Jan. 23, 2013 - Mexican Supreme Court orders immediate unconditional liberty for Florence Cassez
Mexico's Supreme Judicial Court, the nation's highest appellate tribunal and the court of last resort, will take up the Florence Cassez case again in August. The announcement was made today by one of the court's judges, minister Olga Sanchez Cordero.
Cassez is a 37 year old French woman who is serving a 60 year sentence for kidnapping and organized crime activity. Mexican prosecutors say she and her boyfriend were the ringleaders of a group known as the Zodiacs (Los Zodiaco), which kidnapped for ransom. Both were arrested in December 2005. Cassez' boyfriend claims that she had nothing to do with the organization, and was unaware of his activities. There is strong circumstantial evidence to suggest the contrary.
Over the last six years multiple courts have considered the hot button Cassez case, and in each instance have upheld her conviction. On Mar. 21 a five judge panel of the Supreme Court did likewise, albeit in a highly split decision which evidenced strong disagreement among the judges. Only minister Cordero, the court's sole female judge and a vigorous advocate for Cassez, voted to release her immediately.
Two legal technicalities which have nothing to do with the factual evidence are at the heart of the matter. First, 24 hours after Cassez was detained federal police staged a "re-arrest" of she and her boyfriend, and put on a full scale media show for local reporters whom they had tipped off to their big bust of Los Zodiaco. That prevented Cassez from being brought before a judicial officer promptly, which was her right under Mexican law. Second, French consular officials were not timely notified of her arrest. The latter was a violation of treaties between Mexico and France, as well as international law. Several Supreme Court judges found those legal errors to be significant, but ruled that they did not undermine confidence in the guilty verdict. Those ministers left the door open for further legal review, however.
The procedural remedy which the Mexican Supreme Court is considering in the Cassez case is called amparo, and is designed to test the lawfulness of one's conviction and detention. It's a rough approximation of Anglo-American habeas corpus, although far broader and more powerful. Criminal defendants frequently seek writs of amparo in this country, on all sorts of legal grounds. Amparo is not routinely granted, but neither is it rare. It's more commonly awarded to Mexican prisoners than is habeas corpus in Anglo-American courts.
In a poll taken just before the Supreme Court's decision in March, 65% of Mexicans surveyed believed Cassez is guilty. In a country plagued by thousands of kidnappings annually (many of which end tragically), the case continues to provoke strong reactions, especially in a nation not historically disposed to place legal principles ahead of facts. In the second consideration of her appeal in August, Cassez will likely not be helped by the May 22 court declaration of another Zodiac member, who has told prosecutors that she was an active participant in the kidnapping ring.
One of the main legal issues in the Cassez case has been considered in American courts. In recent years several foreign nationals, including Mexicans, have been executed in the U.S., primarily in Texas. In a few of those instances consular officials were not notified by American officials after the men's arrests. Since that was a clear violation of treaties between the two countries, the defendants and their attorneys (actively supported by the Mexican government) asked that their convictions be overturned, or at a minimum that they be spared the death penalty. In each such case the condemned men lost their appeals and ultimately were executed. U.S. courts reasoned that unless some direct prejudice could be demonstrated, the failure to notify consular officials -- although admittedly a violation of international treaties and law -- was an irrelevant technicality.
Key facts and legal background of the case are reported in the first two posts below.
Oct. 6 - Reconsideration of this case will not occur until late 2012 or early 2013, news sources report. Although Mexico's Supreme Court had intended to deal with it again in August, the judges have been inundated with military law cases, such as this one: Mexican Supreme Court strips military courts of criminal jurisdiction in offenses committed against civilian victims.
Oct. 16 - Mexico's president-elect, Enrique Peña Nieto, will take office Dec. 1. He's on a whirlwind tour of the Continent this week, meeting with key European heads of state. Tomorrow he'll lunch with French president François Hollande, and aides to both men have announced that the Cassez case will be the primary topic on the table. Some may suggest the "fix is in," but that's far from clear. Only the Mexican Supreme Court can free Cassez, and it failed to do so last spring. Two new justices are about to be named to the court, however, and one or both could be women. At a minimum, dynamics will change. My view is that Peña Nieto would love to get rid of Cassez - a demanding prima donna - and get on with more important things; he'll have enough on his plate 60 days from now. Moreover, the case is a constant source of friction between Mexico and France, normally good partners on almost everything else. But the sticking point is that about two-thirds of Mexicans believe she's guilty of kidnapping and other serious crimes, and they want her to rot in jail until the Kingdom comes.
Oct. 17 - At the end of their 90 minute luncheon, Peña Nieto tells the press that he'll respect and abide by whatever decision Mexico's Supreme Court reaches when it reconsiders the Cassez case in a few months. Of course, he has no legal option to do otherwise. But the subliminal message may be one encouraging the court to free her.
Oct. 18 - Defensa de Cassez, tranquila por la posición de Peña Nieto.
Jan. 23, 2013 - Mexican Supreme Court orders immediate unconditional liberty for Florence Cassez
Supreme Court upholds Florence Cassez conviction, 60 year sentence - for now: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/mexicos-supreme-court-splits-on-legal.html#more.
Controversy flares in Florence Cassez case http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/controversy-flares-in-florence-cassez.html.
Blind Mexican justice - but for everyone?: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/blind-mexican-justice-but-for-everyone.html#more.
Cassez debate spotlights Mexico's unique emphasis on crime victims' rights: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/raging-cassez-debate-spotlights-mexicos.html.
Other legal matters:
Mexico's high court rejects lie detectors, drug tests, psych profiles for political candidates: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/mexicos-high-court-rejects-lie.html.
Mexico's Supreme Court rules in same sex marriage case: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/mexicos-highest-court-upholds-right-of.html.
Mexico's Supreme Court fails to overturn state anti-abortion laws: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/mexicos-supreme-judicial-court-fails-to.html.
Abortion issue likely to be revisited by Mexican courts: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/abortion-likely-to-be-revisited-in.html.
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