"You catch them and put together a good case, and they get off free,"

[DD]

Calderon made the above statement after a judge entered an injunction to keep a high official of CFE (the national electric company) from being arrested for taking millions in bribes.  The CFE official had been detained at the airport attempting to catch a plane to leave the country.  The Mexico Federal Judiciary Council, which oversees the courts, defended the judge, noting that under Mexican law illicit enrichment is not considered a serious crime and is eligible for bail.  They further stated that "Questioning the work of the judges without any basis, automatically and without any proof, constitutes a threat to national stability," judiciary council member Juan Carlos Cruz Razo said in a clear reference to Calderon's remarks.

Calderon responded to the criticism of the Judiciary Council by stating that "what truly damages the safety and stability of the country is impunity, is the fact that thieves and criminals are out walking the streets."

Change comes slow in Mexico, but it is changing.  The Federal Judiciary seems to have discovered that there might be some corrupt judges.  Mexican court authorities have suspended two federal judges who presided over high-profile drug cases, saying investigators are looking into possible irregularities involving the jurists.

The Federal Judiciary Council said Friday evening that it was temporarily relieving appellate Judge Jesus Guadalupe Luna and district Judge Efrain Cazares of their duties.  

Luna is the judge that turned loose Chapo Guzmans son Ivan who had been convicted of laundering drug money.  The same judge upheld the acquittal of Sandra Avila Beltran, "The Queen of the Pacific" on organized crime charges, stating insufficient evidence.  She is a niece of Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, known as “the godfather” of Mexican drug smuggling.

The other suspended judge, Cazares, has been accused by Mexico’s government of ignoring credible evidence when he released some of the mayors detained in a mass arrest of officials in the western state of Michoacan in 2009. The federal attorney general alleged the officials had ties to the La Familia drug gang, and prosecutors filed a complaint against Cazares saying he improperly acquitted the officials.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-suspends-probes-judges-who-released-son-of-drug-capo-mayors-accused-of-crime-ties/2012/06/02/gJQAR3IW9U_story.html

[Siskiyou_Kid]

Corruption in the courts is a huge problem, but there are even more cases of innocent people locked up for any number of reasons. There's a story about these two judges on the BB main board.

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2012/06/mexico-suspends-probes-judges-of-key.html

[Chimera]

Now that it's really too late for him to do anything about it, Calderon is criticizing the judiciary's corruption? Uh huh.

[DD]

@Chimera.  Calderon made that statement last year.  I think in July or August 2011.  It was not the first time he had expressed his frustration with the judiciary.

As I said, change comes slow in Mexico.
DD

[DD]

@Kid.  Thanks for pointing out the article on the main board by Overmex.  It was past my bedtime when I posted this and I just didn't take enough time to check the main board.

As to your comments about innocent people being locked up, I think that is more likely caused by the crazy judicial system than by corruption (bribes).  If it weren't for the fact that it is true, it is hard for me imagine that a judge would decide your guilt or innocence based on the written statements of the investigators (police) and prosecutors and maybe your written statement.  You probably never see the judge or the accuser.   Just unbelievable.  Remember the video (Presumed Guilty).
Some of the judicial reforms proposed by Calderon to make the system more just and fair passed the Congress year before last, but only  4 states have implemented them.  Keep in mind that PRI has the Governorship in 2/3 of Mexico's 31 states.  Other major judicial reforms have been bottled up and blocked in the Congress by PRI.

DD

[Chimera]

Oh. My bad.   And I do see, in the reading I've been doing today, signs of reform.

It does take a long time to turn a huge ship -- especially when it's got a few holes below the waterline.

[drattler]

How many crooked dirty Mexicans have fled Mexico,politicians for sure,business people who are dirty, and many people who are not dirty, Texas is full of them. Calderon is absolutley spot on, hello Mexico has no judiciary when it comes to Narcos and rich people?? That has been the joke my whole life.

[ArmChairIntellect]

I am with ya DD, how can people really be sure of anything when everything is cloaked in shadows, but then again there is no such thing as a fair world, even with transparency the rich live by different standards than the poor.   BTW I always check the forum before the board anyway, not sure why, maybe cause you guys are cooler

[Siskiyou_Kid]

DD, I wasn't giving you a hard time about your post, it includes new info that's not in Ovemex's story. I also agree that the innocents who are locked up have more to do with an incompetent legal system than corruption. Like you said, it's all laid out in the film "Presunto Culpable".

I'm glad that Calderon is backing the much needed judicial reforms, although his administration seems all too happy to employ legal tactics allowed under the old law, such as holding suspects for 40 days without charges.