Jefferson County Warrant Out of State Arrest – A Big Surprise With No Bond or Bail Allowed
Travel between states to avoid arrest is fairly common. However, in many cases, police in places like Jefferson County, Colorado, receive an accusation against you as you set up your new life in a new state. When this occurs, you and your defense attorney have no idea police have believed an alleged victim and charged you with a crime in Aurora. They issue an arrest warrant in your name and sit and wait for your arrest. You only learn of the new case after being pulled over by police for a minor traffic offense in your new state. Officers run your name and a hit comes up from Colorado. Police arrest you on the spot. Most difficult, is that it is nearly impossible to get the court or judge in your new state to do anything at all to prevent you from sitting in jail until Colorado or the state who issued the arrest warrant comes to pick you up. That new state’s court system must defer to your old state and turn you over. This process is called Extradition. Generally, you cannot even be granted bail until the state extradites you back to Colorado or some other state.
Extradition to and From Denver, Colorado | How to Extradite a Fugitive in Colorado
Police in Denver put the names of wanted people into the NCIC (National Crime Information Center. Every police department in the U.S. is a member and has access to this national crimes data base, where arrest warrants are issued. Then, officers search the database and the state database, for warrants on every contact they make. This efficient system enables officers to learn whether they are talking to a wanted person who has a warrant from anywhere in the country – or world. Then, if a hit comes back, the state issuing the warrant will quickly be notified and begin the process of bringing someone back to Colorado. This is called Extradition. State constitutions must cooperate under the U.S. Constitution, and produce a wanted person found in their state. Agreements between states make the process more expedited and uniform when someone is to be extradited. The agreement is called the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, C.R.S. 16-19-104, and all member states must follow its procedures to extradite someone. Learn more: the Extradition Process in Colorado.
Douglas County, Colorado Fugitive from Justice
“Fugitives” are people wanted by police in another state. A Fugitive from Justice is not always someone hiding out. Many do not know they are wanted or that they are being accused of a crime. They are simply being accused by someone in a foreign state. When someone who has a warrant is located in Douglas County, or anywhere in the United States, they can be arrested on the spot for extradition to a foreign state. On occasions, if Colorado police know where a person is living out of state, the local police will be asked to go look for and arrest that person. If the wanted person is located, the foreign state who issued the arrest warrant will formally request the release of the person by making the request in a Governor’s Warrant.
Governor’s Warrant: To Extradite Someone Under The Uniform Criminal Extradition Act
Once Colorado or another state receives a Governor’s Warrant, it is the responsibility of the governor where the wanted person is located, to have the wanted person arrested and held for pickup by the state with the arrest warrant. All states enjoy mutual benefits and obligations under The Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, once a governor issues or receives a Governor’s Warrant. A city or state police agency most always goes through the governor’s office to obtain a person who is wanted, if they have been found out of state. Then, the state where the wanted person is located has the duty to arrest the wanted person the same as any other wanted person.
Extradition Hearing in Denver and Adams County for a Fugitive from Justice
In Adams County, Colorado, someone arrested on another state’s Governor’s Warrant is entitled to a brief hearing before a Colorado judge, to ensure that the arrest and extradition are proper. The jailed person will start this process through a Writ of Habeas Corpus. This is essentially a civil case vs. a criminal case, because Colorado is not charging the person criminally. The other state does that. It is very difficult for the fugitive from justice to prevent their Extradition to another state. That is not the agreed procedure between states, or every state would be deciding the legal guilt or innocence of other state’s cases. Extradition involves moving one body to another state. That is pretty much it. Since the process is pretty streamlined, and the Denver Habeas Corpus hearing a simplified process, many arrested people will waive the Extradition hearing and agree to return to the demanding state to face their accuser.
Extradition Transfer Process from Arapahoe County to Another State
We have seen many variations in the ways states come and get someone wanted in Colorado, or how Colorado gets the person here. In less notorious cases, the physical process of moving someone from one state to another is a lengthy one, sometimes done by private companies. This can involve weeks sitting handcuffed in a transport van with several people and stops all over the country. It is not a straight route either, as the company has many nearby stops in between. At night, people on these vans are housed in county jails – some with good conditions and some with bad. We always try and arrange for our client’s to avoid the jail van transport. This is a complicated process where we reach an agreement with both states, to bring our client back to Colorado an alternative way. Unfairly, the person charged with a crime is required to reimburse the state for all extradition costs – which can amount to thousands of dollars.
If you or a loved one is accused of a crime in another state and have been identified as a Fugitive from Justice, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best Extradition Lawyers at the O’Malley Law Office, at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future.
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