Some great news for Mexico! MEXICO CITY - Mexican senators on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a sweeping judicial reform that would introduce public, oral trials and guarantee the presumption of innocence The Senate voted 71 to 25 in favor of the measure, after a clause that would have let police search homes without warrants was deleted from it. The constitutional amendment, which must still be approved by at least 17 of Mexico's 31 states, would replace closed-door proceedings in which judges rely on written evidence with U.S.-style open trials based on arguments presented by prosecutors and defense lawyers. It would also allow recorded phone calls to be used as evidence in criminal cases if at least one of the conversation's participants agrees, and lets prosecutors hold organized crime suspects without charge for up to 80 days.
