Despite Supplementary U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty, US Court Denies Extradition Request for IRA Alleged Terrorist

On September 15, 1994, the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California denied a United Kingdom extradition request for an Irish Republican Army fugitive, Mr. James Joseph Smyth, to Northern Ireland because of the detention and restriction on personal liberties Smyth would face. The decision indicates that, notwithstanding the Supplementary U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty designed to eliminate most of the political offense exceptions and facilitate the extradition of IRA terrorists, some courts will still scrutinize the details of extradition requests and even find in favor of the relator…(more)