In the Chamber of Deputies, a constitutional reform initiative has been presented that seeks to incorporate the figure of 'citizen juries' into the Mexican judicial system. The figure of the jury began to disappear in 1929 with the enactment of new procedural codes, and its last mention in the constitutional text was eliminated with reforms in 1982 and 2008.
Deputy Laura Ballesteros from the Citizen Movement party proposed reforming articles 14 and 20 of the Constitution. The initiative proposes that in all trials, individuals will have the right to an impartial jury of citizens, which will determine the verdict exclusively based on facts and evidence presented during the trial hearing. The proposal has been referred to the Constitutional Points Commission for its report and the Justice Commission for opinion.
The reform seeks to ensure that all trials in the accusatory and oral criminal process are conducted before an impartial jury of citizens residing in the state where the crime was committed. Citizen juries will decide on the innocence or guilt of the accused based on the evidence presented during the trial. It is also established that the accused can waive their right to a jury trial, provided they are informed of the consequences of this decision and acknowledge their level of involvement in the crime.
According to Deputy Ballesteros, the creation of popular juries will allow citizens to participate in the integration of verdicts in certain cases, which will make judicial decisions not solely reliant on the Judicial Power, compelling judges to be accountable to society.
Ballesteros recalled that there have been several attempts to establish this figure throughout Mexican constitutional history. In 1869, President Benito Juárez established the popular jury through the Criminal Jury Law, allowing for public participation in the administration of justice. In civil matters, a jury trial will be conducted at the request of any of the parties involved. The first attempt dates back to 1825 when Dr. José María Luisa Mora managed to include the figure of the jury in the Constitution of the State of Mexico.
