U.S. Teaches Mexico About Criminal Justice System Jacqueline Armendariz - Brownsville Herald
go to original April 5, 2012

Trial by jury. Innocent until proven guilty.

These concepts are part of the American lexicon. The Mexican justice system is vastly different. Officials from both countries are currently working towards a dramatic reform of the Mexican system and now Brownsville, Texas has its own connection to the program called Proyecto Diamante.

As part of the U.S. Department of Justice effort, local magistrate and Cameron County District Attorney’s office prosecutor Luis V. Saenz recently traveled to Mexico City. There, he was one of several instructors teaching Mexican officials about the American justice system so they might use it as a model for their own reform.

"That’s something that they’re thirsting for, the integrity of their system," he said. "I said, ‘That’s going to come when you people start taking the witness stand and you tell the public what you did and how you did it.’"

Saenz said the country aims to model its system on America, citing examples of changing to a trial by jury format and offering more transparency through building courthouses open to the public.

Experts say the reformed Mexican justice system could affect the brutal cartel drug war that rages on in the country and seeps into U.S. borderlands.

But, they add the caveat that it will take time to see results, if any. The justice system is only one piece of the puzzle, they said.

At the heart of the potential culture shift is one serious question: Can Mexico save itself?

‘TRANSPARENCY BREEDS INTEGRITY’

It’s all about faith.

In a country plagued by corruption with a system heavy on experts and bureaucracy, Mexican officials told Saenz the public frequently accuses them of bribes. With this, the cross section of officials he instructed - from federal, state and local levels - were surprisingly open to overhauling their system, he said.

Saenz said while not perfect, Mexican officials see the difference in the American justice system.

"That’s something that they were amazed: ‘Gente se las dan la fe,’" Saenz said Mexican officials told him. "‘They believe you. They think you’re honest.’"

Michael Lytle is a former consultant for the federal government on border security and counterterrorism who has worked in Mexico and Colombia. He said the border is the one place that highlights the polarity of the U.S. and Mexican justice systems.

It is a stark contrast, he said.

Lytle is also the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College forensic investigation program coordinator.

"The initiative with Mexico is new, but the concept is not new," he said. "Rule of law is a big program area the United States government has had for years. … It’s just that Mexico was ripe for a project at this time. These projects sometimes don’t do very well because you can’t just try to fix the court prosecuting system without the rest of your system improving."

That’s why Proyecto Diamante is part of the larger Merida Initiative that was announced in 2007, which provides billions in law enforcement support to Mexico and Central American countries. Lytle said it also provides aid to the Caribbean, but Mexico is the biggest beneficiary.

In 2008, Mexico made constitutional and legislative changes to gear up for the massive shift in its criminal justice system to be complete by 2016.

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