“Extradition Laws” in California – A Snapshot of How It Works

In California, extradition is the process of transferring fugitives from the state where they are now (called the “asylum state”) back to the state where they allegedly broke the law (called the “home state” or “demanding state.”)

California typically pursues extradition of alleged fugitives who fled after:

• committing a crime,
• escaping imprisonment, or
• violating the terms of their bail, probation, or parole.

Before you can be extradited, the asylum state holds a “probable cause hearing” to determine:

1. whether you are the same person named in the extradition warrant (“governor’s warrant”) and
2. whether the offense charged is extraditable under the law.

In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys discuss what you need to know about extradition laws and procedures. Click on a topic to jump to that section:

• 1. What is a fugitive?
• 2. Extradition to California
• 3. Extradition from California
• 4. Fighting Extradition
• 5. Uniform Criminal Extradition Act (UCEA)
• Additional Reading

1. What is a fugitive?

A “fugitive from justice” is a very broad term in California.

It can refer to people who flee a state after knowingly committing a crime there so they can avoid punishment. The classic example of a fugitive is an inmate who escapes prison and crosses state lines.

However, “fugitive” also comprises people who travel unaware that they have done anything wrong. These “unwitting fugitives” often do not discover they are wanted in another state until one day when the police pull them over for a minor traffic infraction, run their name, and then arrest them after finding an outstanding warrant.

2. Extradition to California

Not all fugitives from California end up getting extradited back.

If the time and expense of extradition outweigh the severity of your crime or violation, California prosecutors may decide not to bother. This is why most fugitives in minor misdemeanor cases are never extradited.

If California prosecutors decide that extradition is appropriate in your case, they will follow the following steps:

1. issue a proper demand to the asylum state for your return,
2. send an agent to receive you in the asylum state within 30 days of your arrest, and
3. bringing you back to California to
   • answer to the charges,
   • be sentenced, or
   • be reincarcerated.¹

Each of these steps is discussed in detail in our article on Extradition into California.

3. Extradition from California

If you are in California when another state seeks your extradition, the following steps must occur for California to surrender you to the demanding state’s agents:

1. the demanding state sends a proper demand to California,
2. the California governor issues a warrant for your arrest, and
3. California conducts a probable cause hearing to ensure that you are not being falsely accused or improperly subject to extradition.²

Each of these steps is discussed at length in our article on Extradition from California.

4. Fighting Extradition

As with criminal charges, people arrested on a governor’s warrant have the right to an attorney. In California, the three most common defenses to extradition are that:

1. there are fatal flaws with the extradition paperwork that will render the extradition invalid, and/or
2. you are the victim of mistaken identity and therefore not the individual that the demanding state is seeking, and/or
3. you are exempt from extradition because you did not voluntarily leave the demanding state.

The judge may require you to remain in jail pending the results of your extradition case. However, depending on the facts of your alleged violation, we may be able to negotiate a deal that would allow you to:

• post bail,
• be released on your own recognizance (known as an O.R. release),
• voluntarily surrender to the home state, or
• resolve the matter without your having to leave your current location.

Many people arrested on a governor’s warrant choose to “waive extradition,” meaning that they do not fight being transferred to the demanding state. This tactic makes sense when you do not have a strong defense for fighting extradition and you wish to expedite the proceedings against you.³

5. Uniform Criminal Extradition Act (UCEA)

California has joined the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act (UCEA), which establishes clear steps that each state must follow when they are involved in interstate extradition. The only states that have not adopted the UCEA are:

• Louisiana and
• Mississippi,
• Missouri,
• North Dakota, and
• South Carolina.

The UCEA is more specific than federal extradition laws under the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Code, which summarizes the extradition process as follows:

When the demanding state wishes to extradite a fugitive from the asylum state, it must deliver an indictment or affidavit charging the alleged fugitive with a crime.  The asylum state must then arrest the named individual and keep him/her for up to 30 days until an agent from the demanding state comes to claim him/her.  If no agent comes, the asylum state will release the prisoner.

If there is a discrepancy between the UCEA and federal law, federal law controls.⁴

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Offending Officials: Former Government Actors and the Political Offense Exception to Extradition – California Law Review.
• Banishing justice: Extradition limits in the United States – Criminology & Public Policy.
• Extradition in America: Of Uniform Acts and Governmental Discretion – Baylor Law Review.
• Juvenile Extradition: Denial of Due Process – Juvenile Justice Law.
• Criminal Law: Interstate Extradition – California Law Review.

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Legal References