People v. Najera, Jr.

              No. 2--06--0236 Filed 3/6/07
______________________________________________________________________________
IN THE
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
SECOND DISTRICT
______________________________________________________________________________
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
OF ILLINOIS, ) of Lake County.
)
Plaintiff-Appellee, ))
v. ) No. 03--CF--1978
)
MARIO NAJERA, JR., ) Honorable
) Mitchell L. Hoffman,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding.
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JUSTICE BOWMAN delivered the opinion of the court:
Defendant, Mario Najera, Jr., pleaded guilty to criminal sexual abuse (720 ILCS 5/12--15(c)
(West 2002)). Defendant filed a petition pursuant to section 2--1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure
(735 ILCS 5/2--1401 (West 2004)) to vacate his conviction. The trial court denied the petition and
defendant appeals. Defendant contends that his conviction was void because the authorities did not
comply with article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Vienna Convention).
Because there is generally no judicial remedy for a Vienna Convention violation, and defendant
procedurally defaulted any remedy he might have had here, we affirm.
In 2003, defendant pleaded guilty to criminal sexual abuse. Pursuant to an agreement with
the State, he was sentenced to probation. On November 3, 2005, he filed a section 2--1401 petition,
in which he contended that the judgment of conviction was void. Defendant alleged that he is a
citizen of Mexico. When he was arrested, he was not informed of his right to contact the Mexican