Federal judge says jail officials failed to inform Mexican defendants of rights News
Federal judge says jail officials failed to inform Mexican defendants of rights

[JURIST] A federal judge has ruled that correction officers in Fresno California violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations [text] by not properly informing twelve Mexican defendants of their right to contact the Mexican Consulate after their arrests on drug charges. The jail officials gave the defendants hand-outs in Spanish and English that told them of their right to contact the consulate, but Judge Anthony Ishii determined Monday that the written pamphlets were insufficient. The International Court of Justice held last year that the US violated the Vienna Convention [ICJ case materials] by not advising 51 Mexicans on death row [JURIST report] of their right to assistance from their government. Stung by the decision, the US later withdrew from the international protocol [JURIST report] giving the ICJ jurisdiction over disputes under the Convention, although the US still considers itself bound by the Convention itself. The Fresno Bee has more [registration required].