Mexico’s lower house of Congress on Tuesday approved a sweeping judicial reform that would introduce public, oral trials and guarantee the presumption of innocence, but lawmakers deleted a proposal to allow police to search homes without a warrant.In the 462-6 vote with two abstentions, legislators approved the reform bill, which would also allow information from recorded phone calls to be used as evidence in criminal cases if at least one of the conversation’s participants agrees.
The reform must still be approved by the Senate and then by at least 17 of Mexico’s 31 states.
The original proposal, submitted last year, would have allowed police to enter homes without a judge’s warrant if they believed a person’s life or safety were in danger, or if a crime was being committed inside.
But human rights groups harshly criticized the proposed expansion of police powers, and legislators finally agreed to drop that clause.
Both the lower house and Senate approved the measure last year as well, but with minor changes that required Tuesday’s second vote in the lower house. The Senate must also give the change’s second approval.
The reforms do not include trial by jury, but public oral trials, already in place in some states, would go nationwide, replacing closed-door proceedings where judges depend mostly on written evidence and defendants cannot confront their accusers.
Suspects will also be represented by qualified public defenders instead of “advocates” who often lack law degrees. The changes would also guarantee that, for the first time in history, the presumption of innocence will be guaranteed in Mexico’s constitution.
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