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KBPS Evening Edition Profiles USD School of Law’s Bi-National Legal Education Program

The state of Baja California adopted new policies in anticipation of national level reforms approved by the Mexican Congress and the current administration of President Felipe Calderón. These changes are expected to dramatically transform the functioning of the Mexican judicial sector over the next decade, transitioning the country from long-standing inquisitorial system of criminal justice to a more rights-based accusatorial system, similar to the United States.

USD School of Law joined forces with Autonomous University of Baja California to develop an educational exchange program that combines training for Mexican lawyers and law students to share insights and gauge the process of reform efforts. USD School of Law Professor Allen Snyder recently traveled to Baja California to train these Mexican attorneys and law students in the advocacy court processes.

The scene doesn’t look like a typical law school classroom. The students are already practicing lawyers and law professors — some of them with decades of experience. They’re gathered at a hotel in Tijuana to learn a completely new way of layering.

"So an examination might go something like this," says Allen Snyder, a professor at the University of San Diego School of Law. "Where were you on the night? Why were you there?”

The four-day training is a collaborative effort of the Autonomous University of Baja California in Mexicali, the University of San Diego School of Law and Trans-Border Institute.

Watch the KPBS Evening Edition story here.