorney. Those without the means to hire an attorney are forced to defend themselves at trial.

Many times, bribes to judges can make a guilty person innocent, she said. Corruption is rampant.

“The corruption in the system is very bad,” Camacho said. “When it comes to the idea of justice, most people think ‘I don’t care about justice. I only need to pay to get justice.’”

Dawn of New Justice

Camacho and González traveled to Lubbock as part of a year-long journey across the country to learn from the American trial system. The two will ultimately return home to share their knowledge with other Mexican lawyers.

The Texas Tech School of Law served as host for the lawyers to receive training and meet with local officials who gave them an intimate look at the city's judicial system.

"Texas Tech was selected to provide an introduction to oral advocacy and defense as practiced in the United States," said Jorge A. Ramírez, director of the law school’s International Programs.

“We are, for all practical purposes, involved in a project that is helping to make Mexico’s legal system look more like our own, which is probably one of the biggest legal changes in Mexico since the revolution,” he said.

As part of this training, González and Camacho attended The Innocence Project Clinic – to learn practical skills and analysis of criminal law. The clinic is based on a national non-profit organization of the same name dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing.

“Mexico is undergoing a profound change in the criminal justice system," González said. “During the past year, Mexico initiated the transition from a written, inquisitorial system, in which judges decide cases based on reading documentary evidence, to an adversarial system centered on oral arguments by prosecutors and defense attorneys."

The court systems in Mexico have already begun to improve. Three Mexican states – Mexico, Nuevo Leon and Chihuahua – have taken steps to move toward oral trial reform.