Toolkit · Criminal

The Extradition, Detainer, and Interstate Custody Toolkit

18 U.S.C. § 3195

Type
Toolkit
Jurisdiction
National
Date
2026-08-19
Topic
Criminal

This toolkit collects the working documents used in interstate and international custody matters. It contains a posture worksheet, a script and log for the call to the demanding prosecutor, a four-questions worksheet, a waiver advice memorandum, a bond motion outline, a requisition defect audit, a habeas petition outline, a thirty-day pickup discharge motion, a detainer verification request, an Article III demand letter with delivery protocol, a transport log for anti-shuttling, a dismissal motion outline, and a post-disposition confirmation letter. Each is drafted to be adapted to the governing state act. A related materials index maps each tool to the guides, articles, and checklists that explain it.

The Extradition, Detainer, and Interstate Custody Toolkit

Criminal > Extradition and Interstate Detainers | Published 19 August 2026 - Updated 28 August 2026 | UpLaw - uplaw.us

Tool 2 is one telephone call. It resolves more of these matters than every other document here combined.

Tool 1 — Posture Worksheet

Question Answer
Client's location and custodial facility
Demanding state / county / court / case no.
The actual charge and its classification
Date of alleged offense
Was the client physically present in that state then? ☐ yes ☐ no ☐ unknown
Date of warrant; flagged extraditable? radius?
Arrest date in asylum state
Commitment date; period; extension date
Governor's warrant issued? Date? ☐ yes ☐ no
Bond requested? Granted? Denied on what basis?
Advance waiver in any probation/parole agreement? ☐ yes ☐ no
Local charges pending in the asylum state?
Immigration hold? ☐ yes ☐ no
Medications / medical needs documented? ☐ yes ☐ no
If incarcerated: detainer lodged as a document? ☐ yes ☐ no
Basis: untried indictment / information / complaint?
Classification and programming harm

Posture: ☐ Fugitive hold, pre-warrant ☐ Fugitive hold, post-warrant ☐ Bound by advance waiver ☐ Already transported ☐ Prisoner with detainer ☐ Article IV transfer requested ☐ International

Tool 2 — The Call to the Demanding Prosecutor

Make this call before advising on waiver. Always.

"Good morning. I represent [name], who is being held in [county, state] on your office's warrant in case number ______. It's a [charge] from [year]. Before my client decides whether to waive extradition, I need to know one thing: will your office authorize transport on this case?"

If no: "Would you be willing to recall the warrant? My client will resolve the matter voluntarily — I can have him appear by video or retain local counsel to enter a plea."

If yes: "Understood. Two follow-ups: is bond available once the case is docketed, and would your office consider a resolution that makes transport unnecessary — time served, a fine, or a withdrawal?"

Log the call:

Date Time Office / person Transport authorized? Bond available? Resolution offered Follow-up
☐ Y ☐ N ☐ Y ☐ N

📌 Why this works. Extradition is not usually a legal problem; it is a budget problem. For an old misdemeanor, a minor violation, or a witness-dependent case, transport across several states is frequently not authorized — and the hold evaporates. The question cannot be asked after the client waives.

Tool 3 — Four Questions Worksheet

The asylum court may consider only these. Michigan v. Doran, 439 U.S. 282.

# Question Finding Evidence Contested
1 Documents facially in order? Charging instrument signed, sworn, authenticated; judicial probable cause determination present; governor's warrant properly issued ☐
2 Charged with a crime in the demanding state, as pleaded under its law? ☐
3 Identity — is the client the person named? Name, DOB, identifiers, photographs, prints ☐
4 Fugitive — was the client physically present in the demanding state at the time of the offense? ☐

Presence evidence to gather for question 4 (and to disprove it): employment and payroll records · lease and utility records · medical and pharmacy records · school records · bank and card transaction records · travel documents and toll records · affidavits from people with personal knowledge.

⚠ Off the table entirely: innocence · sufficiency of evidence · validity of an underlying order · vindictive prosecution · the demanding state's procedures · hardship. California v. Superior Court (Smolin), 482 U.S. 400, refused even a facially valid custody order.

