The trial of former Colorado Party cartista senator Hernán Rivas, accused of using an alleged fake university law degree, was postponed on its scheduled start date. The Sentencing Tribunal, presided over by Judge María Fernanda García and including judges Yolanda Portillo and Juan Carlos Zárate, granted a 20-day postponement at the request of Rivas's new defense attorney, lawyer Alba Zaracho.
The defense argued that it needs time to familiarize itself with the case, having recently taken over the legal representation. Initially, Rivas was to be defended by a public defender, Martín Muñoz. Prosecutor Patricia Sánchez considered the 20-day period, which ends on August 10, as "reasonable" to guarantee the right to defense and avoid procedural nullities.
Rivas is accused by the Public Ministry of having used a 2018 certificate of studies and a 2020 degree, issued by the Universidad Sudamericana, to obtain his license to practice law. With this documentation, he supported his appointment as the Chamber of Deputies' representative before the Jurado de Enjuiciamiento de Magistrados (JEM), the body responsible for trying judges and prosecutors, even presiding over the board between July and August 2023.
The penalty for the accusation of indirect production and use of a public document with false content can vary. If multiple offenses are proven, Rivas faces an initial sentence of 6 and a half years in prison, which could reach 11 and a half years if the crime is deemed to be of a particularly serious nature. The decision to take the case to trial was made by the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice in May, after it overturned a dismissal previously granted to Rivas, who resigned from the Senate to face the trial.