Jessica Carvalho Morris, JD '03, Director of International and Foreign Graduate Programs, Gives Interview to Univision Regarding Mexican Citizens on Death Row
On Thursday, October 18th, 2007, UM Law School's Director of International and Foreign Graduate Programs, Jessica Carvalho Morris, JD '03, who also serves as coordinator for the Miami Chapter of Amnesty International, gave an interview to Univision's Aqui y Ahora. The focus of the interview was the case argued before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 17, 2007, Texas v. Medellin and Amnesty International's position on the death penalty.
About the Case:
Jose Medellin is a Mexican citizen who has been on Texas' death row since 1993. After his arrest he was not provided the right to speak to his consular representative in violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Article 36 of the Vienna Convention provides that "...if he so requests, the competent authorities of the receiving State shall...inform the consular post of the sending State if...a national of that State is arrested or committed to prison.... The said authorities shall inform the person concerned without delay of his rights under this sub-paragraph." The United States ratified this Convention in 1969.
Like Medellin, there are another 50 Mexican citizens on death row who were denied the right to consular representation.
In 2003, the Mexican government filed suit before the International Court of Justice on behalf of those 51 Mexican nationals. In March 2004, the ICJ ruled that the United States had violated the rights of those Mexicans on death row and ordered their cases to be reviewed. After the ICJ ruling in 2004, Texas refused to review Medellin's case, and he petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for relief. The Court agreed to hear his case, but before it could decide, President George W. Bush signed a memorandum to the U.S. Attorney General affirming that the United States would comply with the binding decision of the ICJ and announced that state courts would be required to review and reconsider the effect of violations of the Vienna Convention in the cases of those Mexican nationals who were subsequently sentenced to death. The Supreme Court then dismissed Medellin's case to allow states time for this review. Texas' courts again refused to grant such a review, claiming that President Bush did not have the power to give such an order. Medellin appealed to the Supreme Court for a second time. In April 2007, the Supreme Court granted certiorari and last Wednesday heard arguments.
For the entire interview click here.
About Jessica Carvalho Morris:
Jessica Carvalho Morris, UM Law School's Director of International and Foreign Graduate Programs, received a Bacharel em Direito degree (J.D. equivalent) from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil and a J.D. degree cum laude from the University of Miami Law School. She was a member of the Law Review in Brazil and served as research assistant to both Professor Keith Rosenn and Professor Michael Fischl at UM Law School. She is admitted to practice in Brazil, Florida, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Prior to joining UM Law School as Director of International and Foreign Graduate Programs, Director Morris worked as a field attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, and as an associate at Greenberg Traurig, where she handled a variety of civil and complex commercial litigation disputes relating to tax, contract and employment issues.
Since January 2004, she has been the coordinator for the Miami Chapter of Amnesty International (AI). She organized the largest state conference for AI at UM Law School, and has expanded the fundraising and membership of the chapter with regular events. She also co-chairs the Civil Rights Committee of The Florida Bar and is a member of the board for Florida International University's Women's Center Advisory Council.
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posted 1-November-2007
