Judgment Day: How Crushing Caseloads Are Breaking the Backs of the Justice System

Judges in criminal matters in Mexico face high workloads, which can lead to unequal access to justice, warned México Evalúa.

In its report Findings 2023: monitoring and evaluating the criminal justice system, the organization reveals that each criminal judge, on average, has to solve 356 cases, but in federal entities such as Puebla (1,096), Tabasco (818 ) and Baja California ( 739) present significantly higher labor obligations.

Prosecutors’ offices are also facing a lot of work, with a national average of 310 investigative folders per prosecutor in 2023, a 71% increase compared to the 181 they had in 2022.

Some states, such as Campeche and Guanajuato, show exceptionally high loads, of more than 1,500 files per prosecutor,” the study notes.

Furthermore, in terms of people deprived of liberty in state prisons, Sonora stands out with 10,764 people per judge specialized in criminal execution, well above the national average of 996. States like Jalisco (2,218) and Nuevo León (20023) also show significantly high loads.

In the rate of personnel employed in the judicial system per 100 thousand inhabitants, México Evalúa notes differences in the rates between institutions and entities.

Agents of the Public Administration (12.95), ministerial police (16.02) and specialists (8.43) have the highest average rates. Although facilitators (0.63), advisers to the Executive Commission for Attention to Victims (0.72) and judges (1.37), had lower rates.

“This difference could create bottlenecks where some stages of the process are understaffed,” he said.

Also, the overload in the prosecutor’s offices, courts and public defenders’ offices can lead to procedural errors, rushed investigations or inadequate defences, which would compromise due process.

Delays and possible low quality of services due to overload can contribute to the perception of impunity and erode public confidence in the justice system,” he warned.

The study highlights that the general increase in workloads from year to year suggests that the problem is getting worse, which could lead to more pressure on the justice system in the near future if measures are not taken to tackle it with these imbalances.

**Source: Personal elaboration with access to information requests, State Justice Acquisition Census 2023 and MES 2023.

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