In Mexico City With Pacific McGeorge: Alison Terry
Alison Rebecca Terry is spending her final semester of law school studying at the Universidad del Pedregal in Mexico City where she looks forward to studying comparative law and solidifying her fluency in the Spanish language. Upon her return and after taking the July 2008 California Bar Exam, she will join the California law firm of Griswold, LaSalle, Cobb, Dowd, & Gin, L.L.P. April 17, 2008 And so begins my final month in Mexico and in law school. School continues to go well. The only thing that is making me nervous is a 20-pager that I need to write and turn in within the next two weeks. Nerves aside, I am very interested in the subject matter because it enables me to research the Mexican penal system and the recent judicial reform, both of which are fascinating to me. In short, I’ve learned that Mexico employs an accusatorial penal system. Here, rather than being innocent until proven guilty, you start off “probably responsible” for the crime you allegedly committed. There’s no jury, and due to a multitude of reforms over the years, judges’ roles are severely diminished, while the ministerio publico, comparable to our idea of a prosecutor, monopolizes courtroom power. However, in March the Mexican legislature decided to impose a total reform of the penal system by turning it into an adversarial system similar to ours. The reform is no doubt controversial, but despite the dramatic change, it is difficult to come across sources discussing it. Learning about the reform has proved to be difficult do to the diminished nature of the judicial system in Mexico. In order to learn more about the reform, one must attend special conferences at nearby law schools or scrutinize the local news in hopes of finding a snippet or two discussing the reform. It is not a topic of discussion, and the general population of Mexico seems to be either uneducated about it or complacent. This is fascinating to me. Can you imagine how America would respond if Congress just decided to change the entire nature of the criminal law system? I would think that it would be all over the papers; attorneys and other members of the legal community would be freaking out; it’d be at the very center of public attention and debate. The hypothetical difference fascinates me. Situations such as this are just one example of Mexican legal culture; others include the fact that one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who could name off the justices of the Mexican Supreme Court, or even be able to tell you how many there are! So, as you can see, the differences between the American and Mexican legal systems continue to fascinate me and inspire me to come back here some day to engage in further study. Until next time, thanks for tuning in! April 2, 2008 Today was my first day back after two weeks of spring break and I’m already hitting the books because I have an oral exam (which for me is obviously the most challenging class of exam) on Monday! Break was really fabulous, though. My parents came to visit me during my first week of break. It was so much fun to see them and to show them around the city. We were able to cover a lot of ground in very little time. We went to Teotihuacán (my second time), the Céntro Historico, which included Palacio Nacional, la Catedral, Alameda Central, and Ballet Folklórico in Bellas Artes, San Ángel, the world-renowned Museum of Anthropology, and some really amazing restaurants. My mom brought my graduation announcements for me to fill out. I cannot believe I am only a month or so away from the end of law school, and that I am lucky enough to spend my time here in Mexico at Pedregal. The rest of vacation was really relaxing; spent with good friends at the beach and exploring different parts of Mexico such as Coyoacán, Chapultepec and Puebla. March 4, 2008 A thousand apologies for not writing sooner -- February came and went so much faster than I ever could have expected. What’s more, I just finished up a series of midterms over the span of a week, so a lot of my time has been spent translating and studying. Everything continues to go incredibly well for me here in Mexico. I’m really happy with my Spanish, the host family I live with is amazing, and my classes are going really well. My classmates have officially adopted me, always wanting to take me places and teach me things. My professors are wonderful, encouraging me to stay and find work here in Mexico. My dean, Armando Martinez, is also incredibly wonderful and always makes me feel very comfortable and at home at Pedregal and in Mexico in general. My classes are going well. Probably one of the most significant differences between studying law in Mexico and studying law in the States is the substance of the course material: In the U.S. the focus is on the installation of practical skills while here the focus is on theory. Rather than being asked to pick apart and explain the complexities of Pennoyer v. Neff during week one of school, we are asked to study theorists such as Marx, Weber, and Von Savigny and the history of Roman law. Needless to say, it’s pretty interesting and VERY different. I apologize for not having anything too exciting to report. The truth is that I’ve just been studying for the past few weeks, so hopefully I’ll have more exciting developments in the coming weeks because we have a nice break between midterms! Until then, cuidense! January 29, 2008 My classes at the Universidad del Pedregal began Monday and I’m quickly realizing that the culture of studying law here