In this paper, we examine the relationship between socioeconomic vulnerabilities and due process violations in contemporary Mexico, using a novel survey of imprisoned populations. We further investigate whether institutional reforms—in particular, the 2008 reform that constitutionally mandated the provision of trained public defenders for those without private counsel—help offset the impact of preexisting socioeconomic disparities on the likelihood of suffering a due process violation. We find that women, indigenous people, and people with less schooling are more likely to suffer a due process violation. This finding, is, unfortunately, not surprising. The 2008 constitutionally mandated reform to provide quality public defenders has done little to alleviate this situation. Although it has improved the experience of defendants overall—whether represented by private or public counsel—it has failed to create an office of public defenders that successfully functions as an equalizing mechanism that offsets pre-existing socioeconomic inequalities. Instead, our analysis suggests that those most benefited by these reforms are those who did not need them as much to begin with: those who rely on private lawyers for their legal representation. This paper contributes to the literature that critically examines the idea of equality under the law and the mechanisms that seek to guarantee it.

在本文中，我们使用对被监禁人口的新调查来研究当代墨西哥的社会经济脆弱性与违反正当程序之间的关系。我们进一步调查了体制改革——特别是 2008 年宪法规定为那些没有私人律师的人提供训练有素的公设辩护人的改革——是否有助于抵消先前存在的社会经济差异对违反正当程序的可能性的影响。我们发现女性、原住民和受教育程度较低的人更有可能遭受违反正当程序的行为。不幸的是，这一发现并不令人惊讶。2008 年宪法规定的提供优质公设辩护人的改革对缓解这种情况几乎没有作用。尽管它总体上改善了被告的体验——无论是由私人律师还是公共律师代表——但它未能建立一个公设辩护人办公室，该办公室成功地作为抵消先前存在的社会经济不平等的平等机制发挥作用。相反，我们的分析表明，从这些改革中受益最大的是那些一开始并不需要他们的人：那些依靠私人律师为其提供法律代理的人。这篇论文对批判性地审查法律下的平等理念以及寻求保障这一理念的机制的文献做出了贡献。我们的分析表明，从这些改革中受益最大的是那些一开始并不那么需要改革的人：那些依靠私人律师为其提供法律代理的人。这篇论文对批判性地审查法律下的平等理念以及寻求保障这一理念的机制的文献做出了贡献。我们的分析表明，从这些改革中受益最大的是那些一开始并不那么需要改革的人：那些依靠私人律师为其提供法律代理的人。这篇论文对批判性地审查法律下的平等理念以及寻求保障这一理念的机制的文献做出了贡献。