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Mexican judicial system moves closer to overhaul

Mexico's lawmakers on Tuesday approved a sweeping judicial reform that would introduce public, oral trials and guarantee the presumption of innocence, while lawmakers deleted a proposal to allow police to search homes without a warrant.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon praised the measure, which passed the lower house in a 462-6 vote with two abstentions. It would replace current closed-door proceedings, where judges rely on written evidence and defendants, with open trials based on arguments presented by prosecutors and defense lawyers in the presence of a judge -- though not a jury.

"Changing from an inquisitorial system, like the one Mexico has today, to an adversarial system based on oral trials, as are used in the American justice system, will provide much greater transparency, much more agility in the administration of justice," Calderon told a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce.

The lower house and Senate both approved the measure last year, but minor changes required Tuesday's second vote.

The reform must still be approved by the Senate and at least 17 of Mexico's 31 states.

Several officials lamented the deletion of a clause in last year's proposal, which would have allowed police to enter homes without a warrant if they believed lives were in danger or if a crime was being committed inside.

Prosecutors said the warrantless searches were, for example, necessary in cases where kidnappers had been located and immediate action was needed to free victims before they were harmed.

Human-rights groups had harshly criticized the measure, and legislators agreed to drop it.

Judges must still issue such warrants, although the reform creates a new class of judges to rule more quickly on warrant requests. It also provides a firmer legal footing for house arrest, which prosecutors often use to buy time to build a case against organized crime suspects.

Although the reforms do not create a jury system, they establish public oral trials nationwide.

Qualified public defenders will now also represent suspects, replacing "advocates" who often lack law degrees. For the first time in history, the presumption of innocence will be guaranteed in Mexico's Constitution.
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