President Bush overstepped his authority when he ordered a Texas court to grant a new hearing to a Mexican on death row for rape and murder, the Supreme Court said Tuesday.
In a case that mixes presidential power, international relations and the death penalty, the court sided with Texas 6-3.
Bush was in the unusual position of siding with death row prisoner Jose Ernesto Medellin, a Mexican citizen whom police prevented from consulting 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 around 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, who oversaw 152 executions as Texas governor, disagreed with the 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.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, disagreed. Roberts 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.
Breaking: Supreme Court rules against illegal alien Death Row murderer, upholds US sovereignty
Posted by Pam
on 3/25/2008
10 Comments.
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Friggin’ ey! I’m liking Roberts more and more everyday! :d
Good now its time to say NO to any NORTH AMERICAN UNION and to tell mexico to GO TAKE A HIKE and tell the international court to GET LOST=:)
Now if the Court had been packed with Obama or Klinton appointees, not only would this pos walk, he would be entitled to million$ in compensation of our tax dollars.
Just say no…to Leftism…
It’s going to be a liberal for liberal trade off over the next 4 years so conservative appointees will lose no ground. This includes McCain winning.
Plenty of room to have a Hillary Clinton in there.
Besides, I seriously doubt in his capitulations if the socialist McCain will do much better with his appointees.
It’s going to be a liberal for liberal trade off over the next 4 years so conservative appointees will lose no ground. This includes McCain winning.
Plenty of room to have a Hillary Clinton in there.
Besides, I seriously doubt in his capitulations if the social-ist McCain will do much better with his appointees.
You do realize that this decision might set back the entire North American Union plan for a couple of days?
Security and Prosperity Partnership my Arse. While I have no doubt that the Canadians would be great partners, the Mexicans will give Consular Matricula cards to any terrorist with the cost of a burrito. Thrown in some refried beans and they’d drive them to the border and teach them Spanish along the way. I can just see them standing at the border waving and saying “Have a nice day and kill lots of Gringoes Senor Bin Laden.” How can you expect that a country that is as corrupt as Mexico will keep its commitments to support your security? It just isn’t going to happen and this will just give them another excuse to not do so.
BTW We had a 13 yr old kidnapped last week by three men over a drug deal that had gone bad. When they realized that they had the wrong girl, they let her go. They caught one of the perps in southern California making a run for the Mexican border. He didn’t make it. I wonder if they’re going to try and get his confession suppressed because he didn’t get to speak to someone from the Consulate before running off at the mouth? The Border Patrol agent who was just on trial in Tucson for shooting an illegal was brought up on charges based on the testimony of 6 illegal aliens who were horribly mishandled before they were questioned. They weren’t separated and they were given access to Consulate officials who coached them on what to say. For some reason, an American jury simply couldn’t come to a verdict based on the word of a bunch of illegal aliens. Of course the prosecutor is trying to retry the case.
FAO at least they let the girl go. Too many others would have killed her just to get rid of a witness.