By , Staff Reporter of the Sun | April 24, 2008
Foreign nationals arrested in New York City but never not told of their right to communicate with their consulate can’t sue for money damages, a federal appeals court ruled this morning.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, had it ruled the other way, would have been opening the door to lawsuits from foreign nationals who are dealt with according to New York’s laws, but never given access to consular officials from their home country.
Under the Vienna Convention of 1963 countries must pass along communications from incarcerated foreigners to their consulate, and inform detainees of their right to write to consular officials. The question that the case before the 2nd Circuit poses is what happens when a state fails to do so.
That very question in a slightly different context was the subject of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Medellin v Texas, which was decided that month. In that case, a Mexican national, Jose Medellin, had been convicted and sentenced to death for the gang rape and murder of two teenage girls, but sought to have his case re-opened because he was never informed of his right to notify the Mexican consulate of his detention. Ruling against a court decision from the Hague, as well as a request of the Bush administration, the Supreme Court declined to force Texas to grant Medellin another hearing.
The 2nd Circuit, in a decision authored by Judge Jose Cabranes, also found that a violation of the Vienna Convention did not give an individual prisoner the right to seek redress through American courts. The case before the 2nd Circuit, involved a request by a convicted felon Ricardo Mora, who was prosecuted in Queens in 1992 for robbery. Mora claimed his arresting officer and his own lawyer never spoke Spanish and that he was not given the benefit of an interpreter. He also claims he wasn’t told that he could request help from the Dominican consulate, according to the decision.
In a lawsuit, Mora claimed that the he was entitled to a million dollars in damages from the State of New York for its failure to notify him of his Vienna Convention rights. The 2nd Circuit ruled against him. Mora is currently incarcerated on unrelated federal criminal charges, according to the court decision.
While barring the way for prisoners such as Mora to sue, the 2nd Circuit’s decision did offer a suggestion for how to enforce local and state law enforcement officials to honor the Vienna Convention. Judge Cabranes noted that the federal government “can sue state and local governments to ensure compliance.”
