Opinion ID: 3037382
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Vo’s Due Process Claims

Text: In addition to his claim that he qualifies for the political offense exception, Vo argues that we should reverse the district court’s denial of his habeas petition because the extradition magistrate violated his due process rights. Vo’s due process arguments are based on Article 5(2) of the extradition treaty, which permits the United States to refuse to extradite an individual if it “has proceeded against” the individual for the offense for which extradition is requested.12 Vo raises two due process claims under this provision of the extradition treaty. First, he argues that the magistrate judge’s failure to deny extradition on the ground that he had been “proceeded against” by the United States deprives him of due process. Second, he argues that the extradition magistrate’s failure to make a determination of whether he had been “proceeded against” in order to aid the Secretary of State in deciding whether to exercise her discretion not to extradite him violates his due process rights. Because Article 5(2) provides a discretionary exception to extradition, neither the magistrate’s failure to deny extradition on the ground provided for in that article nor his decision not to make a determination as to whether Vo has been “proceeded against” before certifying him as extraditable deprives Vo of due process. 12 Vo does not expressly state which portion of the Treaty he relies upon in making his due process arguments. Although his due process claims all relate to the extradition magistrate’s failure to determine whether he “ha[d] been proceeded against,” the key term in Article 5(2), at points he invokes Article 4, which allows extradition to be denied if the requested state “shall proceed against the person” for the offense for which extradition is sought. However, in his reply brief to this court, Vo makes clear that his due process claims involve only Article 5(2). He asserts in that brief that “the question under the Treaty here is not whether there will be a prosecution, but whether the person has been proceeded against.” (emphasis in original). VO v. BENOV 5529
Magistrate’s Failure to Deny Extradition on the Ground that He Has Been “Proceeded Against” [8] As discussed in the section explaining the extradition procedures, an extradition court exercises very limited authority in the overall process of extradition. Its role is limited to determining an individual’s eligibility to be extradited, which it does by ascertaining whether a crime is extraditable under the relevant treaty and whether probable cause exists to sustain the charge. “If those requirements are met, the judicial officer must certify the individual as extraditable to the Secretary of State.” Prasoprat, 421 F.3d at 1014 (emphasis in original) (citing Blaxland, 323 F.3d at 1208 (“If the evidence is sufficient to sustain the charge, the inquiring magistrate judge is required to certify the individual as extraditable to the Secretary of State . . . .”)). In determining whether an individual is extraditable, the extradition magistrate examines the treaty to ascertain whether it allows extradition in the circumstances presented by the relator. Extradition treaties often provide for the general extraditability of individuals who commit offenses that are recognized as crimes in both the requesting and the requested states, subject to enumerated exceptions. These exceptions are of two general types: mandatory exceptions (including political offenses) and discretionary exceptions.13 If an individual falls within a mandatory exception, the United 13 The two types of exception are characterized by different language in extradition treaties. The use of “shall” language in a treaty indicates a provision constitutes a mandatory exception. For instance, Article 3(1)(a) of the Treaty provides, “[e]xtradition shall not be granted when: the offense for which extradition is sought is a political offense.” The use of “may” language in a treaty indicates a provision constitutes a discretionary exception. Article 5(2) of the Treaty, for example, provides “[e]xtradition may be denied when the person sought is being or has been proceeded against in the Requested State for the offense for which extradition is requested.” As the Letter of Submittal accompanying the Treaty noted, “Article[ ] 3 state[s] mandatory grounds for refusal of extradition. . . . Article[ ] . . . 5 state[s] discretionary grounds for refusal of extradition.” 5530 VO v. BENOV States cannot extradite him to the requesting country and the magistrate may not certify him as extraditable. If an individual falls within a discretionary exception, however, the United States can choose not to extradite him to the requesting country, but it is under no obligation to the relator to do so. When requested by the United States, the magistrate must certify an individual even though he may be subject to a discretionary exception. [9] As a result of the varying consequences of the two types of exceptions and the limitations on an extradition court’s authority, the only actions of an extradition court relating to exceptions that can ordinarily give rise to a due process claim are those that involve mandatory exceptions. Because an individual who falls within a mandatory exception cannot be extradited, an extradition court must determine whether that individual qualifies for such an exception. An extradition court’s failure to do so would violate the individual’s due process rights. By contrast, even if an individual’s circumstances satisfy the criteria for a discretionary exception, he can still be extradited if the Secretary of State so decides. In other words, an extradition court is without authority to prevent an extradition on the basis of a discretionary exception and thus cannot