Extradition

[mylo26]

my fiance got extradited to missouri from pennsylvania.. during that time of extradition he missed a court heiring in pa due to extradition. his case is now over in missouri and they are holding him because pa put a warrant out for him and want him extradited back. the county jail he is in recieved an email stating pa would come in 10 to 14 days. if they dont come within the time limit they set will he be released?

[Camille]

Hey there, Samantha!

Sorry to hear of the troubles you & your fiancé are dealing with!

It might not make you feel any better, but your man’s dilemma of being in contempt of court(ie: not showing up) in one jurisdiction while held in another jurisdiction is actually semi-common(sad to say...).

If you were wondering if there is some type of rule or law that says they have to let him go if they don't show up within two weeks, no, there isn't. The amount of time beyond what was initially given would have to be "excessive" or "unreasonable."  If he was still waiting 3-6 months later, that would be excessive or unreasonable and your man could then take some legal action of his own against the state of Pennsylvania... To further answer your question, it is doubtful they will release him if the bailiffs do not show up in that two week window of time.  

There is   a very slim chance they could let him go, but I wouldn’t count on it.  Delays occur and the person in jail on a “hold for other jurisdiction” just ends up sitting there twiddling their thumbs until the other state comes!  What normally happens is that, once extradited, if the person is found guilty or does a plea agreement, the extra time he spent in Missouri would count toward the sentence he receives in PA.  

Although different states DO have different laws regarding contempt of court, you also have to consider that P.A. is extraditing him for the original crime itself AND the contempt of court.  And extradition is expensive!!  We’re talking a few grand(or better).  See, P.A. has to pay a daily fee to whatever jail in Missouri he’s being held at.  They also have to pay the cost of travel for the bailiffs, hotels, meals, gas, etc, etc.  

Unless the original charge is a low level felony or above, most   states won’t even consider extradition if the person is X-amount of miles outside of their jurisdiction. So saying: P.A. must want your man awfully bad to go to all that expense.  And if they were willing to go to the expense then you can pretty much bet that your man is going to be sitting there waiting until they come to get him.  

The good news is that IF another state orders an extradition, they are pretty quick in coming to get that person because of the cost they are incurring.  Well, I don’t know if that’s good news to you or not, but it is the reality of it.  

If it's not good news to you that PA will come and get him quickly, you could always hope for the slim chance that the jail he is in makes an error and releases him.  Those kind of mistakes happen all the time(and correctional officers lose their jobs for it all the time...).  It is an easy mistake to make because of how the computer system is set up.  If your man is set to be released on the 30th for the Missouri charge, the computer will spit his name out into a "release report."  If the releasing officers do not check the computer to see if your man has a hold for another jurisdiction, well, out the door he goes...

Here are some things to think about and maybe take action on:

1.)  Does your man have an attorney in PA that could be working on this for him?  

** The reason I ask is because whichever prosecuting attorney it was that put the warrant on him for contempt of court MIGHT not even know he was in jail in another jurisdiction at the time.  That prosecution could have just seen that he didn’t show up and then cut the warrant with no further thought about the case for the time being.  

2.)  The original crime that your fiancé was to be showing up in court for--was it a felony or misdemeanor?  

** This is important because if the original case was a misdemeanor, but contempt of court is a felony, then the prosecuting attorney in charge of that case needs to know about why your fiancé didn’t show up.  A lot of times, the contempt of court charge is dropped/dismissed when it is a situation like your fiancé is in.  

3.)  Was he supposed to have been showing up for trial?  Was he going to make a plea agreement?  Because again, talking to the attorney in charge of that case could resolve all of this without him having to sit in jail or be extradited.  Your fiancé’s attorney could work a deal to use the time he served in the Missouri jail as ‘time served’ for the original case in PA.  (does that make sense?)  This is something his lawyer would have to set up, but it could be done(and has been done).  

While your fiancé is sitting there in Missouri, hopefully there is someone to work on his behalf with the prosecuting attorney in Pennsylvania.  Because in most cases, it is not the judge who requests a warrant when someone doesn’t show up to court, it’s the prosecuting attorney.  So that   is who you or your fiancé’s attorney need to be trying to get to.  

Hope this helps you, Samantha!  If you have further questions or need some clarification on my answer, feel free to ask!

Good luck to you and your fiancé,

CC