NCJ Number
147988
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 83 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1993) Pages: 998-1023
Date Published
1993
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This Note examines a Supreme Court decision regarding the abduction of a defendant from another country in order to try him for an alleged crime in the United States.
Abstract
In United States v. Alvarez-Machain, the United States Supreme Court held that a defendant who was abducted from Mexico in order to be tried for an alleged crime cannot prevent United States courts from exercising personal jurisdiction over him, even though the United States has an extradition treaty with Mexico and the abduction was conducted under the authority of United States government officials. This Note concludes that the Court should have dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. The Note also argues that, given the Extradition Treaty between the United States and Mexico, official abductions are implicitly prohibited. Given Supreme Court precedents preventing jurisdiction in the context of treaty violations, the United States government's violation of the Treaty should have prohibited personal jurisdiction. Finally, this Note suggests that the Alvarez-Machain decision sends an ominous message to treaty partners that, in the event that the United States carries out its treaties in bad faith, the Nation's highest court may sanction such actions. Footnotes