By Jim Byrd —— Bio and Archives July 13, 2011
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Our task is to rule on what the law is, not what it might eventually be. We decline to follow the United States’ suggestion of granting a stay to allow Leal to bring a claim based on hypothetical legislation when it cannot even bring itself to say that his attempt to overturn his conviction has any prospect of success. The United States studiously refuses to argue that Leal was prejudiced by the Vienna Convention violation. We have no authority to stay an execution in light of an "appeal of the President, "presenting free-ranging assertions of foreign policy consequences, when those assertions come unaccompanied by a persuasive legal claim.The foundation of Barack Obama's Justice Department's argument was thus: hey, perhaps sometime in the future, maybe around January 2012, or maybe even before, heck who knows, Congress might pass legislation, that it has refused to pass twice before, that would give us "future jurisdiction to review the judgment in a proceeding." But even though we haven't really thought about the fact that if this legislation passed, it probably would not have any effect on his conviction anyway since the violation did not prejudice the verdict, we feel we should waste the court's time with possible laws of the future we may want to argue, sort of the same principle with law as with cryonic science and medicine, let's just freeze it until there is a plausible remedy, then resurrect it. Leal's attorney, Sandra Babcock, argued that with the assistance of a Mexican consul, her client could prove his innocence. Even if protocol had been followed and Leal had been in contact with the Mexican consulate, he had already incriminated himself before being arrested and read his Miranda Rights, and the consulate could not have made, as in Mexico, the evidence that convicted Leal disappear. The Supreme Court made clear that speaking with a Mexican consul would not have stopped his being convicted, and the Justice Department never broached that argument. Humberto Leal's due process was never questioned, nor the evidence against him, and he was afforded every legal remedy available after his conviction, including 16 years of appeals and legal wrangling. One Federal District Court judge called it "one of the most procedurally convoluted and complex habeas corpus proceedings" he ever reviewed. Preceding the appeal to the Supreme Court, the court had ruled on two very similar cases. Medellín v. Texas was a United Supreme Court Case regarding Texas' pending execution of José Ernesto Medellín. Medellín took part in the gang rape and murder of two Texas girls, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old. President George Bush wanted to enforce a decision by the International Court of Justice that found the conviction of Medellín had violated his rights. Justice Roberts wrote for the court, “Neither a World Court decision requiring U.S. states to provide new review of criminal cases involving foreign nationals, nor a memo by President Bush seeking to enforce the World Court ruling, preempts state law restrictions on challenges to convictions.” Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon in 2006 weighed strongly on the Medellín case because the State of Oregon did not have to exclude evidence in violation of the Vienna Convention. As in the plead to the Supreme Court regarding foreign policy consequences, if Leal's execution was not stayed, the Obama administration, in its continuance of fear mongering, fears other nations may retaliate against U.S. citizens by denying their rights to an American consul in retaliation if Texas is allowed to follow its laws. The same argument was employed with Sanchez-Llama v. Oregon in 2006 by the Bush administration, and again with Medellín v. Texas in 2008. Not one retaliatory act by a foreign government has been committed against an American citizen as the result of either state executing its laws. In a statement that is as detached from reality as Obama's Supreme Court plea, Ricardo Alday from the Mexican Embassy stated, "Another execution of a Mexican national in direct violation of international law would undoubtedly affect public opinion in Mexico, undermining support for a constructive and forward-leaning bilateral relationship." Perhaps it will have such an impact on public opinion in Mexico that the citizens of Mexico will abstain from sneaking across the border in to the U.S. Perhaps, also, Mr. Alday is unaware of the travel warning issued April 22, 2011 by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, stating, "The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico about the security situation in Mexico....the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens..." et cetera. Clarified: Go to Mexico and the probability of being kidnapped and losing your head are relatively high. Illegal aliens, their apologists, and the liberals who believe that illegals deserve the right to be treated the same as United States citizens just got their wish. Humberto Leal was treated explicitly as any United States citizen would have been treated who was convicted of murder, sentenced to death, and exhausted his appeals. Humberto Leal confessed before his arrest, and just before he died. His last words were, "I have hurt a lot of people. Let this be final and be done. I take the full blame for this. I am sorry and forgive me, I am truly sorry.” He then blurted, "Viva Mexico!" But Texas' justice had the last words: "Don't Mess With Texas" and "Viva Texas!"
Jim Byrd is a conservative writer of constitutional law and politics, with a couple of political satires thrown in per month. Jim generally challenges constitutional law articles that are misleading or just completely wrong.