deny extradition on that basis. Blaxland, 323 F.3d at 1208. Accordingly, Vo’s claim that the extradition court violated his due process rights by not denying extradition on the ground that he had been “proceeded against” in the United States is without merit — only the Secretary of State can deny extradition on that ground.14 14 There is also no merit to Vo’s contention that unless courts make determinations pursuant to all exceptions in an extradition treaty — mandatory or discretionary — the Secretary of State would be able to extradite someone who had been acquitted in the United States of the offense for which extradition was sought. Unlike cases in which an individual is, has been, or will be “proceeded against” for the offense for which extradition is sought, which are covered by Articles 5(2) and 5(3) of the Treaty, cases in which an individual has been acquitted of such an offense are covered VO v. BENOV 5531
Magistrate’s Decision Not to Make a Determination Whether He Had Been “Proceeded Against” Vo also raises another due process claim: he asserts that the extradition magistrate deprived him of due process by not making a determination whether under the terms of the Treaty he had been “proceeded against.” Vo asserts that the extradition court may do so, indeed must do so, in order to assist the Secretary of State in the exercise of her discretion. We reject this claim also. [10] We have repeatedly held that an extradition court’s decision not to consider evidence, or not to make findings relevant to a discretionary exception, does not violate due process. In Lopez-Smith, for instance, the petitioner sought a writ of habeas corpus on the ground that the extradition magistrate had violated the petitioner’s due process rights by refusing to consider evidence regarding whether the Secretary ought to exercise the discretion provided by the terms of the extradition treaty not to extradite him to Mexico. We rejected this claim on the ground that extradition is “entirely within the discretion of the executive branch, except to the extent that the statute interposes a judicial function.” Lopez-Smith, 121 F.3d at 1326. We stated that the statutorily imposed judicial functions encompass the entirety of a court’s obligations in by Article 5(1). That provision of the Treaty states that “[e]xtradition shall not be granted when the person sought has been tried and convicted or acquitted in the Requested State for the offense for which extradition is requested.” (Emphasis added). Article 5(1) therefore creates a mandatory exception to extradition that an extradition court must rule on as part of its eligibility determination. If an individual has in fact been acquitted of the offense for which extradition is sought but the extradition court declines to apply Article 5(1) and certifies him as eligible for extradition, that individual would undoubtedly have a valid due process claim as the extradition court’s actions would involve a failure to rule on a mandatory exception, not, as here, a discretionary exception. 5532 VO v. BENOV the extradition process, emphasizing that “[t]he magistrate judge has no discretionary decision to make.” Id. Because dis- cretionary decisions are within the province of the Secretary of State and not the extradition magistrate, we held that “it is . . . for the Secretary to decide what evidence might have a bearing upon” a discretionary decision. Thus, an extradition court’s failure to consider evidence that might aid the Secretary does not deprive an individual of due process. Id. Similarly, in Prasoprat, we rejected a petitioner’s claim that a magistrate judge deprived him of due process by denying a discovery motion seeking evidence related to a discretionary exception in the applicable extradition treaty because “the evidence that Prasoprat sought in his motion for discovery was not relevant to the extradition judge’s limited inquiry.” Praso- prat, 421 F.3d at 1015. Here, as in Lopez-Smith and Prasoprat, Vo argues that the extradition court’s failure to take action that would aid the Secretary of State in the exercise of her discretion violates his due process rights. Because Vo seeks a determination from the extradition court — a determination whether he had been “proceeded against” for purposes of Article 5(2) — only in order to aid the Secretary in her exercise of discretion under the Treaty and because an extradition court has no authority to provide such aid, at least in the absence of a request from the Secretary, the extradition court’s failure to construe the treaty did not deprive Vo of due process. We note that the ruling Vo seeks would neither affect his eligibility for extradition nor preclude the Secretary from exercising her discretion to extradite him. Only if, subsequent to the issuance of Vo’s certification of eligibility, the Secretary concluded that she does not possess the discretion to refuse to extradite him under Article 5(2) of the Treaty would the question of law regarding the Secretary’s authority that Vo asks us to answer become material. It would be premature, therefore, for us to consider on this appeal whether, if the Secretary determines that she does not have discretion under ArtiVO v. BENOV 5533 cle 5(2) of the Treaty to refuse to extradite Vo because the legal steps taken to prosecute him do not fall within the meaning of “proceeded against” as used in the Treaty, the federal courts would have the authority to review that determination for legal error. We also do not consider here whether an extradition magistrate has the authority to answer such a question regarding the construction of a treaty if the Secretary herself requests that ruling. [11] For the above reasons, the magistrate judge’s failure to determine the meaning of the term “proceeded against” in the hearing he conducted did not violate Vo’s due process rights.