VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRA #0525 1941712
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131712Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY RIGA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4183
INFO RUEHCH/AMEMBASSY CHISINAU PRIORITY 0137
RUEHTL/AMEMBASSY TALLINN PRIORITY 4091
RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI PRIORITY 0116
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS PRIORITY 3885
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS RIGA 000525 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS PREL LG
SUBJECT: US SUPREME COURT JUSTICE MEETS WITH LATVIAN LEADERS 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: At Ambassador Bailey's invitation, US Supreme Court 
Justice Samuel Alito visited Riga to participate as the keynote 
speaker at Embassy Riga's conference on Judicial Ethics, 
Transparency and Reform. During his stay, Alito met with President 
Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis.  The 
discussions centered around the rule of law and the state of the 
Judiciary and how Latvia and the United States can further their 
cooperation in these areas.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) In his July 2 meeting with President Vike-Freiberga, Alito 
heard praise for US efforts to assist Latvia's justice system over 
the years.  But, reflecting on what had been achieved and what 
remained to be done as she neared the end of her eight years in 
office, the President identified many areas where she believed 
cooperation would continue to be of value.  She highlighted the need 
for continuing education for judges and the challenges of a 
relatively young judiciary with lifetime appointments, and no 
performance review mechanism, as challenges for Latvia. Drawing on 
her own experiences as a psychologist, she felt that Latvian judges 
did not consider the nature of the accused and the crime in passing 
sentence.  Prison time for drug dealing and child exploitation 
offenses are very short or waived entirely, she felt, while minors 
were not given conditions of imprisonment that would promote their 
rehabilitation and eventual reintegration into society. Justice 
Alito noted that we faced many of these same issues in the US and in 
judicial systems around the world. Conferences like this help by 
sharing new solutions to common problems, noting in particular the 
US experience with enhanced sentencing guidelines.  Both agreed that 
strong sentences are essential in fighting corruption, with Alito 
reminding that it has only been in the last 20 years or so in the US 
that we have consistently applied that principle.  The President 
also noted infrastructure concerns in the Latvian judicial system. 
More courtrooms would reduce pre-trial delays, she asserted, and new 
and better prisons were needed for more humane treatment of the 
incarcerated. 
 
¶3.  (U) In his July 3 meeting with PM Kalvitis, Alito was told that 
it was essential to build public trust in the judiciary in Latvia, 
especially following the Soviet period where courts were viewed as 
an instrument of repression. Alito agreed that his is essential in a 
democracy, and an area in which also the US could do better.  But 
the Justice said he took heart from the entries in the 
Embassy-sponsored essay contest for the judicial conference, which 
showed young people in Latvia with a real sense of the role of the 
judiciary in a democracy.  The PM also noted the need for a 
judiciary able to handle the most complicated cases involving 
corruption and financial crimes and asked for US help.  Alito, 
drawing on his experience as a prosecutor, said it was also very 
important that the laws governing such crimes and investigations be 
modern and flexible to allow the prosecutor to follow the trail 
wherever it leads.  As he had with the President, Alito also 
stressed the need for tough sentences to increase the perceived cost 
of corruption.  The PM agreed, noting that many of Latvia's laws on 
economic crimes dated from the mid-90's and could stand to be 
updated. 
 
¶4. (U) Justice Alito did not have the opportunity to clear this 
cable prior to departure. 
 
 
BAILEY