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Supreme Court of the United States No. 04-5928 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States JOSÉ ERNESTO MEDELLÍN, Petitioner, v. DOUG DRETKE, DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS DIVISION, Respondent. ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT BRIEF AMICUS CURIAE OF AMBASSADOR L. BRUCE LAINGEN AND LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN J. SWIFT, ET AL., IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER JOSEPH MARGULIES MACARTHUR JUSTICE CENTER UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAW SCHOOL TH 1111 EAST 60 STREET CHICAGO, IL 60637 Telephone: (773) 702-9560 Counsel for Amici i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Table of Authorities…………………………………….. ii Interest of Amici Curiae………………………………… 1 Summary of Argument…………………………………. 5 Argument……………………………………………….. 6 I. The United States Played A Leading Role In Developing The International Protections Provided By Both The Vienna Convention And The Optional Protocol………………….. 6 II. Failure To Provide Vigorous And Robust Enforcement Of The Vienna Convention Could Have Grave Consequences For U.S. Citizens Abroad………………………............ 16 Conclusion……………………………………………….. 27 ii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page(s) CASES: Breard v. Pruett, 134 F.3d 615 (4th Cir. 1998).......................................22 Case Concerning United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran, (U.S.A. v. Iran), 1980 I.C.J. 3 (Judgment of May 24).................................................14 Flores v. State, 994 P.2d 782 (Okla. Crim. App. 1999)......................23 Standt v. City of New York, 153 F. Supp. 2d 417 (S.D.N.Y. 2001)................... 21-22 U.S. v. Carillo 70 F. Supp. 2d 854 (N.D. Ill. 1999) ............................22 TREATIES: Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, April 24, 1963, 21 U.S.T. 77, 596 UNTS 261...............................passim Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes, April 24, 1963, 21 U.S.T. 325, 596 UNTS 487.............................passim iii OTHER SOURCES: Ann Scott Tyson, Where’s Gao? Disappeared in China: 100 days and counting, Christian Science Monitor, June 5, 2001..............................................25 Application Instituting Proceedings and Pleadings, Treatment in Hungary of Aircraft and Crew of United States of America, (I.C.J. Pleadings 1954)………………………………………............13 Budapest v. U.S., N.Y. Times, December 9, 1951, at 168, http://www.il.proquest.com/proquest/(ProQuest Historical Newspapers, N.Y. Times (1851- 2000))……...............................................................11 Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Consular Notification and Access, Instructions for Federal, State, and other Local Law Enforcement and Other Officials Regarding Foreign Nationals in the United States and the Rights of Consular Officials To Assist Them (no date of publication available), available at http://travel.state.gov/law/notification5.html.…........9 Bureau of Resource Management, U.S. Department of State, FY 2003 Performance and Accountability Report (2003), available at http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/perfrpt/ 2003/html/29037.htm...............................................16 iv The Federalist No. 64 (Clinton Rossiter ed., 2003).....................................25 Frank Green, Mission Chief Urges Allen to Commute Sentence, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sept. 17, 1997..........................................................................23 H.R. Res. 160, 107th Cong. (2001)......................................25 International Court of Justice List of Cases brought before the Court since 1946, available at http://www.icj-cij.org...............................................10 Kevin Herbert, The Terrorist Threat to the American Presence Abroad: A Report of a Consultation of The Critical Incident Analysis Group and The Institute for Global Policy Research, Part II. 2. Threat to Citizens Overseas, University of Virginia, April 12-13, 1999, available at http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/ ciag/reports/report_terr_citizens.cfm.......................16 Letter from Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, to Victor Rodriguez, Chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (Nov. 27, 1998)............................................19 Linda Greenhouse, Court Weighs Execution of Foreigner, New York Times, April 14, 1998, page 14.....................................................................19 v Louis Henkin, How Nations Behave (2d ed. 1979)............................................................16 Memorial of the United States, United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran, (I.C.J. Pleadings 1980)...............................................7 Office of Overseas Citizens Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Department of State Publication 10252, Overseas