Following an International Court of Justice decision that the U.S. violated the rights of 51 Mexican foreign nationals on death row and should reconsider their sentences and convictions, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is seeking to determine how the Court’s ruling will impact the 28 Mexican foreign nationals on California’s death row. Of the 28 men awaiting execution, two are exempt from the ruling because they had dual citizenship or were advised of their rights under the 1963 Vienna Convention of Consular Relations to request help from their consulates. An additional nine men on California’s death row received notification of their rights, but the International Court determined that it was not in a timely fashion. According to Lockyer’s spokesman, the Attorney General will look to the U.S. State Department and other states facing similar challenges to determine the best course of action. Lockyer also plans to remind district attorneys to provide consular notification to Mexican nationals in current and future cases. Defense attorneys, while pleased with the ruling, have voiced skepticism that the state’s plan of action will cure the problems identified by the World Court. (Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2004) So far, Texas and Oklahoma, where a number of Mexican citizens reside on death row, have indicated an unwillingness to comply with the Court’s order. See Foreign Nationals and International Death Penalty.