Breard v. Greene
United States Supreme Court
523 U.S. 371 (1998)
Angel Francisco Breard (plaintiff), a Paraguayan citizen, was convicted and sentenced to death in Virginia state court without being told, as required by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, that he could contact the Paraguayan Consulate. He raised this claim for the first time in a federal habeas petition rather than in state court, and lower federal courts held the claim procedurally defaulted. Separately, Paraguay and its diplomats (also plaintiffs) sued Virginia officials (defendants) directly under the Vienna Convention and § 1983, and Paraguay pursued a parallel claim against the United States before the International Court of Justice, which ordered the U.S. to take measures to avoid executing Breard pending its decision.
Whether the procedural rules of a particular state govern the implementation of a treaty within that state, absent a clear and express statement to the contrary in the treaty itself.