Senate concurs with House amendment adding judicial review of extradition waivers

The Vermont Senate voted by voice to concur in a House amendment to S.87, a bill updating state extradition law, adopting a committee recommendation to add a layer of judicial review to waiver-of-extradition proceedings.

Committee members explained that extradition is a constitutionally required process for surrendering custody of a fugitive from one state or country to another. The House amendment requires the court to ensure that a defendant who is relied upon to have waived extradition previously actually confirmed that waiver. A previously signed and authenticated waiver will be presumed valid, but the amendment gives defendants an opportunity to contest the waiver's validity. The committee noted that defendants have other avenues for relief, including petitions under habeas corpus and other pre-transfer hearings.

The Senate Judiciary committee reported by voice that it voted to concur with the House amendment; the committee's floor report referenced testimony from state's attorneys, sheriffs, the governor's general counsel, the attorney general, the defender general, and legislative counsel. The committee vote was reported in committee as 3-1-1. The full Senate took the voice vote and "the ayes have it," and the Senate recorded that it had concurred in the House proposal of amendment on S.87.

The amendment preserves the presumptive validity of authenticated waivers while providing an explicit judicial-review path for defendants who claim a previously signed waiver is invalid.