Valdez v. Oklahoma
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
2002 OK CR 20 (2002)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
It was only after Mexican citizen Gerardo Valdez (defendant) entered Oklahoma’s death row that the local Mexican consulate learned of Valdez’s arrest, trial, and conviction for murder. The consulate immediately invoked the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) and intervened in Valdez’s case. The consulate retained expert witnesses whose testimony convinced the Oklahoma parole board that Valdez was too mentally impaired to be held fully responsible for his crime. After the governor of Oklahoma rejected the board’s recommendation for clemency, the consulate assisted Valdez in petitioning the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals for postconviction relief. As a threshold matter, the appeals court ruled that because Valdez could have invoked his VCCR rights earlier, Valdez’s petition was untimely and could be dismissed solely on procedural grounds.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Johnson, J.)
Concurrence (Lile, J.)
Dissent (Lumpkin, J.)
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