Judicial Reform in Mexico: Why it is Needed and Where Things Stand

In June 2008, Mexico adopted a series of far-reaching constitutional reforms designed to transform its criminal justice system from one based primarily on written record to a more open adversarial system of justice where trials are oral and public, and a presumption of innocence is clearly established.  The Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute and the University of San Diego’s Trans-Border Institute hosted a lively discussion of these reforms, why they are needed and how the implementation of reforms has proceeded.