Extradition And Interstate Rendition
Some criminal cases that stay in the news headlines for weeks or months at a time involve extradition. A defendant might be wanted for a crime in one country but be staying in another to avoid the criminal case, and it might take a while for the two countries to reach an agreement about extraditing the defendant. Sometimes extradition happens when someone gets accused of a crime in his or her home state or country and then flees from justice. In other cases, the crime itself involves multiple jurisdictions, like an international drug trafficking network or money laundering conspiracy. The prosecution may try to use it against you if, after allegedly committing a crime and before traveling to your current location, you did a Google search to find out whether the destination country has an extradition treaty with the United States, but as with any other piece of evidence, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you are being accused of a crime in another state or another country and are in danger of being extradited from Pennsylvania, contact a Pittsburgh criminal defense lawyer.
How and Why Does Extradition Happen?
Extradition can happen within the United States when someone who is facing charges or has been convicted and is awaiting a sentence is in a state other than the one that is processing the case. The court can extradite you from another state to Pennsylvania or from Pennsylvania to another state. When the person being extradited is a fugitive, meaning that the person knows that he or she is facing charges and a court has ordered the person not to leave the state, then extradition is called interstate rendition.
Extradition can also occur between countries if the two countries have an extradition treaty, meaning that they agree to extradite defendants in both directions. Some extradition treaties are dual criminality treaties, which means that if a defendant is accused of doing anything that counts as a felony in both countries, this is grounds for extradition. Other countries have list treaties, which specifically indicate the criminal offenses worthy of extradition from one country to the other. Politically related convictions that do not involve physical violence, illegal drugs, or financial crime are exempt from extradition.
In the News
Elias Rivera of Hulmeville was charged with domestic violence after a traffic stop arising from a physical fight with his girlfriend. Police noted that the girlfriend had injuries on her neck consistent with strangulation, and she told police that Rivera had punched the windshield of the car, detaching the rearview mirror. After this arrest, police discovered that Rivera, 18, is also awaiting extradition to Georgia. The Georgia case involves sexual assault charges. Rivera is being held without bail in the Bucks County Prison while his extradition case is pending.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Criminal Defense Cases
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges in another jurisdiction and in danger of extradition. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Sources:
patch.com/pennsylvania/levittown/lower-bucks-man-awaits-extradition-out-state-rape
ogc.pa.gov/Extradition/Pages/default.aspx
