Extradition

• Author: International Law Group

As a result of an investigation by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, Canadian authorities charged John E. T. Murphy with felony charges stemming from the physical and sexual abuse of minors at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in that province between 1951 and 1960. Canadian law has no statute of limitations for these offenses.

After a considerable time, Canadian authorities found out that Murphy had fled to New York state. In November 1996, they petitioned for his extradition pursuant to the 1976 U.S.-Canada Treaty on Extradition [T.I.A.S. No. 8237] and the 1991 Amending Protocol [Sen. Treaty Doc. No. 101-17 (1990)]. U.S. authorities arrested Murphy in May 1998 on an extradition warrant.

The New York district court magistrate concluded that Murphy was extraditable under the Treaty. He found probable cause to believe that Murphy had committed the charged crimes and the case met the requirement of dual criminality. He rejected Murphy's argument that the running of the U.S. statutes of limitation on these offenses barred his delivery to Canada for trial. In his subsequent petition for habeas corpus, the district court agreed with the magistrate and denied the petition. Petitioner then appealed. Describing the case as one of first impression in the Circuit, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirms.

The Court first points to the relatively narrow scope of its review powers. An appellate court can only determine whether the magistrate had jurisdiction, whether the offenses charged lay within the Treaty and whether any evidence showed reasonable grounds to believe in the petitioner's guilt. In sum, the court questions only the legality of the proceedings below. The wisdom of handing over a particular extraditable petitioner is for the executive branch.

Petitioner noted that the federal five-year limitation for these offenses runs from the victims' eighteenth birthday. Under New York law, a five-year limitations period runs from the eighteenth birthday of the victim or from the date of...