The Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear the appeal of a Mexican national on death row in Texas, stepping into an international debate over the legal rights of foreigners in capital punishment cases.
The World Court at The Hague ruled earlier this year that the United States violated the rights of 51 Mexicans on death row, including Jose Medellin, whose appeal will be heard at the Supreme Court next spring.
The World Court, which is the United Nations' highest judiciary, had determined that American officials should give the inmates "meaningful review" of the convictions and sentences now, on grounds that the U.S. government failed to inform their home countries of their arrests and trials. The World Court is charged with resolving disputes between nations, but cannot force the United States to follow its decisions.
Lower U.S. courts had blocked appeals by Medellin, and justices will decide whether those decisions were wrong.
The announcement broadens the Supreme Court's inquiry into capital punishment this term. Justices are already considering a case that will decide if it's unconstitutional to execute killers who committed their crimes as teenagers.