Tagged: United States

Bail Bonds and Bounty Hunters

New York, like most of the United States, continues to permit the use of bail bonds-persons to post collateral for the release of criminal defendants. The rest of the world either prohibits this practice or takes an extremely dim view of it. See, Adam Liptak, Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S., New York Times (Jan. 29, 2008). 

Here is an interesting portrait of what today’s bounty hunters actually look like. Criminal Justice Degree Hub* recently published What Bounty Hunters Look Like Today.

Related Reading:

*Opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not reflect the position of the Pace Criminal Justice Institute or its Board of Advisors.

Extradition: An International Perspective on US Plea Bargaining

A British couple, Paul and Sandra Dunham, recently fought extradition to the United States for trial on a Maryland indictment accusing them of fraud. The extradition was sought under the US-UK Extradition Treaty of 2003. Interestingly, the basis for their opposition to extradition was that they would be forcibly sent to “America to face trial in a justice system where plea agreements are effectively forced upon people.”  The European Court of Human Rights dismissed their petition this week.

In a recent blog, Pace Professor Lissa Griffin discusses the case and the fact that the unfairness of our plea bargaining system, long accepted by the US courts, may well be getting needed international attention.

Read the full blog: Lissa Griffin, Extradition: A New Perspective on the US Plea Bargaining Process, Comparative Law Prof Blog (May 29, 2014).

Criminalization of Homelessness

The Homelessness Law Blog from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty reported on two noteworthy victories. First, the New Jersey Coalition for the Homeless have won for those living in Tent City, Lakewood, New Jersey. Second, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has requested information from the U.S. government about criminalization of homelessness in the United States.

To read more about the Tent City, visit The Tent City Project Blog or The Tent City, NJ website. To read more about criminalization of homelessness see: