Breard v. Greene - 523 U.S. 371, 118 S. Ct. 1352 (1998)

Rule:

Assertions of error in criminal proceedings must first be raised in state court in order to form the basis for relief in habeas. Claims not so raised are considered defaulted.

Facts:

Petitioners, inmate, foreign sovereign, and consul general, sought to overturn petitioner inmate's murder conviction and sentence to imminent execution. They applied in district court for a stay, writ of certiorari, writ of habeas corpus, injunctive relief, and for leave to file a bill of complaint. They asserted that the failure to inform petitioner inmate at the time of his arrest of his right as a foreign national to contact his consulate violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, April 24, 1963, 21 U.S.T. 77.

Issue:

Under the circumstances, should the court grant the petitioners’ application for a stay, writ of certiorari, writ of habeas corpus, injunctive relief, and for leave to file a bill of complaint? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The court ruled that by not asserting his Vienna Convention claim in state court, as required by federal and state laws, petitioner inmate could not raise a claim of violation of those rights on federal habeas review. Further, the subsequently enacted Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, 28 U.S.C.S. § 2254(a), (e)(2), prevented him from showing that the treaty violation prejudiced his rights. The court held that petitioner foreign sovereign had no private right of action to set aside the criminal conviction and declared that petitioner consul general's claim for discrimination was not cognizable under 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983.