EXTRADITION AND TRANSNATIONAL DEFENSE NEWS: Bond and Failure to Extradite: Tennessee Court Rules Against Bond Company

Monday, November 9, 2009

Bond and Failure to Extradite: Tennessee Court Rules Against Bond Company

Can a bond company defend forfeiture on the basis that the State refuses to seek extradition? Apparently not, according to a Tennessee Appeals Court: State of Tennessee v Yussuf. In re Radar Bonding Company, Inc.; No. M2008-01161-CCA-R3-CD. Feb. 11, 2009 Session.Nov. 5, 2009. The Court declined to impose an obligation on the State of Tennessee to seek extradition of the defendant from Sweden, or discharge the bond company. It should be noted that the primary reasons discussed in declining to seek extradition for attempted murder were the time and expenses required in submitting an extradition request.

What is the Rule of Specialty?

The Specialty Doctrine is a firmly established principle of international law provides that a criminal defendant extradited from one nation to another may be prosecuted only for only those offenses for which the surrendering state agreed to extradite.

In other words, when a nation hands over an accused for trial on specified charges, both the surrendering and requesting nation are implicitly agreeing that the accused will not be prosecuted on other, unspecified offenses for which the surrendering nation did not agree to extradite.

The surrendering nation is ceding personal jurisdiction over the defendant only with respect to the charges on which he or she was extradited, and an American court cannot force a defendant to face additional charges.

Extradition Law Basics for Criminal Defense Lawyers

Criminal defense attorneys will discover that extradition law issues have an increasing relevance to their practice. Not infrequently, foreign nationals who have criminal charges pending abroad are found and arrested in the United States for extradition. Similarly, a growing number of the foreign nationals who are being prosecuted in American courts have been brought to the United States through the extradition process.

Defending an Extradition from the United States (Part I).

Generally, in the absence of an extradition treaty, there is no duty to extradite. The extradition of an alleged criminal from within the United States to a foreign country is governed by the relevant extradition treaty, the procedures as set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3181 et seq, and principles of customary international law. The extradition treaty, as a duly ratified treaty entered into by the United States, is federal law pursuant to U.S. CONST. art. VI. § 2. “Each extradition treaty between the United States and a foreign nation is sui generis, and as a contract between two sovereigns, sets forth its own law.” It is essential for counsel to have an accurate copy of the relevant extradition treaty, and any protocols that may have amended the original treaty or extradition convention. Each extradition treaty has been negotiated separately, some treaties are much older than others, and each treaty may be worded differently. For a list of all treaties in force, see http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/treaties

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Monday, November 9, 2009

Bond and Failure to Extradite: Tennessee Court Rules Against Bond Company

Extradition and White Collar Crime

Extradition And Federal Criminal Defense

Keep Current with News relating to Extradition and Transnational Criminal Defense

Extraterritorial Jurisdiction: What are the Limits?

What is the Rule of Specialty?

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Immigration and Other Law Resources for Non Citizens and Their Lawyers

International Enforcement Law Reporter

Cultural Issues in Criminal Defense, 2d. Ed.

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Extradition Law Basics for Criminal Defense Lawyers

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