Options on How to Proceed

• Author: Nancy L. Dennison/Seth Weinstein
• Pages: 93-113

93

Options

onHow to

Proceed

4

I. Retaining Counsel in the Foreign Jurisdiction ................... 94

II. Tactical Considerations .................................... 94

III. Waiver of Extradition ...................................... 95

IV. Consent to Committal ..................................... 96

V. Consent to Surrender ...................................... 97

VI. Working Out a Resolution in the Requesting State .............. 98

Appendix 4.1 Sample Waiver of Extradition and

Conveyance Order ........................... 99

Appendix 4.2 Sample Consent to Committal ................. 105

Appendix 4.3 Sample Consent to Surrender .................. 108

94 Prosecuting and Defending Extradition Cases: A Practitioner’s Handbook

Once a person is sought for extradition, there are dierent options for how the matter

may proceed and how eciently it might be done. The person may wish to contest all

aspects of the extradition request or, in the face of unavoidable extradition, may want

to expedite the process. This chapter focuses on ways in which the process could be

expedited.

There are several options for a person to consider when faced with extradition

proceedings; all are discussed in detail in this chapter. Simply stated, the options are:

1. Waive extradition and be conveyed to the requesting state.

2. Consent to committal (that is, agree that the evidence is sucient to justify

committal, but make arguments to the minister as to why surrender should not

be ordered).

3. Consent to surrender to the requesting state.

4. Contest extradition.

I. Retaining Counsel in the Foreign Jurisdiction

One of the first steps Canadian counsel should take is to assist the person sought in

retaining counsel in the requesting state, because their viewpoints and guidance will

be helpful in advising the client with respect to the most prudent course of action in

Canada. Counsel should contact colleagues for referrals to the most appropriate lawyers

in the foreign jurisdiction, or they can consult parallel criminal defence organizations

such as the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) in the United

States, which has a database of lawyers listed in all cities and states.

II. Tactical Considerations

Counsel in the requesting state can be an important sounding board with respect to

some of the tactical and practical considerations at play when dealing with the Canadian

extradition request. Indeed, there are a number of tactical and practical considerations

that the person sought must balance when deciding whether to expedite the extradition

process. The most obvious consideration is the likelihood of success in resisting extra-

dition. If, as is often the case, extradition is unavoidable, it may make little sense to

contest the matter since it will only delay the inevitable and result in added emotional

and financial costs to the person sought. On the other hand, delaying surrender may

be beneficial if the person sought needs time to get their financial or personal aairs

in order.

Some believe that contesting extradition is a strong negotiating tool because ocials

in foreign jurisdictions are anxious to have the matter dealt with expeditiously and, as

a result, they may oer a more favourable disposition to the person in order to expedite

the process and obtain closure. Indeed, given that extradition is often inevitable (espe-

cially on requests for extradition to the United States), it may be in the person’s best