''United States v. Alvarez-Machain'', 504 U.S. 655 (1992), was a

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

case in which the Court held that the respondent's forcible

abduction Abduction may refer to: Media Film and television * "Abduction" (''The Outer Limits''), a 2001 television episode * " Abduction" (''Death Note'') a Japanese animation television series * " Abductions" (''Totally Spies!''), a 2002 episode of an ...

from a foreign country, despite the existence of an

extradition treaty Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

with said country, does not prohibit him from being

tried In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

before a U.S. court for violations of American criminal laws. The ruling reconfirmed the Ker-Frisbie Doctrine, established in '' Ker v. Illinois'' (1886) and '' Frisbie v. Collins'' (1952), which generally permits the prosecution of criminal defendants regardless of whether their presence was obtained in accordance with an applicable extradition treaty.

Background

Humberto Álvarez Machaín Humberto Álvarez Machaín is a physician from Guadalajara, Mexico, who was accused of aiding the torture and killing of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Enrique Camarena Salazar, in February 1985. He was acquitted of the c ...

, a Mexican

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, was allegedly involved in the 1985 kidnapping,

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

, and murder of

Enrique Camarena Salazar Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 – February 9, 1985) was an American intelligence officer for the United States (DEA). In February 1985 Camarena was kidnapped by drug traffickers hired by Mexican politicians in Guadalajara, Mexic ...

, an American citizen employed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, by "prolonging islife so that others could further torture and interrogate him." On April 2, 1990, Álvarez was abducted from Mexico by Trent Tompkins, a U.S. citizen hired by DEA agents, and brought to trial in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

over the protest of Mexican officials.Mark S. Zaid
Military might versus sovereign right – the kidnapping of Dr. Humberto Alvarez-Machain and the resulting fallout
'' Houston Journal of International Law'', spring 1997, cited at ''Findarticles.com'' and there retrieved April 3, 2011 Legal action reached the Supreme Court, focusing upon the effect of illegal

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

upon the trial court's jurisdiction. Invoking the "

Ker–Frisbie doctrine The ''Ker''–''Frisbie'' doctrine is applied in the context of extradition and generally holds that criminal defendants may be prosecuted in United States courts regardless of whether their presence has been obtained through the use of applicable ...

" the Court held that the trial court's jurisdiction was not affected by the manner in which the accused was brought before it. This created international alarm and concern as other nations feared that the decision would encourage further such abductions.

Aftermath

Despite vigorous protests from the Mexican government, Álvarez was tried in

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district co ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

; the trial, in which his defense focused intensely on the legality of the arrest, resulted in an acquittal. The trial judge (whose earlier decision dismissing the indictment had been overruled by the Supreme Court) ruled at the close of the government's case in chief that the government had not presented a prima facie case, and therefore granted an acquittal without presenting the matter to the jury for verdict. The other suspect,

Javier Vasquez Velasco Javier may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Javier, in video game '' Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' * Javier Rios, a character in the Monsters, Inc. franchise. * ''Javier'' (album), a 2003 album by the American singer Javier Colon, known ...

, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder, convicted, and sentenced to three life sentences.

References

External links

*{{caselaw source , case=''United States v. Alvarez-Machain'', {{Ussc, 504, 655, 1992, el=no , findlaw=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/504/655.html , justia=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/504/655/ , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep504/usrep504655/usrep504655.pdf , oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/1991/91-712 United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court United States criminal investigation case law United States foreign relations case law 1992 in United States case law Mexico–United States relations

Background

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading

External links