Abuse of Discretion – Extradition

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Neringa Venckiene v. United States of America

Case No.: 18-2529

Officials: BAUER, HAMILTON, and BARRETT, Circuit Judges

Focus: Abuse of Discretion – Extradition

Lithuania seeks extradition of petitioner Neringa Venckiene from the United States to prosecute her for several alleged offenses arising from a custody battle over Venckiene’s niece. After a hearing pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3184, a magistrate judge certified Venckiene as extraditable and the Secretary of State granted the extradition. Venckiene moved the magistrate judge for a temporary stay of her extradition, which was granted. She then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the district court challenging both the magistrate judge’s certification order and the Secretary’s decision. She also asked the district court to stay her extradition, but the district court denied that request.

In her habeas corpus petition, Venckiene claims the magistrate judge erred in two ways: failing to apply the political offense exception in the Lithuania-United States extradition treaty to her case, and finding probable cause that she was guilty of the offenses charged. Venckiene also claims that the Secretary of State’s decision to grant the extradition violated her constitutional right to due process and failed to consider that Venckiene might be subject to what we have called “particularly atrocious procedures or punishments,” see In re Burt, 737 F.2d 1477, 1487 (7th Cir. 1984), if she is returned to Lithuania.

This appeal challenges directly only the district judge’s denial of Venckiene’s request to extend the stay of her extradition, but that challenge necessarily implicates the merits of her habeas petition. We affirm the district court’s denial of a stay. In Part I, we explain the extradition process, including the applicable treaty provisions and the limited scope of the judicial role. In Part II, we summarize what we know about events in Lithuania leading to this case. In Part III, we review the United States legal proceedings thus far. In Part IV, we analyze the legal issues presented, considering in Part IV-A Venckiene’s challenges to the magistrate judge’s order and in Part IV-B her challenges to the Secretary’s decision, and finally in Parts IV-C and IV-D other factors relevant to Venckiene’s stay request.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Venckiene’s motion to stay her extradition. The order of the district court is affirmed.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.