Citizens Services, (2002)........................................................16 Paul Watson, India Roiled by Internet Sex Case, Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2004……………………..........................................24 Press Release, U.S. Department of State, Statement by Secretary Acheson, (December 28, 1951), in 26 Department of State Bulletin 7 (1952).......................................................................13 Press Release, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Applications in C-47 Case Removed From Calendar of ICJ, (July 16, 1954), in 31 Department of State Bulletin 130 (1954)................................................................14 Press Release, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Asks Return of Property Seized in 1951 Plane Incident, (December 10, 1952), in 27 Department of State Bulletin 980, 980-84 (1952)........................12 vi Press Release, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Orders Closing of Hungarian Consulates, (December 29, 1951), in 26 Department of State Bulletin 7 (1952)......................................................13 Press Release, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Seeks Release of American Fliers Held in Hungary, (December 28, 1951), in 26 Department of State Bulletin 7 (1952).....................11 Press Statement by James P. Rubin, Spokesman, U.S. Department of State (Apr. 15, 1998)................15 Press Statement by James P. Rubin, Spokesman, U.S. Department of State (Nov. 4, 1998).................21 Press Statement by R. Nicholas Burns, Spokesman, U.S. Department of State (Sept. 29, 1995)...............21 Rajesh Mahapatra, Court Grants Bail to eBay’s Indian Exec, Associated Press, December 21, 2004, available at http://wtop.com/index.php?nid =108&sid=367373....................................................24 Report on the United States Delegation to the United Nations Conference on Consular Relations, Vienna, Austria, March 4 to April 22, 1963, reprinted in S. Exec. Doc. E, 91st Cong., 1st Sess., May 8, 1969.......................................passim vii Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law of the United States §321 cmt. a (1987).............................15 S. Babcock, The Role of International Law in United States Death Penalty Cases, 15 LJIL 367, 376 (2002).......................................................................19 S. Lynn Walker, Okla. case pits U.S. against World Court, San Diego Union-Tribune, May 7, 2004, available at http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/2004 0507/news_1n7penalty.html.............................…...20 Statement by Senator Theodore F. Green, U.S. Representative to the General Assembly, United States Department of State, Soviet Harassment of Foreign Diplomats, (October 29, 1952), in 27 Department of State Bulletin 787 (1952)..................................................12 Telegram to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts abroad concerning consular assistance for American nationals abroad, U.S. Department of State, January 1, 2001, available at www.state.gov/s/l/16139.htm...............................7, 20 U.S. Air Crew Fined, Hungarian Border “Violation,” 30,000 Dollars Each, London Times, December 24, 1951, at 4...........................................12 viii U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual (1984)..................................................................17-18 US Family Detained in China, BBC News, Mar. 21, 2001, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ asia-pacific/1233163.stm..........................................24 U.S. Promises Action to Free Seized Fliers, Washington Post, December 4, 1951, at 1, available at http://www.il.proquest.com/ proquest/ (Washington Post (1877-1988))..............11 U.S. Urges the Iranians to Obey Court Decision, New York Times, May 25, 1980, at 9......................15 1 INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE1 Amici are either U.S. citizens who have benefited from consular assistance abroad or suffered in its absence; attorneys or diplomats familiar with the importance of consular assistance; or organizations dedicated to the interests of U.S. citizens abroad. Ambassador L. Bruce Laingen served in the United States Foreign Service from 1949 to 1987. His tours of service included assignments in Germany, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Malta from 1977-1979. In mid-1979, he returned to Iran for a second term as Chargé d’Affaires of the American Embassy before being held hostage in the Iran Hostage Crisis from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981. During the Hostage Crisis, the United States sought and secured a judgment against Iran from the International Court of Justice based on Iran’s violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Ambassador Laingen holds the Award for Valor from the Department of State, as well as the Distinguished
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