Omar Zedillo Villavicencio, director of the Public Defender’s Office for the State of Mexico (Edomex), said that he expects oral trials to help alleviate prison overpopulation in the state by speeding up the judicial process and ultimately keeping petty criminals out of the state’s prisons. According to the director, at least 75 percent of the interns in the stat’s 21 prisons committed minor infractions, and generally wait for more than a year before facing trial. If the reforms go as expected, the time for resolving cases will be cut to 72 days.
Zedillo Villavicencio also announced that 262 defense attorneys have now been trained in oral trials procedures in the state. The justice reforms will be implemented regionally in Edomex, beginning with Toluco, Lerma and Santiago this August.
From the June Justice in Mexico Project’s Monthly News Report:
http://www.justiceinmexico.org/news/recent_news.php
SOURCE:
Chávez González. “Prevén agilizar procesos en el Edomex con juicios orales.” La Jornada June 13, 2009.
