The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rebuffed President Bush’s order that Texas courts review the cases of Mexican foreign nationals who were sentenced to death without the benefit of their rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Writing for the court, Judge Michael Keasler, stated: “We hold that the President has exceeded his constitutional authority by intruding into the independent powers of the judiciary.” Judge Sharon Keller concurred, writing: “this unprecedented, unnnecessary, and intrusive exercise of power over the Texas court system cannot be supported by the foreign policy authority conferred on him by the United States Constitution.”

In 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that 51 Mexican citizens who were on death row in the U.S. were entitled to a review of their convictions and sentences in light of the fact that they were not informed of their right to speak to their consular officials at the time of their arrest, as guaranteed under the Vienna Convention. While one of these cases, that of Jose Ernesto Medellin, was making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, President Bush issued a memorandum to the Justice Department ordering that state courts abide by the decision of the International Court. The U.S. State Department also announced that, for future cases, the U.S. was withdrawing from the agreement that gave the International Court jurisdiction in the case of the 51 Mexican citizens.

After initially agreeing to hear Medellin’s case, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed it because the President’s order could resolve Medellin’s request for further review. In light of the Texas court’s assertion that the President lacked the power to direct such a review, the case may go back to the Supreme Court.
(N.Y. Times, Nov. 16, 2006). Read the Texas opinion. See Foreign Nationals and Supreme Court.