Garcia v. Texas, 564 U.S. 940

Leal Garcia, a Mexican national, has lived in the United States since before age two.
In 1994, Leal kidnapped a 16-year-old, raped her with a large stick, and bludgeoned her to death with asphalt.
He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by a Texas court.
Leal contends the conviction violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by failing to notify him of consular rights.
He seeks a stay of execution to await possible congressional legislation implementing the Avena/ICJ ruling, or other relief.
The Court denies the stay and denies Leal’s habeas corpus petition.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a stay is warranted pending potential implementing legislation	Leal contends Congress might enact a law to provide the required hearing	The Court should not stay based on unenacted legislation	Denied
Whether due process prohibits execution while implementing legislation is considered	Leal relies on Due Process to halt execution	Medellin limited federal enforcement of international obligations	Denied
Whether President/Executive foreign-relations arguments justify a stay	Executive concerns support a stay to avoid irreparable harm to foreign relations	Law should be applied as written; no stay based on prospective legislation	Denied

Medellin v. Texas, 552 U.S. 491 (U.S. 2008) (non-self-executing treaty obligations require congressional action to be domestically enforceable)
Medellín v. Texas, 554 U.S. 759 (U.S. 2008) (stay denied; lack of enacted implementing legislation)
United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304 (1936) (presidential authority in foreign affairs)
Jama v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 543 U.S. 335 (U.S. 2005) (deference to President in foreign-relations matters)
FTC v. Dean Foods Co., 384 U.S. 597 (U.S. 1966) (All Writs Act authority to preserve jurisdiction)