Human Rights

Writing that the case "raise[d] important questions concerning the relation between, on the one hand, the domestic law of the United States, and, on the other, decisions of the International Court of Justice interpreting the Convention," Justice Breyer dissented in a denial of certiorari in Torres v. Mullin, 540 U.S. ___ (2003). Mr. Torrez was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Oklahoma. After exhausting his state appeals, he filed a habeas petition raising claims under the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations. The Tenth Circuit refused to issue a certificate of appealability after the district court dismissed the habeas petition.

In seeking certiorari, Mr. Torrez asserted that the Tenth Circuit's decision conflicted with ICJ decisions interpreting the VCCR. Noting that the petitioner's argument that the ICJ's interpretation of the VCCR is authoritative and that it should be deemed as part of domestic law seemed "substantial," Justice Breyer dissented from the denial of certiorari.