⚠ The governor has no discretion to refuse. Puerto Rico v. Branstad, 483 U.S. 219. Do not build a strategy on executive clemency at the asylum end.

Tool 4 — Waiver Advice Memorandum

PRIVILEGED — ADVICE ON WAIVER OF EXTRADITION Client: ______ Date: ______ Demanding state: ______ Charge: ______

1. What waiver does. Consent to transport without a governor's warrant; ends the asylum proceeding within days.

2. Transport authorization. Demanding prosecutor contacted on [date]: transport ☐ will ☐ will not ☐ undetermined be authorized.

3. Bond. Asylum state: ☐ available ☐ denied ☐ not requested. Demanding state once docketed: ☐ available ☐ not.

4. Transport conditions. Contracted interstate transport may take ____ days with multiple stops. Medical needs: ______.

5. Custody credit. Asylum-state time ☐ does ☐ does not ☐ unknown count toward a demanding-state sentence.

6. Local charges. ☐ none ☐ pending — sequencing consequences: ______.

7. Advance waiver. ☐ none ☐ exists in supervision agreement dated ______, which forecloses contest.

8. Assessment of the four Doran questions. ______

9. Recommendation: ☐ waive ☐ decline to waive ☐ decline pending the prosecutor's response

10. Client acknowledgment. I have discussed the above with counsel and understand that declining to waive may extend my custody in this state, and that waiving means transport to [state]. Client signature: ______ Date: ______

Tool 5 — Requisition Defect Audit

Run against the actual package, not a summary.

# Element Present Defect if ☐
1 Governor's requisition from the demanding state unsigned; wrong official ☐
2 Prosecutor's application missing ☐
3 Indictment, information, or complaint unsworn or unauthenticated ☐
4 Judicial probable cause determination only a prosecutor's affidavit ☐
5 Affidavit of identity identifiers do not match ☐
6 Photographs and fingerprints absent or non-matching ☐
7 Statement of flight facts inconsistent with the record ☐
8 Offense charged is a crime under demanding-state law as pleaded it is not ☐
9 Supervision order and violation report (probation/parole cases) missing ☐
10 Asylum governor's warrant, properly issued and served outside the statutory period ☐

Then apply the four questions (Tool 3). Only defects that bear on those four matter; a package that is untidy but sufficient will be upheld.

Costs and agents. Fees and costs are allocated by 18 U.S.C. § 3195; the demanding state's agents act under 18 U.S.C. § 3194; fugitives into extraterritorial jurisdictions are addressed by 18 U.S.C. § 3183.

Tool 6 — Motions Outline

A. Bond motion (asylum state)

Relief: release on bond pending the governor's warrant and rendition. Points: the client is charged, not convicted; ties to this jurisdiction; the demanding state has [not] committed to transport; the commitment period may run [90] days; conditions can address risk. Note if the demanding-state charge is capital or life-eligible, bond is typically unavailable. Ask for a stated basis if denied — a bare denial is reviewable.

B. Motion to discharge — commitment expired

The client was committed on [date] for [30] days; the period expired on [date]; no extension was sought or granted; no governor's warrant has issued. Discharge is required under [state code].

C. Motion to discharge — thirty-day pickup rule

The governor's warrant issued and the client was arrested on it on [date]. More than thirty days have elapsed and no agent of the demanding state has appeared. 18 U.S.C. § 3182 provides that the prisoner may be discharged. 📌 Chronically under-invoked. Calendar this the day the warrant issues.

D. Petition for writ of habeas corpus (post-warrant)

Jurisdiction and custody · the four Doran questions, Michigan v. Doran, 439 U.S. 282 · specific defects from Tool 5 · identity and presence evidence · relief: discharge from the governor's warrant. Do not plead: innocence, sufficiency, or a merits defense — California v. Superior Court (Smolin), 482 U.S. 400. Federal habeas after exhaustion: 28 U.S.C. § 2241; where custody is pursuant to a state judgment, 28 U.S.C. § 2254. File promptly. After transport the issue is moot: Frisbie v. Collins, 342 U.S. 519; Ker v. Illinois, 119 U.S. 436.

