Presumed Guilty – How can a law firm help win an Emmy?

October 6, 2011

Last week saw the independent Mexican film “Presumed Guilty” win the 2011 EMMY for Outstanding Investigative Journalism. What many people outside of Mexico don’t know is that due to judicial pressure the film nearly didn’t make it to the big screen. Without the help of Olivares & Cia’s copyright team the world would perhaps never have discovered the true and harrowing story of Toño Zúñiga, one of Mexico’s many people wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Luis Schmidt, Abraham Diaz and a host of others including partners and associates alike worked many hours pro bono to help reverse the decision of a district court judge that banned the film from cinema’s on privacy grounds. The Sixth Collegiate Administrative Tribunal overturned the injunction, but not before there was a huge public outcry that was followed by a media frenzy. The publicity generated meant that “Presumed Guilty” smashed many box office records and sold more tickets than the King’s Speech.

While we can claim no part in the release of Toño Zúñiga we are proud to have been able to help bring some international awareness to the ongoing plight of many faceless victims of Mexican criminal judicial system. Congratulations to Layda Negrete and Roberto Hernandez, the legal team for Toño Zúñiga and the producers of this film.