26240: Boswell: (comment) RE: Arrest of Kevin Pina (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

from <Richard A. Boswell>  boswellr@pacbell.net

Last week there was a comment posted regarding Mr. Pina's demand to contact his 
Embassy.  Anyone arrested has the right to have a consular official from their 
country notified.  In fact this was the subject of a Supreme Court case since 
the U.S. was routinely denying defendants this right.  If someone is facing 
serious charges in the U.S. it behooves them to refuse to answer any questions 
until they have had the benefit of counsel and contact with their Embassy. 
While I doubt that the Haitian government would do so, the Mexican as well as 
many other governments assist defendants in securing counsel in capital (death 
penalty) cases.

It is interesting to note here, that it wasn't the U.S. government, but a 
Haitian lawyer who secured Mr. Pina's release.

Richard A. Boswell
Professor of Law
U.C. Hastings
200 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA  94102
tel: 415 565-4633
fax 415 565-4865
boswellr@pacbell.net or boswellr@uchastings.edu