United States Ex Rel. McInery v. Shelley

524 F. Supp. 499, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15065
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedOctober 6, 1981
Docket81 C 2016
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 524 F. Supp. 499 (United States Ex Rel. McInery v. Shelley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States Ex Rel. McInery v. Shelley, 524 F. Supp. 499, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15065 (N.D. Ill. 1981).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ASPEN, District Judge:

Petitioner Patrick Mclnery (“petitioner”) filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). Petitioner currently is in the custody of John Shelley, Sheriff of Will County, Illinois (“respondent”), pending execution of an order of extradition to Mississippi. Petitioner alleges that his sixth and fourteenth amendment rights to due process and speedy trial were violated by the three-year delay between the issuance of an extradition warrant by the Governor of Illinois and the initiation of extradition proceedings against him. This matter is presently before the Court on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule *500 56{b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The standard to be used in deciding a motion for summary judgment is that the “party moving for summary judgment has the burden of clearly establishing the nonexistence of any genuine issue of fact that is material to a judgment in his favor.” Cedillo v. International Association of Bridge & Structural Iron Workers, Local Union No. 1, 603 F.2d 7, 10 (7th Cir. 1979). All pleadings and supporting papers must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962); Stringer v. Rowe, 616 F.2d 993, 999 (7th Cir. 1980). The Court finds, for reasons set out below, that the petition for a writ of habeas corpus must be denied since petitioner does not challenge his extradition per se and he cannot raise the alleged violation of his right to a speedy trial before this Court at this time.

The facts of this case are not disputed. On May 21, 1976, petitioner was indicted in Lee County, Mississippi, for the offense of aggravated assault, burglary, and attempted rape. On September 9, 1976, petitioner escaped from the Lee County Jail, where he was apparently awaiting trial, and fled to Illinois. As of December 23, 1976, the Lee County District Attorney had been informed that petitioner was incarcerated in Cook County, Illinois, pending transfer to the Stateville Penitentiary subsequent to an Illinois conviction. 1 On January 7,1977, the Governor of Mississippi formally requested that the Governor of Illinois order petitioner’s extradition to Mississippi. The Governor of Illinois complied with this request, 2 and on January 26, 1977, issued an extradition warrant authorizing petitioner’s arrest in Illinois. The warrant commanded the arresting officer to secure petitioner pending a hearing before the circuit court of the county in which he is apprehended.

On November 14, 1979, petitioner was charged by information in the Circuit Court of Will County, Illinois, as a “fugitive from justice” pursuant to Illinois Revised Statute 1977, chapter 60, section 30. 3 On November 19,1979, he was brought from the Stateville Penitentiary to appear before the Circuit Court of Will County, where he was served with a copy of the fugitive information. On January 25, 1980, petitioner filed a petition in Illinois state court for writ of habeas corpus, challenging the legality of his detention pursuant to the fugitive information. At that time, he was incarcerated in the Will County Jail pending disposition of the information, having been released on parole from Stateville on January 21, 1980. The petition alleged, inter alia, that the petitioner’s right to due process of law had been violated by the failure of Illinois authorities to initiate extradition proceedings until November 14,1979, almost three years after the Governor of Illinois had issued the warrant for the petitioner’s arrest on January 26, 1977. The State responded that the rendition warrant was not stale since petitioner had been incarcerated since its issuance pursuant to an Illinois conviction. The State further asserted that the constitutional claims raised by the petitioner were beyond the limited scope of the habeas corpus proceeding.

The matter proceeded to hearing in the Circuit Court of Will County on February 7, 1980. On March 4, 1980, the court denied the habeas corpus petition and ordered that *501 petitioner be surrendered to the Mississippi authorities. Petitioner appealed to the Appellate Court of Illinois, Third Judicial District, and on April 10, 1980, the Appellate Court granted his motion to stay extradition pending the appeal. On appeal, petitioner claimed that his rights to due process and speedy trial were violated by the unexplained delay between issuance of the extradition rendition warrant and initiation of the extradition proceedings against him. On December 16,1980, the Appellate Court, affirming the denial of habeas relief, decided that petitioner’s right to a speedy trial in Mississippi had not been violated by any actions of Illinois officials. People v. Mclnery, 91 Ill.App.3d 68, 46 Ill.Dec. 122, 413 N.E.2d 876 (3d Dist. 1980). Petitioner sought leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, which was denied. Having exhausted his state remedies, petitioner now seeks habeas corpus relief in this Court.

Petitioner’s action to prevent his extradition to Mississippi is predicated upon an alleged violation of his constitutional right to a speedy trial by the inaction of officials of Illinois. Simply put, petitioner requests us to punish Mississippi for the alleged transgressions of Illinois authorities perpetrated after petitioner fled Mississippi to avoid prosecution. 4 Thus, assuming arguendo that petitioner’s speedy trial allegation has merit, through an unlawful act of self-help, i. e., escape from the Lee County Jail, he will have placed himself beyond the reach of the Mississippi judicial system. As discussed below, however, regardless of the merit of petitioner’s speedy trial claim, extradition proceedings are not subject to judicial review in the asylum state upon constitutional grounds that are generally appropriate only when raised as a defense to the criminal prosecution in the demanding state. 5

Article Four of the United States Constitution provides that

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

*502 Art. IV, § 2, ch. 2. 6 Kentucky v. Dennison, 65 U.S. (24 How) 66, 109, 16 L.Ed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
524 F. Supp. 499, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15065, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-mcinery-v-shelley-ilnd-1981.