TX Court Says Bush Exceeded Authority
In a recent decision the TX Court of Criminal Appeals stated that President Bush had "exceeded his constitutional authority by intruding into the independent powers of the judiciary." The case, Ex parte Medellin, involved a Mexican national and who was not informed of his right to speak with a Mexican consular official after his arrest for murder and rape. This right comes from the Vienna Convention. In 2004 the International Court of Justice issued an opinion in a case brought by Mexico against the US, Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals. The ICJ held in that case that the US had violated the Vienna Convention by not timely notifying Mexican nationals awaiting execution that they had a right to speak with a consular official. Bush then issued a memo directing courts to follow the decision. The TX Court held however that they were "bound by the Supreme Court's determination [in Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon] that ICJ decisions are not binding on United States courts." The court also held that the President cannot tell "the judiciary what law to apply or how to interpret the applicable law." Additionally, without congressional ratification of his memo, President Bush "exceeded his inherent constitutional foreign affairs authority by directing state courts to comply with Avena."
There is a lot more going on then I can explain here, so check out this story for details on the case and this for more details on the relevant legal decisions.