Court Opinion

ID: 9732183
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 16:11:02.563929+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:24.718655
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE McMORROW, concurring in part and dissenting in part: Like Justice Heiple, I believe that the State’s admitted violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is a serious matter which requires remedy by this court. However, unlike Justice Heiple, I believe that the remedy in this case should be to vacate defendant’s death sentence but not his convictions. I therefore concur in the majority’s affirmance of defendant’s convictions but dissent from the majority’s affirmance of defendant’s death sentence. Article 36(l)(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provides that “if the accused so requests, the competent authorities of the receiving State shall, without delay, inform the consular post of the sending State if, within its consular district, a national of that State is arrested or committed to prison or to custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner. Any communication addressed to the consular post by the person arrested, in prison, custody or detention shall also be forwarded by the said authorities without delay. The said authorities shall inform the person concerned without delay of his rights under this sub-paragraph.” (Emphasis added.) Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, April 24, 1963, 21 U.S.T. 77, 596 U.N.T.S. 261. The Vienna Convention makes no distinction between resident foreign aliens and recently arrived or visiting foreign nationals. The language of the treaty “is mandatory and unequivocal, evidencing the signatories’ recognition of the importance of consular access for persons detained by a foreign government.” Breard v. Pruett, 134 F.3d 615, 622 (4th Cir. 1998) (Butzner, J., concurring). Further, “[t]he provisions of the Vienna Convention have the dignity of an act of Congress and are binding upon the states. See Head Money Cases, 112 U.S. 580, 598-99, 5 S. Ct. 247, 253-54, 28 L. Ed. 798 (1884). The Supremacy Clause mandates that rights conferred by a treaty be honored by the states.” Breard, 134 F.3d at 622 (Butzner, J., concurring). In the case at bar, there is no question that the State failed to inform defendant, a citizen of Poland, of his right, under article 36(l)(b) of the Vienna Convention, to contact the Polish consulate at the time of his arrest. Nor is there any issue that the State’s failure to inform defendant of his right to consular notification is a serious violation of international law, particularly since a sentence of death was imposed. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights4 has recently held that “failure to observe a detained foreign national’s right to information, recognized in Article 36(l)(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, is prejudicial to the due process of law and, in such circumstances, imposition of the death penalty is a violation of the right not to be deprived of life ‘arbitrarily’, as stipulated in the relevant provisions of the human rights treaties (v.g. American Convention on Human Rights, Article 4; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 6), with the juridical consequences that a violation of this nature carries, in other words, those pertaining to the State’s international responsibility and the duty to make reparation.’’(Emphasis added.) The Right to Information about Consular Assistance Within the Framework of the Guarantees of Due Process of Law, Advisory Opinion OC-16/99 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, par. 141.7, October 1, 1999. This holding mirrors this court’s own recognition that death penalty cases require “a high standard of procedural accuracy.” People v. Walker, 91 Ill. 2d 502, 517 (1982). Further, a violation of the consular notification provisions of the Vienna Convention affects both the rights of the detainee and the interests of the foreign state, in this case, the Republic of Poland. Unquestionably, Poland has a strong state interest in this case. Poland does not have a death penalty. It, therefore, is justifiably interested in aiding and assisting those of its citizens who are subject to the possible imposition of that penalty while abroad. Indeed, as the Consul General for the Republic of Poland in Chicago has frankly acknowledged to this court, it is solely because the Republic of Poland is officially opposed to the death penalty that the Polish government has intervened on behalf of defendant in this case. According to the Consul General, Poland has no intention of adopting a policy of intervention in non-death-penalty cases. Moreover, Poland is not alone in its concern regarding violations of the right to consular notification in death penalty cases. In the case at bar, amici the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Mexican States, both signatories to the Vienna Convention, have taken the position that the violation of the consular notification provisions in the instant case must be remedied because of the severity and finality of the death sentence. Before the Inter-American Court, numerous countries, including Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Paraguay and Costa Rica supported the principle of judicial enforcement of the Vienna Convention in death penalty cases. See The Right to Information about Consular Assistance Within the Framework of the Guarantees of Due Process of Law, Advisory Opinion OC-16/99 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, October 1, 1999. I am fully aware of the procedural obstacles which confront defendant’s claim in the case at bar. But this is an extraordinary case. More is at stake here than the rights of a single defendant. “The protections afforded by the Vienna Convention go far beyond [defendant’s] case. United States citizens are scattered about the world — as missionaries, Peace Corps volunteers, doctors, teachers and students, as travelers for business and for pleasure. Their freedom and safety are seriously endangered if state officials fail to honor the Vienna Convention and other nations follow their example. Public officials should bear in mind that ‘international law is founded upon mutuality and reciprocity... .’ Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 228, 16 S. Ct. 139, 168, 40 L. Ed. 95 (1895). *** The importance of the Vienna Convention cannot be overstated. It should be honored by all nations that have signed the treaty and all states of this nation.” Breard, 134 F.3d at 622 (Butzner, J., concurring). As Justice Heiple correctly observes, we cannot expect that the citizens of this country, while abroad, will be afforded their rights under the Vienna Convention, or indeed, under any treaty, if we do not afford those same international rights to foreign nationals here in the United States. Through no fault of its own, the Polish government is only now able to assist its citizen in his death penalty defense. It is in our own self-interest to uphold the principle of international comity, acknowledge the notification violation that occurred in the case at bar, and provide a remedy. Accordingly, because defendant’s right to consular notification under the Vienna Convention was, in fact, violated in this case; because that violation is an extremely serious matter under international law; because the sovereign state of Poland has a strong and legitimate interest in aiding and assisting its citizens who are subject to death penalty proceedings; and because it is in the self-interest of the citizens of this state to uphold the rights provided by the Vienna Convention and remedy the error that occurred in this case; I would exercise this court’s equitable powers and vacate defendant’s death sentence and remand for a new sentencing hearing. I would further hold that, at the remand sentencing hearing, the State may again pursue the death penalty while the Consul General may assist defendant in his defense. I believe that the unique and compelling circumstances of this case require a remedy for the State’s violation of the Vienna Convention. I express no opinion, however, on what effect a violation of the right to consular notification would have outside the context of the death penalty or the facts of this case.  The Inter-American Court was established under the authority of the American Convention on Human Rights, a treaty which entered into force in 1978. Located in Costa Rica, the Court has seven judges, elected for renewable six-year terms by the 24 states parties to the American Convention. See generally T. Buergenthal, The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 76 Am. J. Int’l L. 231 (1982); T. Buergenthal, The Advisory Practice of the Inter-American Human Rights Court, 79 Am. J. Int’l L. 1 (1985). The State Department of the United States actively participated before the Inter-American Court in briefing and oral argument in the proceedings on Advisory Opinion OC-16/99.