differs substantially from that at Pacific McGeorge. The most significant difference is that law is an undergraduate program in Mexico -- kids here start studying the law at the age of 18. Therefore, the culture is much more relaxed. It certainly is not law school as I know it -- I’m back in undergrad! The classes here focus on theory and philosophy of laws rather than instilling practical skills into the student body. Rather than the Socratic method, I’m receiving lectures, and the level of preparation isn’t exactly what my first-year professors expected of me, though I don’t think I’m capable of shedding those expectations of myself…thanks Professor Vitiello. Another glaring difference is that I didn’t receive any reading assignments until the second day of classes, and I still don’t have assignments in all of them. I really enjoy my classes thus far. Since I completed all of my prerequisites at Pacific McGeorge, I’m able to take the classes that really interest me, those that focus more on judicial philosophy and theory rather than the practical side of things; it’s really refreshing to briefly return to academia. Everyone at Pedregal has been really wonderful and supportive -- the faculty and administration are incredibly on top of things and have been really helpful and warm in making me feel at home at the University. The students are very friendly and I’ve already received a number of invitations to go out with new friends. The campus itself is very nice; the facilities are brand new and extremely well-kept with a really great little cafeteria where you can get a full breakfast plus coffee and juice for only $2.50! So, my first week of classes is going really well. I understanding everything and am participating in class discussion quite often, so I imagine that my Spanish is improving and will continue to do so in the coming months! Thanks to those of you who’ve been following my trip thus far. I hope all is well in Sacramento! January 17, 2008 I am so grateful to be able to spend my last semester of law school in Mexico City -- what an incredible opportunity. My classes do not begin until January 28, so I still have ample time to spend with my host family and to explore Mexico a bit more before my studies commence at the Universidad del Pedregal. I should find out within the week which classes I will be taking. I arrived January 5 so that I could explore Mexico City, and Mexico in general, before my classes begin, and I have explored quite a bit! I have visited Frida Kahlo’s house in Coyoacan, the Pre-Columbian Pyramids of Xochicalco and Teotihuacan, the Zocalo, the Palacio Nacional (which houses murals by Diego Rivera as well as the President of Mexico), the Catedral, el Parque Chapultepeque, the National Zoo, the city of Cuernavaca, and many of Mexico City’s different districts such as Tlalpan, Zona Rosa, Condesa, and Centro Historico. Next week, I plan to travel to Oaxaca, Mexico’s capital of cuisine, chocolate, and artesenia; I am very excited for obvious reasons. I have also conquered the metro system, which I am very proud of. I am still working on figuring out how the bus system works. There are no maps, fixed routes, or anything systematic about them. You just have to climb on a bus, ask for them to drop you at your destination, and hope for the best. I am living with a host family in the district of Tlalpan, south of Mexico City proper but still within city limits. It is a really beautiful and quaint district with many great cafes and restaurants as well as museums and parks. I am very lucky to be living with such a wonderful family. My host mom, Cairo, is a scholar and middle school teacher, my host dad, Leonel, works in the upper echelons of the metro system and owns two ranches in Veracruz. My host sisters, Atenea and Farath, are university students who are my age; we already get along very well…I can tell it is going to be difficult to leave such a wonderful home! My biggest challenge, thus far, is the Spanish. I studied abroad in Chile four years ago so I have a strong grasp on the language, but it has been quite awhile since I have been able to practice. Regardless, I am surprised at how much I learn every day, and I am already feeling very comfortable with the language. Besides, I have no one to “cheat” with because no one here speaks fluent English…my only option is to never stop practicing my Spanish! It is actually a bit challenging to blog in English because my brain is on its Spanish setting! Until my next post, que ustedes les vaya bien! January 2, 2008 Last year, I decided to spend my final semester of law school abroad in Mexico City, where I will be studying law at the My term doesn’t begin until January 28, but I’m leaving a few weeks early to travel. One of my very best friends, Katie, who I studied with in Chile, will travel with me for the first week and a half, and after that I’ll be on my own. So far, Katie and I think that we’ll stay in Mexico City for a few days after we get there and see where that takes us. We arrive January 5, one day before the After Katie takes off, I’ll travel on my own for a couple of weeks before my classes start. I want to spend a lot of time in Oaxaca, Guadalajara or Morelia, and if there’s time left, I really want to head down the Pacific Coast to surf in the smaller surfing villages. And nope, I'm not nervous about traveling on my own. That’s all for now. This’ll get more interesting once I leave in three weeks, when I’ll be able to post pictures and have actual stories. |
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