ED ORTON AND PATRICIA ORTON, APPELLANTS,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Ed and Patricia Orton appealed an extradition order from Florida to Tennessee, arguing they were entitled to dismissal under Florida Statutes Section 941.17 and federal law 18 U.S.C. § 3182. The court affirmed the extradition order, holding that 'discharge' from bond under Section 941.17 does not constitute dismissal of extradition proceedings, and that the federal statute's thirty-day requirement had not begun to run because the appellants had not been arrested pursuant to rendition warrants.
The court held that 'discharge' under Section 941.17 means discharge from custody or bond only, not dismissal of extradition proceedings, and that the appellants were properly discharged from their bond on April 29, 1981. The court also held that 18 U.S.C. § 3182 is inapplicable because the Ortons had not been arrested pursuant to rendition warrants, so the thirty-day period had not commenced.
[1] Discharge of an accused from a bond under a statute allowing for further commitment or recommitment for extradition does not constitute a dismissal of the extradition pro…
[2] The term "arrest" in 18 U.S.C. …
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the statute merely requires discharge of the accused from custody or bond after the expiration of the statutory time period. That requirement was timely met when appellants were discharged from their bond on April 29, 1981.”
Establishes that 'discharge' under Section 941.17 means release from custody/bond, not dismissal of proceedings
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn January 30, 1981, the Ortons were taken into custody pursuant to fugitive arrest warrants issued by Holmes County, Florida for charges of fraudulen…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Governor'S Warrant cases and more on FLexlaw
WIGGINTON, Judge.
Appellants appeal an order granting their extradition from Florida to Tennessee, urging that they are entitled to dismissal of the extradition proceedings pursuant to Section 941.17, Florida Statutes, and 18 U.S.C. § 3182. We affirm.
On January 30, 1981, upon the oral request of the State of Tennessee, appellants were taken into custody pursuant to fugitive arrest warrants issued by the County Court of Holmes County, Florida, for the purpose of extradition. The charges lodged against the Ortons were fraudulent breach of trust and failure to appear. On the same day both were given an appearance bond in the amount of $2,502. On appellee’s oral motion, extradition time under the bond was extended until April 29, 1981, as allowed by the provisions of Section 941.17, Florida Statutes. The court minutes reflect that on April 29, a hearing was held and appellants “were discharged from the bond” because they had not been extradited within the sixty-day extension allowed by Section 941.17. On April 13,1981, the State of Tennessee issued its formal request for extradition, but no authority from Tennessee has ever appeared to take custody of appellants.
On June 11, 1981, the governor of Florida issued rendition warrants for both appellants.
However, appellants have not been arrested on those warrants and no action was taken in the case until May, 1982, when the prosecutor set an extradition hearing.
On June 7, 1982, appellants’ motion for discharge was heard in the trial court. By order dated August 16, 1982, the trial court denied appellants’ motion for discharge and granted extradition.
Appellants argue on appeal that they are entitled to dismissal of the extradition proceedings pursuant to Section 941.17, Florida Statutes, which provides that if the accused is not arrested under the governor’s warrant by expiration of the time specified in the warrant or bond, a judge “may discharge him or may recommit him for a further period not to exceed sixty days, or a judge or magistrate judge may again take bail for his appearance and surrender ... within a period not to exceed sixty days after the date of such new bond.” Appellants submit that when they were discharged pursuant to that statute on April 29, 1981, the extradition proceedings against them were, in effect, dismissed.
We disagree with appellants’ interpretation that the term “discharge” as used in Section 941.17 means dismissal of the proceedings. Our study leads us to the conclusion that the statute merely requires discharge of the accused from custody or bond after the expiration of the statutory time period. That requirement was timely met when appellants were discharged from their bond on April 29, 1981. From the date of initial arrest, the Ortons have been free on bail, which absolute freedom of movement continued following their discharge from bond.
Appellants further assert that they are entitled to dismissal of the extradition proceedings pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3182, which provides that in an extradition situation, if no agent from the demanding state appears “within thirty days from the time of the arrest” to. receive the fugitive, the fugitive “may be discharged.” Appellants’ argument on this point is without merit because 18 U.S.C. § 3182 is not applicable here. The term “arrest” as used in the foregoing statute has been interpreted to mean an arrest caused by the executive authority of the asylum state, after formal demand has been made by the governor of the demanding state. Prettyman v. Karnopp, 192 Neb. 451, 222 N.W. 2d 362 (Neb.1974); Bergen v. Carson, 417 So. 2d 1081 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982).
In the instant case, appellants have not been arrested pursuant to the rendition warrants and accordingly, the time provision of 18 U.S.C. § 3182 has not yet begun to run.
We have considered appellants’ remaining point concerning failure of the state to comply with certain procedural requirements of Chapter 941 and find that because that argument was not raised in the trial court, it is not cognizable on appeal.
AFFIRMED.
ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr., C.J., and SHIVERS, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Carter v. Coleman, 443 So. 2d 491 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)…ed....” First, dismissal of the entire proceeding would be improper since the authority to honor or reject an extradition demand lies solely with the Governor of Florida. §§ 941.02, 941.03, 941.04, 941.07, Fla.Stat. (1981); see also Orton v. State, 431 So. 2d 236 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Second, the authority of the trial court is limited to issuance of a fugitive warrant for the accused who is then either committed to county jail or admitted to bail for a maximum period of ninety days to await the requisition a…
Authorities Cited
- In re the Application of Kenneth Bergen v. Carson, 417 So. 2d 1081 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)