The US Supreme Court did something Libertarian on Monday (3/24). In a 6-to-3 decision they ruled that international treaties might bind the US Government, but without enabling legislation, the treaties have no weight at the state level. This is an enormous victory for federalism and for American exceptionalism, and perhaps signals the court now will pay less attention to foreign law than it has over the last few years.
Jose Medellin is a Mexican citizen, convicted of gang-raping and murdering two teenage girls in Houston in 1993. After his conviction in state court, Medellin appealed on the grounds no one told him that the Vienna Convention — one of a zillion United Nations treaties to which the US is signatory — requires a government to allow an alien criminal defendent to confer with his home country’s dioplomats or consular staff.
Mexico raised a big fuss, more in protest of Medellin’s death sentence than any real concern with the Vienna Convention. The International Court of Justice — an oxymoronic name if ever there was one — weighed in, ordering Texas to comply with the convention. In response, President George W. Bush ordered the Texas court system to implement the ICOJ’s ruling, which essentially called for a do-over trial.
On Monday the Supremes ruled against Medellin — and against President Bush.
Chief Justice Roberts’ decision included three important findings:
- The President of The United States has no authority over any state court in America. Despite the administration’s far-reaching claims of Executive authority over foreign affairs, the President can’t order a state court to do anything.
- Treaties apply to the federal government but they are not domestic law (relieving worries many have had over article 6 of the Constitution that states “This Constitution and…all treaties…shall be the supreme Law of the Land”).
- If the President wants the states to be bound by an international treaty, he must convince Congress to pass legislation that implements the treaty. Without a domestic law to such effect, international treaties are not binding on the states.
There is no question that it would be neighborly of any jurisdiction that charges a foreign national of a crime to permit that alien to confer with his consulate. But there can be no law requiring anything until the legislature has passed it.
The US Supreme Court has protected our American Constitution by insulating domestic law from international treaties. It is difficult to overstate the importance of the Supremes’ decision in Medellin v Texas.
Justice Breyer’s dissents demonstrate that Breyer, Ginsburg, and Souter see no need for congress to pass enabling legislation for treaties. Theirs would be an America run by the United Nations.
