September 2015

The 'Investigative Trilogy' Explores Its Roles
Phoenix, AZ
In August and September, groups of prosecutors, investigators and forensic scientists from the Attorneys Generals' Offices of the Mexican states of Baja California, Durango, Guanajuato, Morelos, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Zacatecas learned about working together as a team to bring a case to trial, with the participation of experienced US investigators and litigators from Arizona, Nevada, and Rhode Island.
Las Vegas Group, with Attorney General Laxalt

Mixed-Model Distance Learning
Simultaneously, teams of US instructors shared the live lectures via videoconference in the Mexican cities of Ensenada, Baja California, and Puebla, Puebla, and conducted practice sessions on site. The teams participated in a series of practical exercises from investigation through trial with experienced investigators and litigators from Arizona, California, and Oregon.
Ensenada, BC
120 Mexican law enforcement personnel and a dozen US instructors participated in this quarter's Exchanges. The presentations from the Interdisciplinary Exchanges were also streamed live to viewers throughout Mexico via Internet, and the recordings are available online here. 
Puebla, PUE
Conference to Conference: CWAG and CNPJ
CWAG Attorneys General Mark Brnovich of Arizona and Lawrence Wasden of Idaho attended Mexico's National Conference of Attorneys General (CNPJ) Annual Meeting in Mexico City, Mexico. CWAG staff with Generals Brnovich and Wasden addressed the gathered Attorneys General to present an overview of the binational collaborations the CWAG Alliance Partnership has facilitated over the years, and extend an invitation to the July 2016 Binational Attorney General Exchange in Sun Valley, Idaho.
 
Attorneys General Meet in Arizona
On Wednesday, July 8th, CWAG Attorneys General Adam Paul Laxalt of Nevada and Mark Brnovich of Arizona hosted a delegation in Phoenix of attorneys general from various Mexican states. The meeting was held to discuss the ongoing initiatives to combat transnational crime. Baja California Attorney General Perla Ibarra Leyva, Guanajuato Attorney General Carlos Zamarripa Aguirre, and Sonora Attorney General Carlos Navarro Sugich were among those in attendance to meet with the two U.S. attorneys general. "Cross-border coordination and communication remains crucial to responding to and combating transnational crimes in a unified manner," said General Laxalt. "On behalf of Nevada, I welcome collaboration from our law enforcement partners in Mexico, and look forward to continuing efforts to further the rule of law." General Brnovich added, "The ongoing dialogue with our counterparts in Mexico is critical in developing long-term public safety strategies and successful law enforcement collaborations between our countries." 
DNA Analysis Project Solves Another Mystery
In 2013, CWAG was awarded a grant from the US DOJ's National Institute of Justice for DNA Analysis to assist in identifying missing persons from Mexico in the U.S., and missing U.S. citizens in Mexico. We are pleased to report two successful missing persons identifications under this project.

In late 2014, a decomposing body was found in Rosarito, Mexico. A Missing Persons Detective from the San Diego County Sherriff's Office in collaboration with the Baja California Attorney General's Office, collected samples from the deceased person and submitted them under the authority of the grant, to the California Department of Justice for analysis, resulting in a match to a US Citizen missing in Mexico.
In June 2015, a family reference sample from the Baja California Attorney General's Office was associated with a body found in Imperial County, California, resulting in a match of a missing Mexico Citizen.

Under this project, the participating Attorney General's Offices in Mexico and our other grant partners hope to continue identifying many more missing individuals, providing closure to the missing persons' families.
CWAG Alliance Partnership Programs

The CWAG Alliance Partnership facilitates collaboration between U.S. and Mexican state Attorneys General's Offices. Available services include:

  • Contacts Database
    • Comprehensive, sortable contact information for people involved with AP trainings, meetings and events
  • Quick-Response Contact Information
    • Direct contacts within the U.S. and Mexican AGO's for help on specific cases
  • Case Consulting
    • Help with case preparation, from investigation to presentation in court, by a U.S. criminal prosecutor experienced in oral trials
  • Office Reviews/Efficiency Audits
    • A team of experts observes and advises on processes and procedures, to help address a specific issue or give a general perspective
  • Best Practices Consulting
    • Experienced professionals share hard-earned knowledge about issues in administration of justice
Visit the CWAG Alliance Partnership Website

www.CWAGWeb.org/AP
Issue: 2015-3
CWAG AP Logo
In This Issue
Interdisciplinary Exchanges
Conference to Conference
Border AGs Meet in Arizona
DNA Project Gets Another Solve
Alliance Partnership Programs
CWAG on the Web
Linda Brown is SETEC-Certified
Contacts
Featured Article
We're on Facebook!
Links
Instructor Spotlight: Linda Brown Becomes SETEC-Certified Instructor 

The CWAG Alliance Partnership congratulates Linda Brown of San Diego on becoming certified to instruct on the New System of Criminal Justice in Mexico, by the Technical Secretariat of the Council for the Coordination of the Implementation of the Criminal Justice System (SETEC, for its initials in Spanish). She is only the third US attorney to accomplish this certification.
 
Contacts

 

For all information and requests, contact:

 

Susan Lustig

Administrative Director

slustig@cwagweb.org

Cell: 805.264.4277

 

~ or ~

 

Lauren Niehaus

Director of Program Coordination

lniehaus@cwagweb.org

Cell: 303.827.9039

This material was funded by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author[s] and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.
 
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Links

 

Council of State Governments

 

Border Legislative Conference

 

Border Governors' Conference

 

Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Alliance

 

National Association of Attorneys General

 

US State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement

 

United States Agency for International Development

 

North American Center for Transborder Studies at ASU

 

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

 

Justice in Mexico Project at USD

 

International Association for Court Administration

 

 

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The CWAG Alliance Partnership promotes the Rule of Law in Mexico, offering a forum for strengthening relationships between U.S. and Mexican State Attorneys General. It supports implementation of an oral adversarial criminal justice system by offering opportunities for collaboration and cooperation between both countries.

 
Karen White, Executive Director

Conference of Western Attorneys General Alliance Partnership
www.cwagweb.org/ap
916-323-1939