Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Extradition Procedures topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House Judiciary committee explains S.87 changes to Vermont extradition process; House proposes committee amendment to Senate
Summary
House Judiciary presented S.87, a bill that would extend holding periods in extradition cases and recognize waivers signed in other states; the House proposed the committee’s amendment to the Senate and ordered third reading.
Representative Gosling, speaking for the House Judiciary Committee, outlined S.87 on the floor May 7 and the committeevoted 11to report the bill favorably with an amendment.
"An extradition is how one state, which is called the holding state, delivers a person to another state, which is called the demanding state," Representative Gosling said, describing the multiagency, governor‑level process that currently governs interstate extradition in Vermont.
The committee presentation explained the bill addresses timing and waiver questions in five sections. Section 1 would extend the time the holding state may lawfully keep a person while formal extradition proceedings finish (the committee explained the current maximum custody period reads together to allow 90 days and that the amendment would extend that maximum). Section 2 would adjust request/extension timelines under 13 V.S.A. provisions. Section 3 would recognize certain waivers of extradition previously signed by the accused in the demanding state as valid in Vermont and treat them as if signed before a Vermont judge; however, the committee noted the transcript provides that a fugitive may challenge the validity of a waiver in court. Section 4 would amend the hearing process to reflect the extended holding period and require courts, when considering release on bail, to consider evidence that an accused fled from another state. Section 5 sets an effective date and specifies the act would not affect extraditions already in process at enactment.
The committee described the practical effect as permitting expedited transfers when a valid out‑of‑state waiver exists and giving courts and custodial authorities more time to complete the formal extradition process. Committee witnesses included staff from the Office of Legislative Council, the Attorney General's Office, the Vermont Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs, and the Office of the Defender General; the committee recorded an 11‑0 vote in favor of the recommendation.
On the floor the House voted to propose the committee amendment to the Senate and ordered third reading. The transcript records the action as taken by voice vote; numeric roll call was not recorded on the floor transcript.