E. Motion to dismiss — Article III (180 days)

Detainer lodged [date] · demand and certificate delivered to prosecutor [date] and court [date], with return receipts · 180 days expired [date] · continuances, if any, were not obtained for good cause in open court · relief: dismissal with prejudice.

F. Motion to dismiss — anti-shuttling (Article IV(e))

Client transferred to this jurisdiction [date] · returned to the sending institution [date] · trial had not been had · relief: dismissal with prejudice. Alabama v. Bozeman, 533 U.S. 146: no de minimis exception; a single overnight return sufficed. The Agreement is federal law: Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433.

Tool 7 — Detainer Verification Request

[Date] · [Records Office, Correctional Facility]

Re: [Inmate name], DOC no. ______ — request for detainer documentation

Please provide copies of the following from the inmate's institutional file:

  1. Every detainer lodged against the inmate, with the date lodged, the lodging jurisdiction, and the charge cited.
  2. The underlying document transmitted by the lodging jurisdiction — the warrant, indictment, information, or complaint.
  3. Any writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum received (noting that such a writ is not a detainer, United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340).
  4. The inmate's classification record and any notation of the effect of the detainer on custody level, housing, work assignment, program eligibility, or parole consideration.
  5. Any prior Article III request for final disposition filed by or on behalf of the inmate, with proof of transmittal.
  6. The facility's certificate of inmate status form and the procedure for obtaining one.

[Signature]

⚠ A warrant in a database is not a detainer. The Agreement is triggered by a document lodged with the custodian, and the Agreement reaches only prisoners serving a term of imprisonment against whom a detainer is based on an untried indictment, information, or complaint.

Tool 8 — Article III Demand Letter and Delivery Protocol

NOTICE AND REQUEST FOR FINAL DISPOSITION OF UNTRIED CHARGES Interstate Agreement on Detainers, Article III

To: [Prosecuting Attorney, County, State] and [Clerk, Court, County, State]

Re: [Inmate name], DOC no. ______, currently confined at [institution, state]; detainer lodged [date] based on [indictment/information/complaint] no. ______

Pursuant to Article III of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, the undersigned requests final disposition of the untried indictment, information, or complaint identified above, and of all untried charges from your jurisdiction underlying detainers lodged against him.

Enclosed is the certificate of inmate status prepared by the custodial official, stating the term of commitment, time served, time remaining, good time earned, parole eligibility, and any parole decisions.

This request constitutes a demand that the prisoner be brought to trial within 180 days of its delivery, and operates as a consent to transfer for that purpose.

Inmate signature: ______ Date: ______ Counsel: ______

Delivery protocol — the requirement most often missed: ☐ Deliver to the warden or custodial official for transmittal ☐ Independently serve the prosecuting officer by certified mail, return receipt requested ☐ Independently serve the court by certified mail, return receipt requested ☐ Retain both return receipts in the file ☐ Calendar 180 days from the date of delivery ☐ Diary a 90-day status check ☐ Object on the record to any continuance not obtained for good cause in open court

⚠ Assess before demanding. A demand converts a charge that might have died of institutional neglect into one that must be tried. Weigh the classification harm against the risk of an active prosecution.

Tool 9 — Transport Log (Anti-Shuttling)

Maintain from the moment any detainer is lodged. This log is the dismissal motion.

# Date out Time From (institution) To (jurisdiction) Purpose Date returned Returned to sending institution before trial?
1 ☐ YES → move to dismiss
2 ☐
3 ☐

Key dates

  • Detainer lodged: ______
  • Article III demand delivered — prosecutor: ______ · court: ______
  • 180-day deadline: ______
  • Article IV arrival in receiving state: ______
  • 120-day deadline: ______
  • Trial date set: ______

Violations to watch for, each requiring dismissal with prejudice under Article IV(e): ☐ Arraignment and same-day return ☐ Transfer for a status conference and return ☐ Return to the sending institution for a medical appointment ☐ Return for administrative or classification reasons ☐ Any return at all before trial is had

⚠ Alabama v. Bozeman, 533 U.S. 146: no de minimis exception. One overnight return sufficed. The Agreement is federal law and construed uniformly, Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433 — which also holds that a prisoner transferred under Article IV retains the pre-transfer hearing protections of the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, a right frequently overlooked.

