Bucky69
03-25-2008, 09:15 PM
The three major libs on the SC showed their colors, but were beaten back 6-3 in favor of US sovereignty and a rejection of the "world court." This bodes well for any treaty that the UN might try to impose on the US to outlaw handguns because the states will be able to ignore any such treaty. This also is probably an indication of how the court will come down on Heller because it is an indication that the Court is now firmly planted in the Constitution which bodes very well for states' rights.
Supreme Court backs Texas in dispute with Bush over Mexican death row prisoner
From AP
WASHINGTON - Texas can ignore President George W. Bush and an international court in refusing to reopen the case of a Mexican on death row for rape and murder, says the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case marks a curious turnabout for Bush, who as governor of Texas oversaw 152 executions. Now his Justice Department is trying to force the state in which Bush built his political career to quash a death sentence for foreign policy reasons.
The Supreme court said Bush exceeded his authority by trying to intervene on behalf of Jose Ernesto Medellin, facing the death penalty for killing two teenagers nearly 15 years ago.
The U.S. Constitution "allows the president to execute the laws, not make them," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a rebuke of the president in a case that mixed presidential power, international relations and the death penalty.
Justice Stephen Breyer, in dissent, said the decision calls into question U.S. obligations under international treaties and makes it "more difficult to negotiate new ones."
By a 6-3 vote, the court said Texas does not have to give a new hearing to Medellin, a former gang member in Houston, Texas, who is now 33 years old.
The president found himself in the unusual position of siding with the Mexican citizen because U.S. police prevented him from consulting in jail with Mexican diplomats, as provided by international treaty.
An international court ruled in 2004 that the convictions of Medellin and 50 other Mexicans on death row across the United States violated the 1963 Vienna Convention, which provides that people arrested abroad should have access to their home country's consular officials. The International Court of Justice, also known as the world court, said the Mexican prisoners should have new court hearings to determine whether the violation affected their cases.
Bush disagreed with that court's decision, but he said it must be carried out by state courts because the United States had agreed to abide by the world court's rulings in such cases. The administration argued that the president's declaration is reason enough for Texas to grant Medellin a new hearing.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush was disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision and is reviewing it to see how it might impact international relations.
But, she said, "while we urged a different result, we respect the court's decision and will abide by it."
She noted the administration's position in the case was focused on the authority it believed the president has to compel a state to comply with international agreements. "The argument of the United States in this case in no way condoned or defended the heinous crime," Perino said.
A Texas prosecutor whose office won a conviction against Medellin said she would ask for an execution date to be set when the high court resolves a separate case over a challenge to lethal injection procedures. The Supreme Court also could dispose of the cases of seven other Mexicans on death row in Texas as early as Monday.
Roberts, in the unfamiliar role of limiting presidential power, said the international court decision cannot be forced upon the states.
The president may not "establish binding rules of decision that pre-empt contrary state law," Roberts said. Neither does the treaty, by itself, require individual states to take action, he said.
Breyer, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter, said the international court judgment should be enforced. "The nation may well break its word even though the president seeks to live up to that word," he said.
Justice John Paul Stevens did not sign onto the majority opinion but agreed with the outcome of the case. Stevens said nothing prevents Texas from giving Medellin another hearing even though it is not compelled to do so.
"Texas' duty in this respect is all the greater since it was Texas that, by failing to provide consular notice in accordance with the Vienna Convention, ensnared the United States in the current controversy," Stevens said.
Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas joined Roberts' opinion.
Some legal commentators said the decision could have far-reaching implications for other international agreements involving the United States if they cannot be enforced within the United States.
Harold Koh, dean of the Yale Law School, said it could "disrupt a web of international relationships that turn on international dispute resolution." Koh filed a brief in support of Medellin.
But Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, who argued the state's case at the high court, said the decision "categorically prohibits foreign courts from undermining American sovereignty and independence."
Medellin was arrested a few days after the killings of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, in Houston in June 1993. He was told he had a right to remain silent and have a lawyer present, but the police did not tell him that he could request assistance from the Mexican consulate.
Medellin, who speaks, reads and writes English, gave a written confession. He was convicted of murder during a sexual assault, a capital offense in Texas. A judge sentenced him to death in October 1994.
Texas acknowledged that Medellin was not told he could ask for help from Mexican diplomats but argued that he forfeited the right because he never raised the issue at trial or sentencing. In any case, the state said, the diplomats' intercession would have made no difference in the outcome of the case.
State and federal courts rejected Medellin's claim when he raised it on appeal.
Mexico, which has no death penalty, then sued the United States in the world court in 2003. Mexico and other opponents of capital punishment have sought to use the world court to fight for foreigners facing execution in the United States.
