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Specifically, Petitioner Jose Ernesto Medellin, an [[illegal alien]], was a member of the "Black and Whites" gang who was convicted of the rape and brutal murder of 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena while they were walking home.

Specifically, Petitioner Jose Ernesto Medellin, an [[illegal alien]], was a member of the "Black and Whites" gang who was convicted of the rape and brutal murder of 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena while they were walking home.

Medellin was given the [[Miranda]] warning, and then confessed to the crime.  But he was not advised of a right to consult with the Mexican consulate prior to being interrogated by police.  Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Vienna Convention or Convention), Apr. 24, 1963, [1970] 21 U.S. T. 77, T. I. A. S. No. 6820, and the Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes to the Vienna Convention (Optional Protocol or Protocol), Apr. 24, 1963, [1970] 21 U.S. T. 325, T. I. A. S. No. 6820, which were ratified by [[United States Senate]] in 1969, if a person detained by a foreign country "so requests, the competent authorities of the receiving State shall, without delay, inform the consular post of the sending State" of such detention, and "inform the [detainee] of his righ[t]" to request assistance from the consul of his own state. Art. 36(1)(b), id., at 101.

Medellin was given the [[Miranda warning]], and then confessed to the crime.  But he was not advised of a right to consult with the Mexican consulate prior to being interrogated by police.  Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Vienna Convention or Convention), Apr. 24, 1963, [1970] 21 U.S. T. 77, T. I. A. S. No. 6820, and the Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes to the Vienna Convention (Optional Protocol or Protocol), Apr. 24, 1963, [1970] 21 U.S. T. 325, T. I. A. S. No. 6820, which were ratified by [[United States Senate]] in 1969, if a person detained by a foreign country "so requests, the competent authorities of the receiving State shall, without delay, inform the consular post of the sending State" of such detention, and "inform the [detainee] of his righ[t]" to request assistance from the consul of his own state. Art. 36(1)(b), id., at 101.

The [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ), located in the Hague, is a tribunal established pursuant to the United Nations Charter to adjudicate disputes between member states. In the Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mex. v. U.S.), 2004 I. C. J. 12 (Judgment of Mar. 31) (Avena), that tribunal considered a claim brought by Mexico against the United States. The ICJ held that, based on violations of the Vienna Convention, 51 named Mexican nationals were entitled to review and reconsideration of their state-court convictions and sentences in the United States. This was so regardless of any forfeiture of the right to raise Vienna Convention claims because of a failure to comply with generally applicable state rules governing challenges to criminal convictions.

The [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ), located in the Hague, is a tribunal established pursuant to the United Nations Charter to adjudicate disputes between member states. In the Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mex. v. U.S.), 2004 I. C. J. 12 (Judgment of Mar. 31) (Avena), that tribunal considered a claim brought by Mexico against the United States. The ICJ held that, based on violations of the Vienna Convention, 51 named Mexican nationals were entitled to review and reconsideration of their state-court convictions and sentences in the United States. This was so regardless of any forfeiture of the right to raise Vienna Convention claims because of a failure to comply with generally applicable state rules governing challenges to criminal convictions.