Overview
- The Cámara Nacional de Casación reversed a prior dismissal and ordered that Fernando Espinoza face an oral trial, with the court instructing the case to move forward without undue delay.
- The tribunal reinstated Melody Jacqueline Rakauskas as the complainant, saying the first-instance decision to remove her for not having a lawyer was arbitrary given her documented legal vulnerability.
- Earlier in the process prosecutors had closed the file for lack of evidence and the Trial Court removed the complainant for failing to meet notification and counsel deadlines, a move that one Casación judge dissented from.
- Espinoza’s defense argues there is no proof to sustain the accusation and notes Rakauskas changed lawyers repeatedly, while Rakauskas has added statements about alleged mistreatment by police and other harms that will be examined at trial.
- The Trial Court No. 16 must now set dates and organize the oral hearings, a fast-moving judicial step that also raises political stakes because Espinoza is the sitting mayor of La Matanza and the case will draw sustained public attention.