LAGRAND CASE

(Redirected from Walter LaGrand)


The 'LaGrand case' was a contentious case in the International Court of Justice, ''Case Concerning the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations (Germany v. United States of
America)'', General List No. 104 (March 3 1999). Two brothers,
'Karl Heinz LaGrand' (born October 20, 1963) and 'Walter Bernhard LaGrand' (born January 26, 1962), bungled an armed
bank robbery in Arizona in 1982, killing one man and severely
injuring one woman in the process. They were hence charged and
convicted of murder, and sentenced to death.
The LaGrands were German nationals, having been born in Germany and having moved with their
mother to the United States at age 3; at no time did they become
citizens of the United States. Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the United States authorities (the State of
Arizona) were required to inform them of their right to receive
consular assistance from the German government at the time of their
arrest. The U.S. authorities failed to do so, even after they became
aware that the LaGrands were German nationals. The LaGrand brothers
later contacted the German consulate of their own accord, having
learned of their right to consular assistance from other sources. They
appealed their sentences and convictions on the grounds that they were
not informed of their right to consular assistance, and that with
consular assistance they might have been able to mount a better
defence. The federal courts rejected their argument on grounds of
procedural default, which provides that issues cannot be raised in
federal court appeals unless they have first been raised in state
courts. Diplomatic efforts, including pleas by German ambassador
Jürgen Chrobog and Bundestag member Claudia Roth, and the
recommendation of the state's clemency board, failed to sway Arizona
Governor Jane Dee Hull, who insisted that the executions be carried
out. ^[1] Karl LaGrand
was subsequently executed by the State of Arizona on February 24,
1999.
Germany then initiated legal action in the International Court of
Justice against the United States regarding Walter LaGrand.
Hours before Walter LaGrand was due to be executed, Germany applied for
the Court to grant provisional measures ''ex proprio motu''
(i.e. without a hearing and without giving the United States the
opportunity to be heard), requiring the United States to prevent the
execution of Walter LaGrand. The Court granted Germany's request.
Germany then initiated action in the U.S. Supreme Court for
enforcement of the provisional measures. In its judgment, the U.S.
Supreme Court ''(Federal Republic of Germany et al. vs. United States
et al., 526 U.S. 111, per curiam)'' held that it lacked jurisdiction
with respect to Germany's complaint against Arizona, due to the
eleventh
amendment of the U.S. constitution (which prohibits federal
courts from hearing lawsuits of foreign states against a U.S. state).
With respect to Germany's case against the United States, it held that
the doctrine of procedural default was not incompatible with the Vienna
Convention, and that even if procedural default did conflict with the
Vienna Convention it had been pre-empted by later federal law, the
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which
explicitly legislated the doctrine of procedural default (subsequent
federal legislation overrides prior self-executing treaty
provisions, ''Whitney v. Robertson,'' 124 U.S. 190,
194 (1888)).
The U.S. Solicitor-General sent a
letter to the Supreme Court, as part of these proceedings, arguing that
provisional measures of the International Court of Justice are not
legally binding. The United States Department of State also
conveyed the ICJ's provisional measure to the Governor of Arizona
without comment. The Arizona clemency board recommended a stay to the
Governor, on the basis of the pending ICJ case; but the Governor of
Arizona ignored the recommendation and Walter LaGrand was executed on
March 3, 1999. As of 2006 this was the last use of the
gas chamber in the U.S.
Germany then modified its complaint in the case before the
International Court of Justice, alleging furthermore that the U.S.
violated international law by failing to implement the provisional
measures. It also was forced to modify its request for remedies:
previously it had sought the U.S. to grant a new trial to Walter
LaGrand, but now that he had been executed this was no longer possible.
In opposition to the German submissions, the United States argued that
the Vienna Convention did not grant rights to individuals, only to
states; the Court rejected this argument on the grounds that the U.S.
interpretation contradicted the plain meaning of the Convention. The
United States argued that the Vienna Convention was meant to be
exercised subject to the laws of each state party, which in the case of
the United States meant subject to the doctrine of procedural default;
but the Court found that domestic laws could not limit the rights of
the accused under the convention, but only specify the means by which
those rights were to be exercised. The United States argued that
Germany was seeking to turn the Court into an international court of
criminal appeal; the Court rejected this argument also.
On June 27 2001 the International Court of Justice handed down
its judgement, finding in favour of Germany, that provisional measures
were legally binding. The binding nature of provisional measures has
been a subject of great dispute in international law; the English text
of the Statute of the International Court of Justice implies they are
not binding, while the French text implies that they are. Faced with a
contradiction between two equally authentic texts of the Statute, the
Court considered which interpretation better served the objects and
purposes of the Statute, and hence found that they are binding. This
was the first time in the court's history it had ruled as such.
The Court also found that the United States violated the Vienna
Convention through its application of procedural default. The Court was
at pains to point out that it was not passing judgement on the doctrine
itself, but only its application to cases involving the Vienna
Convention.

Contents

External links

References

External links

★ Judgements of the International Court of Justice

★ Judgement of U.S. Supreme Court, Federal Republic of Germany vs. United States

★ ASIL Insight article on LaGrand case

★ Federal Republic of Germany v. United States, 526 U.S. 111 (1999) The opinion by the Supreme Court in the matter referenced in the article.

★ Stewart v. LaGrand, 526 U.S. 115 (1999) The Companion Case

★ Breard v. Greene, 523 U.S. 317 (1997) The earlier case of the execution of a Paraguayan on which the LaGrand decisions rest.

References

1. Mark Shaffer, "No reprieve for German killer:
International focus on Ariz. case," The Arizona
Republic, p. 1A, February 24, 1999