An antiquated law still has to be reckoned with.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: It shouldn’t be surprising that the borough of Queens — a slice of New York that houses 1.1 million immigrants, the megacity’s international airport, and its most multicultural hospital — would require the mention of a 1963 treaty designed to protect expats in foreign nations during a mundane, local court proceeding.
Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations states foreign nationals who are arrested or detained must be given notice “without delay” of their right to have their embassy or consulate notified. If a detained foreign national so requests, police must convey the notice to said embassy or consulate, which can then open communication with the detainee.
However, according to The New York Times, it seems to go unremarked upon by just about all of the 70,000 or so defendants who pass through the arraignment court in Kew Gardens, Queens each year.
As it turns out, most defendants, who are usually been charged with minor offenses, want nothing to do with the 63-year-old mandate.
“After 20 hours, you just want to get out,” said Anthony Watt, who was being arraigned on allegations he drove without a suspended license. “That’s all you’re trying to hear: released on your own recognizance.”
Despite the annoyance to foreign nationals and the extra paperwork the Vienna Convention generates for public defenders, failing to disclose consular rights immediately is an internationally sanctionable offense.
The scope of backlash incurred by the treaty’s dismissal was effectively demonstrated when Mexico, Germany and Paraguay all sued the United States in the U.N. World Court in The Hague after foreign citizens who were arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death in the U.S. said they had not been informed of their consular rights, according to the Times.
In an apparent effort to fortify itself against legal scrutiny, the district attorney’s office in Queens has taken it upon itself to ensure that every defendant is provided with a copy of the Vienna Convention notice.
None of the city’s other district attorneys go to such lengths, yet the Post reported a French citizen who declined to be named disclosed he had not been straightforwardly informed of his rights. Upon inspection the Post reported the prosecutor had tucked a generic piece of white paper into the French man’s case file that was supposed to fulfill the requirement.
Sarah H. Cleveland, a professor of human and constitutional rights at Columbia Law School, told the New York Post that enforcing notification in the United States is crucial to ensuring the legal courtesy is reciprocated to Americans who are arrested abroad, especially since safety is a prime concern in countries with authoritarian governments.