USD’s Justice in Mexico Program Celebrates 15th Anniversary

SAN DIEGO: The University of San Diego’s Justice in Mexico (JIM) program celebrates its 15th anniversary today.

Justice in Mexico is a partnership between law and political science experts at USD and key decision makers in Mexico. The mission is to promote human rights, strengthen the rule of law in Mexico, and improve international dialogue between the United States and Mexico. This mission is accomplished through education and research.

In the past fifteen years, Justice in Mexico has accomplished groundbreaking research on rule of law issues in Mexico, which has informed public policy and inspired judicial reform. Justice in Mexico scholars involved in this initiative have published their research in eight books and 18 special reports, which address challenges to citizen security and law enforcement reform. Reaching beyond the U.S. and Mexico, Justice in Mexico is frequently asked to share its findings with Czech Republic, U.K., Germany, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. 

Director and principal investigator, David Shirk, credits his team for fifteen years of successful investigations and trainings. "We have a wonderfully devoted team and tremendous support from our host institution, collaborators and sponsors. That’s what it takes for a successful long term venture to help inform and implement policy reforms."

In addition to hosting events to bring together U.S. and Mexican representatives, Justice in Mexico has provided pro bono expert witness testimony in over 30 asylum and immigration cases involving human rights violations. The U.S. State Department funds Justice in Mexico’s program, Oral Adversarial Skill-Building Immersion Seminar (OASIS), which has trained over 1,000 law professors and attorneys in oral trial skills to improve the Mexican criminal justice system.

Octavio Rodriguez Ferreira, program coordinator, said “We are confident that our work is helping promote a better understanding among our two countries in topics that are highly relevant in times like this. Likewise, we believe that we are helping to promote a better rule of law in Mexico alongside with our friends and colleagues in many Mexican institutions.”

Justice in Mexico plans to continue working to create greater transparency and rule of law in Mexico. In the future, Justice in Mexico intends to improve Mexican law enforcement and the community’s confidence in law enforcement. Additionally, Justice in Mexico members will continue to fight corruption and protect victims of crime in Mexico.

For additional information, visit Justice in Mexico’s website at https://justiceinmexico.org.

About the University of San Diego

The University of San Diego sets the standard for an engaged, contemporary Catholic university where innovative Changemakers confront humanity’s urgent challenges. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. USD recently concluded our successful $317M Leading Change: The Campaign for USD, which represented the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of the university. In September 2016, USD introduced Envisioning 2024, a strategic plan that capitalizes on the university’s recent progress and aligns new strategic goals with current strengths to help shape a vision for the future as the university looks ahead to its 75th anniversary in the year 2024.