Humberto Leal Garcia, Aka Humberto Leal v. Texas (564 U.S. 940)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided July 7, 2011 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 564 U.S. 940 · 131 S. Ct. 2866
- Decided
- July 7, 2011
- Term
- October Term 2010
- Vote
- 5–4
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Per Curiam. Petitioner Humberto Leal Garcia (Leal) is a Mexican national who has lived in the United States since before the age of two. In 1994, he kidnaped 16-year-old Adria Sauceda, raped her with a large stick, and bludgeoned her to death with a piece of asphalt. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by a Texas court. He now seeks a stay of execution on the ground that his conviction was obtained in violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Vienna Convention), Apr. 24, 1963, 21 U. S. T. 77, T. I. A. S. No. 6820. He relies on Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mex. v. U. S.), 2004 I. C. J. 12 (Judgt. of Mar. 31), in which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that the United States had violated the Vienna Convention by failing to notify him of his right to consular assistance. His argument is foreclosed by Medellin v. Texas, 552 U. S. 491 (2008) (Medellin I), in which we held that neither the Avena decision nor the President’s memorandum purporting to implement that decision constituted directly enforceable federal law. 552 U. S., at 498-499. Leal and the United States ask us to stay the execution so that Congress may consider whether to enact legislation implementing the Avena decision. Leal contends that the Due Process Clause prohibits Texas from executing him while such legislation is under consideration. This…
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