Missed Consular Notification

The failure to notify the Mexican consulate of the Californian detention of a suspected criminal of Mexican nationality did not adversely affect his legal rights, the California Supreme Court decided in The People v. Martin Mendoza, docket no. S067678.

The court grappled with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations issues presented by the 2004 Avena ruling of the International Court of Justice and its requirement that national courts review violations for prejudice caused a defendant, supra at 29 et seq.

On November 29, 2007, the court confirmed the conviction and death sentence but opened the door to a habeas corpus proceeding in which evidence on prejudice may be presented. The court took note of the pending United States Supreme Court review in Ex Parte Medellin (Tex.Crim.App. 2006) 223 S.W.3d 315, cert. granted Apr. 30, 2007, sub nom. Medellin v. Texas, No. 06-984, __ U.S. __ (127 S. Ct. 2129; 167 L. Ed. 2d 862). -- Clemens Kochinke, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, LLP, Washington.

Mon, 19:18:11 3 Dec 2007 / / Embassy Law Link

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