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Committee advances bill allowing waiver of extradition hearing for tribal warrants
Summary
Senate Bill 2056 would allow waiver of appearance before a judge when defendants are arrested on tribal warrants, a procedure proponents say speeds extradition and reduces county incarceration costs; the committee gave the bill a due-pass recommendation.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Senate Bill 2056, a bill establishing a procedure to permit waiver of appearance before a judge when someone is arrested on a tribal warrant, after supporters said the practice reduces time held in county jails and speeds transfer back to tribal court.
Sarah Behrens of the State Court Administrator’s Office said most tribal warrants are extraditable and counties incur expenses to hold individuals while they await appearance. She relayed information from Spirit Lake Tribal Court experience indicating a waiver process has operated effectively there, with high waiver rates.
Spirit Lake Chief Judge Joseph Vetch (testifying by phone) described the court’s waiver process: a detainee may sign a written waiver in the presence of a corrections or law-enforcement officer; clerks, corrections or law enforcement forward the waiver to the judge and the extradition process begins immediately. Judge Vetch said implementing the waiver in Spirit Lake substantially reduced the time detainees were held and estimated Ramsey County spent roughly $90 per day per inmate; using 56 extraditions from Ramsey County to Spirit Lake in 2023 as an example, Vetch calculated county incarceration costs for delays could exceed $20,000 for that set of cases.
Vetch emphasized the collateral impacts of unnecessary jail time on employment, housing and mental health and said the Spirit Lake waiver and extradition statute (in place since 2015) has worked with an almost 100% waiver rate when Ramsey County is involved.
Motion and vote: Senator Lewick moved a due-pass recommendation on SB 2056; the motion was seconded and the committee approved by roll call. The committee discussed who would carry the bill; a carrier was to be identified.
