6/13/17 —From June 5 to June 16, six professors and six students from the UNAM Law School (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Facultad de Derecho) participated in the first of three 2017 study trips to the United States in order to learn about the U.S. criminal justice system as a part of the Oral-Adversarial Skill-building Immersion Seminar (OASIS). This program is made possible by a grant from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. With the assistance and direction of OASIS Regional Coordinator and Harvard professor Philip Heymann, UNAM faculty and students had the opportunity to meet and learn from prominent public officials and legal experts in the Boston community including Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, prosecutors John Capin and Jordi de Llano, defense attorney and Harvard professor Andrew Crespo, DOJ Assistant Deputy Bruce Ohr, Director of the Organized Crime division for the U.S. Attorney Generals Office Cynthia Young, Chief United States District Judge Patti Saris, defense attorney Rob Goldstein and federal prosecutor Fred M. Wyshak Jr.
Study trip participants had the opportunity to visit both federal and state courts in Boston. They were able to engage with federal judges and defense attorneys to gain insight from both sides of the courtroom. Aside from visits and discussions, participants were able to learn training skills to disseminate oral trial techniques. OASIS Instructor Peter Mitchell from the Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division in New York City led a “Train the Trainer” session on teaching oral trial skills. Mr. Mitchell guided the participants through the training, allowing participants to practice oral trial techniques and learn to provide effective critique and feedback.
