Patterson v. Wagner, No. 13-56080 (9th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseThe South Korean government seeks to prosecute petitioner for murder and requests that he be extradited from the United States. Petitioner had served a prison term in South Korea after being convicted of destroying evidence in connection with the murder. A magistrate judge certified the extradition and petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the certification order. The court affirmed the district court's denial of the petition where the lapse-of-time provision in the 1998 extradition treaty between the United States and South Korea did not impose a mandatory bar on petitioner's extradition. Further, the double-jeopardy provision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) governing American military personnel and their dependents in South Korea does not provide a basis for a court to bar petitioner's extradition where the individual rights established through the SOFA are not judicially enforceable. The court's decision does not foreclose petitioner from seeking relief from the Secretary of State.
Court Description: Habeas Corpus. The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Arthur Patterson’s habeas corpus petition challenging a magistrate judge’s order certifying him for extradition to South Korea for prosecution for murder. Patterson argued that his extradition would violate the 1998 extradition treaty between the United States and South Korea because his prosecution would be barred by the statute of limitations in the United States, and thus would violate the treaty’s lapse-of-time provision. The panel held that the treaty’s lapse-of-time provision, which states that extradition “may be denied” when the prosecution would have been barred by the statute of limitations in the United States, does not impose a mandatory bar to extradition. Patterson also argued that his extradition would violate the double-jeopardy provision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) governing American military personnel, and their dependents, in South Korea. The panel disagreed with the premise that rights conferred by the SOFA may be enforced by the judiciary to block extradition. PATTERSON V. WAGNER 3
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