The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Medellin v. Texas, a case that will determine whether dozens of Mexican foreign nationals on death row in the U.S. are entitled to a new hearing because they were denied their right to seek consular assistance upon their arrest. The Bush administration and the Mexican government both urged the Justices to take the case after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to comply with President Bush’s order to state courts to review the cases of the 50 Mexican foreign nationals who had been denied their rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The Bush administration’s brief noted that the Texas court’s decision, if not reversed, “will place the United States in breach of its international law obligation” to comply with the World Court’s decision and would “frustrate the president’s judgment that foreign policy interests are best served by giving effect to that decision.”

Jose Medellin is a Mexican citizen who has been on Texas’ death row since 1993. This is the second time his case has come before the U.S. Supreme Court. After the ICJ ruling in 2004, Texas refused to review Medellin’s case, and he petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for relief. The Court agreed to hear his case, but before it could be decided, President Bush ordered the respective state courts to provide the review required by the ICJ. The Supreme Court then dismissed Medellin’s case to allow states time for this review. When Texas courts again refused to grant such a review, claiming that President Bush did not have the power to give such an order, Medellin appealed to the Supreme Court for a second time. In April 2007, the Justices granted certiorari and will hear the case this coming fall. The Court has been asked to consider whether President Bush overstepped his authority to order state review of the cases and whether state courts are required to comply with the ICJ’s ruling.
(Medellin v. Texas, No. 06-984; see N.Y. Times, May 1, 2007 and Bloomberg News, April 30, 2007). See U.S. Supreme Court and Foreign Nationals.