Supreme Court justices in Baja California Sur voted to remove their president, Ignacio Bello Sosa, citing irregularities in his job performance. Newly appointed president Humberto Montiel Padilla announced Bello Sosa’s removal in a press conference arranged with the governor’s office, saying that Bello Sosa operated outside the will of the court, had unjustifiably fired personnel, and has not been transparent in managing the court’s budget. Bello Sosa had been Supreme Court president for just over a year.
Bello Sosa and the court’s vice president Alejandro Santoyo Padilla were absent from the hearing, which could invalidate the vote according to some legal experts, who say that such a measure requires the presence of either the president or vice president. However, officials from the state government, with whom Bello Sosa is said to have had conflicts in the past, have recognized the move. Less than a week earlier, Bello Sosa had made statements at a conference of state Supreme Court presidents regarding Baja California Sur’s preparations for implementing justice reforms approved by the Mexico’s Congress last year, saying only that progress was being made.
From the July Justice in Mexico Project’s Monthly News Report:
http://www.justiceinmexico.org/news/recent_news.php
SOURCES:
“Viraje en el sistema procesal penal: Bello Sosa.” El Sudcaliforniano July 3, 2009.
Rodríguez Navarro, Gladys. “Destituyen a presidente del Tribunal de Justicia de BC.” El Universal July 7, 2009.