Raise Agreement violations at the earliest opportunity in the receiving court; some jurisdictions treat them as waivable if not asserted before trial or plea.

Tool 10 — International Extradition Checklist

☐ Treaty in force with the requesting country? The United States extradites only by treaty. 18 U.S.C. § 3181 ☐ Complaint, warrant, and hearing before a judge or magistrate. 18 U.S.C. § 3184 ☐ Dual criminality — criminal in both jurisdictions? ☐ Rule of specialty — prosecution limited to offenses granted? ☐ Political offense exception applicable? ☐ Treaty analogue of double jeopardy ☐ Humanitarian or capital punishment conditions imposed by the treaty partner ☐ Provisional arrest and detention limits. 18 U.S.C. § 3187 ☐ Discharge for delay calendared. 18 U.S.C. § 3188 ☐ Hearing venue and character. 18 U.S.C. § 3189 ☐ Authentication of foreign evidence. 18 U.S.C. § 3190 ☐ Certification and surrender as a discretionary executive act. 18 U.S.C. § 3186 ☐ Transport. 18 U.S.C. § 3192 · Surrender to foreign tribunals. 18 U.S.C. § 3196 ☐ No direct appeal — challenge by habeas under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, limited to jurisdiction, treaty coverage, and competent evidence of probable cause ☐ Abduction does not bar prosecution. United States v. Alvarez-Machain, 504 U.S. 655

Tool 11 — Post-Disposition Confirmation Letter

[Date] · [Records Office, sending institution] · copy to [receiving prosecutor and court]

Re: [Inmate name], DOC no. ______ — withdrawal of detainer and correction of classification

The untried charge underlying the detainer lodged by [jurisdiction] on [date] was [dismissed with prejudice / resolved] on [date]. A certified copy of the disposition is enclosed.

Please:

  1. Withdraw and remove the detainer from the inmate's file, and confirm in writing.
  2. Correct the classification record and restore eligibility for custody level, housing, work assignment, programs, and parole consideration affected by the detainer.
  3. Confirm custody credit for the following periods: [dates].
  4. Confirm that any associated warrant has been cleared from state and national databases.

[Signature]

⚠ Nobody does this automatically. A resolved charge with a live detainer continues to degrade classification indefinitely, and a recalled warrant left in a database produces a second arrest.

Tool 12 — Related Materials Index

If you need to Read
Understand the whole field the comprehensive guide
Explain it to a client or family the article
Work a live matter the checklist
Handle the first appearance The First Forty-Eight Hours · Preparing for Arraignment, Bail, and the First Court Appearance
Get bond Pretrial Release and Bail · Preparing for a Bail Hearing · The Bail Hearing and Pretrial Release Toolkit · The Price of Going Home
Defend the underlying case The Criminal Case from Arrest to Sentencing · The Criminal Defense Toolkit
Handle sentencing and credit Sentencing and Corrections · Preparing for Sentencing and Pursuing Early Release · The Sentencing Advocacy and Release Toolkit
Attack the conviction later Post-Conviction Relief · After the Appeal · Preparing and Filing a Post-Conviction Petition · The Post-Conviction Relief Toolkit
Address conditions and classification Prisoner Rights and Conditions of Confinement · The Grievance You Must File First

Tool 13 — Authority Quick Reference

Interstate rendition: 18 U.S.C. § 3182 · § 3183 · § 3194 · § 3195 · Puerto Rico v. Branstad, 483 U.S. 219 · Michigan v. Doran, 439 U.S. 282 · California v. Superior Court (Smolin), 482 U.S. 400 Manner of arrival: Ker v. Illinois, 119 U.S. 436 · Frisbie v. Collins, 342 U.S. 519 · United States v. Alvarez-Machain, 504 U.S. 655 Detainers: Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433 · Alabama v. Bozeman, 533 U.S. 146 · United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340 Speedy trial: 18 U.S.C. § 3161 · 18 U.S.C. § 3162 International: 18 U.S.C. § 3181 · § 3184 · § 3186 · § 3187 · § 3188 · § 3189 · § 3190 · § 3192 · § 3196 Habeas: 28 U.S.C. § 2241 · 28 U.S.C. § 2254

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