The struggles for sustainable economic growth and social justice in Latin America continue. Our hemispheric neighbors and trading partners continue to face mounting problems: Economic crises loom, poverty has increased, criminality is on the rise, political instability is commonplace, and public safety is at an all time low. The war on drugs has been a dismal failure, fundamental human rights go unprotected by state authorities, and impunity for the powerful remains unchecked. The promised benefits that were to attend free trade have not come to pass. Instead, there is a widening gap in income distribution and a return of inflation. Violent crime has increased and the public has little confidence in the administration of justice. Is it any wonder that investors have shied away from the region and the citizenry of Latin America has lost confidence in democratic governance and the globalization process?

But in the midst of this, there are many stories of hope, returned democracy, and exercise of freedom. Full Metal Justice explores the last decades of legal reform as the countries of Latin America transitioned their respective justice systems from the inquisitorial to adversarial model of criminal procedure. They began oral trials and new court procedures that enshrine the presumption of innocence, public participation, public defense, and victim rights. Proyecto ACCESO has been there to celebrate the moments of justice – that time and space for creating new customs, ending impunity, and protecting fundamental rights.

We have documented successes in the field like the Guaraní Liberty Initiative, Plan Bolivia, Piratería, and Hacia La Reforma – all undertaken by Proyecto ACCESO in an effort to promote justice and respect for the rule of law. Our human capacity building and public education programs have been commissioned and funded in part by the U.S. Departments of Justice and State, German Government Technical Cooperation Agency, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, among others. We have partnered with the University of Heidelberg, the Chilean Ministry of Justice, and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, UNAM and others in our legal education post-graduate programs. Our work has been broadcast on public television and private stations in both North and South America.

Since 1997, James Cooper, a professor and assistant dean at California Western School of Law in San Diego, has been documenting the challenges to the rule of law around the Americas. Full Metal Justice is a multiple DVD set detailing the struggle for justice around the Western Hemisphere. Working with a team of international editors including Sebastian Vives del Solar of Chile and Marina Shoupe of the United States, Cooper has developed educational programming for law students and professors, law enforcement officials, public interest lawyers, public defenders, judiciaries, and the public at large.