Citizen Services
Victims of Crime
Mexican Legal Process
Mexican legal procedures can differ greatly from those in the United States. As noted in the disclaimer at the beginning of this section, the following information is intended to give you some idea of how the Mexican legal system functions. It is not intended as a substitute for competent legal advice, which can only be provided by a Mexican attorney familiar with your specific case.
If the judicial police decide that an offense against Mexican law has been committed, are satisfied that an act that encompasses all the elements of a crime has been committed, and believe that there is (probable) cause that a particular person performed the act, they will attempt to arrest the suspect and turn him or her over to the agent of the prosecutor's office (agente del ministerio publico). However, please be aware that the police may have difficulties locating suspects involved in street crime. Frequently, such suspects flee the scene of their criminal activities.
When an arrest is made, the prosecutor's office (ministerio publico) should inform you in writing. In actual practice, written notification, if made at all, can take several months. For this reason, you may want to hire an attorney to represent you or that you provide us with contact information so that we can help you track your case.
Once the suspect is in custody, the agente del ministerio publico, or district attorney, conducts a preliminary investigation to determine whether the case should be prosecuted. If the agente decides to proceed with prosecution, the case will be turned over to a judge. In most, but not all cases, the police and the agente have a total of 72 hours from the time of arrest to make this determination. If they do not make such a determination in that time frame, the suspect should be released.
From the time the agente makes his determination that prosecution should occur, the judge has 48 hours, excluding Mexican holidays and weekends, in which to begin a hearing to determine "probable responsibility." This hearing is equivalent to a "probable cause" hearing in the United States. At the hearing the accused is brought forward and confronted with evidence against him or her, including your detailed written, signed and witnessed complaint (your denuncia) describing the facts of the crime. Your personal appearance is not required. After the hearing, the judge has another 72 hours within which to make a finding of probable responsibility or release the detained subject. Depending on the crime, a person for whom probable responsibility has been established will either be held for trial or released on bond. There is no bond for those being held over for trial who are accused of committing violent crimes. In effect, the finding of probable responsibility begins the trial process.
Trials in Mexico are slow moving and very different from those in the United States. Distinctive characteristics include:
When the maximum possible sentence is less than two years, the judge normally has up to four months to reach a verdict. When the maximum possible sentence is more than two years, the judge normally has up to one year to reach a verdict.
Generally, a verdict is handed down by the judge 15 working days after the accused has been brought before the court for a final hearing. If the verdict results in a prison sentence, the time the accused has spent in prison counts toward the fulfillment of the sentence.