Interstate Extradition

Interstate Rendition Clause in the United States

In the United States, a uniform law interstate rendition between the states is established by Article 4, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, “which specifies that interstate extradition applies”(1) regardless or irrespective of the nature of the crime.” provides that any person properly charged is subject to extradition regardless of the nature of the crime.

In relation to ths article of the U.S. Constitution, according to Richard Peltz, “rendition particulars today are controlled chiefly by the Uniform Extradition and Rendition Act, adopted in some form in every state (of the U.S). State rendition laws have been upheld insofar as they are consistent with the Constitution and federal statute. Furthermore, states today provide for rendition outside the scope of the clause. For example, states may agree to render subpoenaed witnesses and charged persons who were never present in the demanding state. It is unclear whether these ancillary agreements in any way offend the original conception of the Interstate Rendition Clause as an exclusive process.”

U.S. states normally comply with extradition demands, but the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the states are able of refusing the extradition.

Related U.S. case law include:

• Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842)
• Kentucky v. Dennison (1860)
• Taylor v. Taintor (1872)
• Roberts v. Reilly (1885)
• Lascelles v. Georgia (1893)
• Munsey v. Clough (1905)
• Appleyard v. Massachusetts (1906)
• Strassheim v. Daily (1911)
• Michigan v. Doran (1978)
• Puerto Rico v. Branstad (1987)
• New Mexico ex rel. Ortiz v. Reed (1998)

Notes

1. Deflem, Mathieu, and Kyle Irwin. 2006. “Extradition, International.” Pp. 352-354 in Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and Liberties, edited by Otis H. Stephens, Jr., John M. Scheb II, and Kara E. Stooksbury. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

See Also

• Extradition
• Concept of Extradition
• History of Extradition
• International Extradition
• Interstate Extradition or Interstate Rendition
• Extradition Treaties
• Human Rights and Extradition
• Extradition in Federal Jurisdictions

Further Reading

• Leslie W. Abramson, Extradition in America: Of Uniform Acts and Governmental Discretion, 33 Baylor L. Rev. 793 (1981)
• John G. Hawley, Inter-State Extradition (1890)
• Rollin C. Hurd, A Treatise on the Right of Personal Liberty, and on the Writ of Habeas Corpus (1858)
• 2 John Bassett Moore, A Treatise on Extradition and Interstate Rendition (1891)
• John J Murphy, Revising Domestic Extradition Law, 131 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1063 (1983)
• James Scott, The Law of Interstate Rendition (1917)
• Dale Patrick Smith, Dissertation: Interstate Extradition: A Case Study in Constitutional Interpretation (1984)
• Samuel T. Spear, The Law of Extradition, International and Inter-State (3d ed. 1885)
• Dugard, John, and Christine Van den Wyngaert. “Reconciling Extradition with Human Rights.” The American Journal of International Law 92(2):187-212, 1998.
• Epps, Valerie. “The Development of the Conceptual Framework Supporting International Extradition.” Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 25:369-387, 2003.
• Gilbert, Geoff. Aspects of Extradition Law. Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1991.
• Pyle, Christopher H. Extradition, Politics, and Human Rights. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001.
• Rose, Thomas. “A Delicate Balance: Extradition, Sovereignty, and Individual Rights in the United States and Canada.” The Yale Journal of International Law 27:193-215, 2002.