Former Colorado Party senator Hernán Rivas will arrive at his oral trial, scheduled for next Tuesday, July 21st, without a private lawyer. All of his previous defense attorneys collectively resigned from the case.
As a result, the Tribunal de Sentença (Sentencing Court) ordered Rivas to appoint a new legal representative within 48 hours. Since the former legislator was unable to do so, the case was referred to the Ministerio de Defensa Pública (Public Defense Ministry), which assigned attorney Martín Muñoz to take on the defense.
Muñoz will have an extremely short deadline to familiarize himself with the case and prepare the defense strategy, as the hearing is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. next Tuesday. The court is presided over by Judge María Fernanda García de Zúñiga and is also composed of Judges Yolanda Portillo and Juan Carlos Zárate.
Hernán Rivas is on trial for the alleged forgery of his undergraduate Law degree, a case that has generated strong political questions since the irregularities in his academic background came to light.