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Not all alleged crimes are committed and prosecuted within one state or one country’s borders. It’s common for a suspect to be located and apprehended in a different jurisdiction or country only to find out that this person is wanted for investigation or prosecution somewhere else. The legal process involved with deciding if the defendant should be sent elsewhere is known as extradition.
Extradition is a complicated legal scenario, and if you face this situation you need the immediate help of an experienced Phoenix criminal defense lawyer. Below you’ll find information regarding the different types of extradition issues as they relate to Arizona, challenges that could be made to an extradition request and finally how you should proceed if you face a problem with extradition.
Extradition can arise as a legal issue in many ways. Below is a brief overview of how this situation can arise and how they relate to Arizona:
There are times when someone is suspected of a crime in Arizona and he or she is arrested and detained in another jurisdiction. There is a flow of information between jurisdictions that provides notice to authorities that a warrant for an arrest has been issued for a suspect, and this includes Arizona.
There are other situations in which a person is arrested for a crime and police discover that the suspect has an outstanding warrant issued from another jurisdiction. This prompts the opposite sort of extradition issue if the suspect chooses to fight the process.
In the federal system of laws, there are situations in which a suspect is apprehended for some reason in another country. While the flow of information is not as reliable and the technicalities of extradition between the United States and other countries not always concrete, there are extradition issues that can arise, especially if the United States has an extradition treaty with the arresting country.
If a suspect is arrested in Arizona and it turns out that he or she is wanted in another country for serious crimes, that country could request extradition of that suspect. Just as in any other case, the defendant could challenge the extradition process for different reasons.
There are many situations in which a suspect is detained in one jurisdiction and chooses to waive his or her right to fight the extradition by simply agreeing to be moved to that jurisdiction for trial and/or sentencing. However, this is not a requirement of any defendant, and below are two common examples of challenges to extradition that can arise after a brief explanation of the process.
Generally, if someone is arrested in Arizona and is wanted in another jurisdiction or vice versa, the arresting jurisdiction will receive a request for extradition from the other state. This is generally known as a Governor’s Warrant, as the requesting state prepares a set of documents that basically ask for the defendant to be sent to the requesting jurisdiction. If the Governor agrees, the warrant is issued and the extradition process begins.
One of the most common bases for challenging extradition before the issuance of a Governor’s Warrant is based on a claim of mistaken identity. In Arizona, this is known as an Identity Hearing, and the burden is on the suspect to prove to the court that the requesting jurisdiction is seeking extradition of the wrong defendant. The scope of the hearing is limited to the issue of identity, and the issues surrounding guilt or innocence of the charges alleged by the other jurisdiction are generally seen as irrelevant to the hearing that’s occurring.
After the Governor’s Warrant has been issued, the defendant can challenge extradition based on Habeas Corpus. Habeas Corpus is basically an earnest request by the defendant of the court to review the legality of his or her detention, and extradition is one of the situations in which this legal issue can arise.
While seeking a Writ of Habeas Corpus is often done in federal court, the hearing basically asks the court to review the procedure that led to the extradition request, including the technicalities of the process itself and the right to or the amount of bail as well as the jurisdiction of the requesting jurisdiction.
As can be seen, extradition is a complicated and nuanced legal issue. Rather than attempt to handle this by yourself and risk your freedom as a result, you need to seek the help of an experienced Phoenix criminal defense lawyer who has the experience and technical knowledge necessary to make sure that your rights are protected. Contact David Wroblewski & Associates today to schedule an initial consultation.
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