Forty-four Mexican prisoners affected by the decision remain on death row around the country, including 14 in Texas.
Bush has since said the United States no longer will allow the world court to judge the consular access cases because of how death penalty opponents have tried to use the international tribunal.
Supreme Court backs Texas in dispute with Bush over Mexican death row prisoner
From AP
WASHINGTON - Texas can ignore President George W. Bush and an international court in refusing to reopen the case of a Mexican on death row for rape and murder, says the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case marks a curious turnabout for Bush, who as governor of Texas oversaw 152 executions. Now his Justice Department is trying to force the state in which Bush built his political career to quash a death sentence for foreign policy reasons.
The Supreme court said Bush exceeded his authority by trying to intervene on behalf of Jose Ernesto Medellin, facing the death penalty for killing two teenagers nearly 15 years ago.
The U.S. Constitution "allows the president to execute the laws, not make them," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a rebuke of the president in a case that mixed presidential power, international relations and the death penalty.
Justice Stephen Breyer, in dissent, said the decision calls into question U.S. obligations under international treaties and makes it "more difficult to negotiate new ones."
By a 6-3 vote, the court said Texas does not have to give a new hearing to Medellin, a former gang member in Houston, Texas, who is now 33 years old.
The president found himself in the unusual position of siding with the Mexican citizen because U.S. police prevented him from consulting in jail with Mexican diplomats, as provided by international treaty.
An international court ruled in 2004 that the convictions of Medellin and 50 other Mexicans on death row across the United States violated the 1963 Vienna Convention, which provides that people arrested abroad should have access to their home country's consular officials. The International Court of Justice, also known as the world court, said the Mexican prisoners should have new court hearings to determine whether the violation affected their cases.
Bush disagreed with that court's decision, but he said it must be carried out by state courts because the United States had agreed to abide by the world court's rulings in such cases. The administration argued that the president's declaration is reason enough for Texas to grant Medellin a new hearing.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush was disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision and is reviewing it to see how it might impact international relations.
But, she said, "while we urged a different result, we respect the court's decision and will abide by it."
She noted the administration's position in the case was focused on the authority it believed the president has to compel a state to comply with international agreements. "The argument of the United States in this case in no way condoned or defended the heinous crime," Perino said.
A Texas prosecutor whose office won a conviction against Medellin said she would ask for an execution date to be set when the high court resolves a separate case over a challenge to lethal injection procedures. The Supreme Court also could dispose of the cases of seven other Mexicans on death row in Texas as early as Monday.
Roberts, in the unfamiliar role of limiting presidential power, said the international court decision cannot be forced upon the states.
The president may not "establish binding rules of decision that pre-empt contrary state law," Roberts said. Neither does the treaty, by itself, require individual states to take action, he said.
Breyer, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter, said the international court judgment should be enforced. "The nation may well break its word even though the president seeks to live up to that word," he said.
Justice John Paul Stevens did not sign onto the majority opinion but agreed with the outcome of the case. Stevens said nothing prevents Texas from giving Medellin another hearing even though it is not compelled to do so.
"Texas' duty in this respect is all the greater since it was Texas that, by failing to provide consular notice in accordance with the Vienna Convention, ensnared the United States in the current controversy," Stevens said.
Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas joined Roberts' opinion.
Some legal commentators said the decision could have far-reaching implications for other international agreements involving the United States if they cannot be enforced within the United States.
Harold Koh, dean of the Yale Law School, said it could "disrupt a web of international relationships that turn on international dispute resolution." Koh filed a brief in support of Medellin.
But Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, who argued the state's case at the high court, said the decision "categorically prohibits foreign courts from undermining American sovereignty and independence."
Medellin was arrested a few days after the killings of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, in Houston in June 1993. He was told he had a right to remain silent and have a lawyer present, but the police did not tell him that he could request assistance from the Mexican consulate.
Medellin, who speaks, reads and writes English, gave a written confession. He was convicted of murder during a sexual assault, a capital offense in Texas. A judge sentenced him to death in October 1994.
Texas acknowledged that Medellin was not told he could ask for help from Mexican diplomats but argued that he forfeited the right because he never raised the issue at trial or sentencing. In any case, the state said, the diplomats' intercession would have made no difference in the outcome of the case.
State and federal courts rejected Medellin's claim when he raised it on appeal.
Mexico, which has no death penalty, then sued the United States in the world court in 2003. Mexico and other opponents of capital punishment have sought to use the world court to fight for foreigners facing execution in the United States.
Forty-four Mexican prisoners affected by the decision remain on death row around the country, including 14 in Texas.
Bush has since said the United States no longer will allow the world court to judge the consular access cases because of how death penalty opponents have tried to use the international tribunal.