Extradition on a Fugitive Warrant

Melbourne Criminal Defense Attorney Serving Brevard County & Surrounding Areas

The criminal defense attorney at The Law Offices of Bryan J. McCarthy is experienced in fighting outstanding fugitive warrants and extraditions to or from Florida. It is important to realize that other options exist besides sitting in jail waiting to be extradited.

The sheriffs for individual counties throughout the State of Florida spend a tremendous amount of money on extradition cases. When possible, the court would prefer to allow the individual to voluntarily return to Florida and avoid the expense of extradition. Fighting the extradition is particularly important in violation of probation cases in Brevard, Orange, Volusia, Seminole, Indian River, and Osceola counties.

Florida Extradition Laws

Extradition laws provide for a process of bringing a person back to Florida from another state to answer felony criminal charges. Many people sit in jail for months not knowing that they have options to avoid extradition. 

In many cases hiring a criminal defense attorney can actually save the individual money because the court will eventually seek to impose the extradition costs back on the individual as a condition of resolving the criminal case. If you are concerned about an outstanding warrant for your pending arrest in Brevard County, FL, or one of the surrounding counties, contact an experienced Melbourne criminal defense attorney at The Law Offices of Bryan J. McCarthy. We are ready to help you fight your case.

Violation of Probation Warrants from the Past

Our criminal defense attorney often sees a situation in which an individual is put on felony probation in the State of Florida. The person then applies to transfer the probation to another state, or in some cases, the person just moves out of state without the probation officer’s permission. If the court issues an arrest warrant for the violation of probation, it almost always contains a “no bond” provision.

The individual living out of state may go about their business for years without hearing anything about the warrant. Then during a routine traffic stop a law enforcement officer will suddenly see the fugitive extradition warrant on the individuals NCIC (National Criminal Information Center) criminal record.

After the felony out-of-state warrant is discovered, then the individual is arrested and held in jail until Florida makes arraignments to extradite the individual back to Florida. In these cases, our Melbourne extradition attorney may be able to do one of the following:

• Petition the judge in Florida to withdraw the warrant temporarily so that the person arrested can be released from custody in the other state and voluntarily return to Florida for a court appearance that is scheduled a week later.
• If the violation of probation extradition warrant is particularly old, the attorney can request that the court terminates the probation without any requirement that the individual return to the state of Florida to answer the violation of probation charges.
• In certain cases, the judge in the jurisdiction where the individual is being held while awaiting extradition can agree to grant bond so that the individual can be released from custody to travel voluntarily back to Florida.

Felony Warrant on New Criminal Charges

If the person allegedly commits a crime and then moves out of state before being arrested on the felony warrant, then the individual can be arrested in another state until extradited back to Florida to answer the felony charges.

A criminal defense attorney in Florida can petition the court to set a bond in the case so that the person can be released from custody to surrender in Florida without being extradited. The criminal defense lawyer can also contact the prosecutor at the State Attorney’s Office about dropping the charges or filing only greatly reduced formal charges. Alternatively, the attorney can request that the prosecutor stipulates to a reasonable bond.

United States’ Extradition Clause

The Extradition Clause in the United States provides for the return of an individual charged with a crime in one state who is physically located in another state. Originally, the legal authority for interstate extradition was found in the Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution which states as follows:

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

Florida’s Extradition Statutes

• Florida Statute Section 941.03 – Form of demand
• Florida Statute Section 941.05 – Extradition of persons imprisoned or awaiting trial in another state or who have left Florida under compulsion
• Florida Statute Section 941.06 – Extradition of persons not present in demanding state at the time of the commission of crime
• Florida Statute Section 941.10 – Rights of accused person; application for the writ of habeas corpus
• Florida Statute Section 941.22 – Fugitives from Florida; duty of Governor

United States’ Uniform Criminal Extradition Act

The United States Congress has created a process for interstate cooperation to return fugitives to the demanding state, district, or territory. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3182 (1985).

In fact, all fifty states have adopted many of the provisions of the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act (UCEA). The purposes of the UCEA was to create a more standardized process to return a fugitive who had left the state where the crime occurred.

The UCEA was also created to avoid due process violations or cases of innocent individuals being arrested because of mistaken identity or poor record keeping. The requirements in each state vary slightly, although all states generally require:

• The state requesting extradition must issue a valid arrest warrant;
• The governor or other executive authority of the state requesting extradition must execute a formal written request;
• The individual awaiting extradition must be provided certain due process protections including a hearing and the opportunity to be represented by a lawyer;
• The individual being detained can expedite the process by formally waiving these due process protections (waiver of extradition);
• When the individual does not waive extradition, then the court must conduct a hearing to determine if sufficient facts support the request for extradition and to ensure that all required legal formalities have been complied with;
• Once the waiver has been executed or the court has conducted the hearing, then the demanding state is required to take custody and transport (extradite) the person within thirty (30) days.

The criminal defense lawyer at The Law Offices of Bryan J. McCarthy fight felony charges to help individuals arrested on a fugitive warrant who are awaiting extradition back to Florida to answer felony criminal charges in Central Florida.

Finding an Attorney for Extradition on Fugitive Warrant

If you are charged with aggravated assault, contact The Law Offices of Bryan J. McCarthy to get immediate legal representation. A conviction for aggravated assault can result in jail time.

You need a Melbourne criminal defense attorney to help you with your case. Once you outline the circumstances of the aggravated assault case to our lawyer, we can begin creating a defense to get the charges reduced or dismissed.