The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 13: Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Chapter 159: Extradition and Fresh Pursuit

• Subchapter 001: GENERALLY

• §§ 4901, 4902. Repealed. 1973, No. 118, § 25, eff. Oct. 1, 1973.

• § 4903. Transporting prisoner through State

  Whenever an offender is apprehended in a neighboring state, and it may be necessary to transport him or her through this State to the place where the offense was committed, a Superior Court judge, upon application and proof that lawful process has issued against the offender, shall issue a warrant under his or her hand and seal, directed to a sheriff or his or her deputy, or to a person by name who shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his or her duty, authorizing such conveyance. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative February 1, 1967; 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 105.)

• § 4904. Duty of officer

  Such person or officer shall cause the offender to be conveyed to the line of this State nearest to the state where the offense was committed, there to be delivered to some proper officer ready to receive him or her. All persons to whom the warrant may be directed are required to obey such order, upon payment or tender of the lawful fees therefor.

• § 4905. By officers of New York state

  The authorities of the state of New York shall have the same power and authority to detain and transport through this State persons convicted of offenses and sentenced to be confined in a penitentiary in the state of New York, which they have to detain and transport them in such state.

• § 4906. By officers of New Hampshire

  The authorities of the state of New Hampshire shall have the same power and authority to detain and transport through this State prisoners arrested in New Hampshire and held for trial or commitment by a court of record in New Hampshire, which they have to detain and transport them in that state.

• § 4907. Service of criminal process returnable in Massachusetts

  (a) Jurisdiction to serve criminal process returnable to a court in the commonwealth of Massachusetts is hereby given to officers who, by the laws of such commonwealth, may serve such process, over a building situated partly in such commonwealth and partly in this State.

  (b) Subsection (a) of this section shall take effect when the commonwealth of Massachusetts has given like jurisdiction to similar officers in this State to serve criminal process returnable to a court in Vermont.

• § 4908. Powers of officers from another state

  A sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, or other officer or justice of a neighboring state, with his or her assistants, in the execution of any lawful process issuing from and returnable to a court in such state, may pass through this State and convey such persons or things as he or she may have in his or her custody by virtue of such process, in as full and ample a manner as an officer of this State might do.

• § 4909. Impeding officers of other states

  If a person assaults or obstructs an officer or his or her assistants passing through this State in the execution of any warrant or like process, he or she shall be liable to the same punishment as for assaulting or obstructing an officer of this State.

• § 4910. Receiving person from officer of another state

  A sheriff shall receive a person charged with crime, delivered to him or her by an officer of another state having a warrant from proper authority for delivering the person, and shall take him or her forthwith before a district judge for examination. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative February 1, 1967; 1973, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 50, eff. April 9, 1974.)

• Subchapter 002: UNIFORM CRIMINAL EXTRADITION ACT

• § 4941. Definitions

  The word “Governor,” as used in this subchapter, shall include any person performing the functions of Governor by authority of the law of this State. The words “executive authority” shall include the Governor, and any person performing the functions of governor in a state other than this state. The word “state” referring to a state other than this State shall mean any other state or territory organized or unorganized of the United States of America.

• § 4942. Duty of Governor

  Subject to the qualifications of this subchapter, and the provisions of the constitution of the United States controlling, and acts of Congress in pursuance thereof, it is the duty of the Governor of this State to have arrested and delivered up to the executive authority of any other state of the United States any person charged in that state with treason, felony, or other crime, who has fled from justice and is found in this State.

• § 4943. Form of demand

  (a) A demand for the extradition of a person charged with crime in another state shall not be recognized by the Governor unless in writing alleging, except in cases arising under section 4946 of this title, that the accused was present in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the alleged crime, and that thereafter he or she fled from the state, and accompanied by a copy of an indictment found or by an information supported by affidavit in the state having jurisdiction of the crime, or by a copy of an affidavit made before a magistrate therein, together with a copy of any warrant that was issued thereon or by a copy of a judgment of conviction or of a sentence imposed in execution thereof, together with a statement by the executive authority of the demanding state that the person claimed has escaped from confinement or has broken the terms of his or her bail, probation, or parole. The indictment, information, or affidavit made before the magistrate must substantially charge the person demanded with having committed a crime under the law of that state; and the copy of the indictment, information, affidavit, judgment of conviction, or sentence must be authenticated by the executive authority making the demand.

  (b) A warrant of extradition shall not be issued unless the documents presented by the executive authority making the demand show that:

  (1) Except in cases arising under section 4946 of this title, the accused was present in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the alleged crime, and thereafter fled from that state;

  (2) The accused is now in this State; and

  (3) He or she is lawfully charged by indictment found or by information filed by a prosecuting officer and supported by affidavit to the facts, or by affidavit made before a magistrate in that state, with having committed a crime under the laws of that state or that he or she has been convicted of a crime in that state and has escaped from confinement or broken the terms of his or her bail, probation, or parole.

• § 4944. Investigation

  When a demand shall be made upon the Governor by the executive authority of another state for the surrender of a person so charged with crime, the Governor may call upon the Attorney General or any prosecuting officer in this State to investigate or assist in investigating the demand, and to report to him or her the situation and circumstances of the person so demanded, and whether he or she ought to be surrendered.

• § 4945. Extradition of persons imprisoned or awaiting trial in another state or who have left the demanding state under compulsion

  (a) When it is desired to have returned to this State a person charged in this State with a crime, and such person is imprisoned or is held under criminal proceedings then pending against him or her in another state, the Governor of this State may agree with the executive authority of such other state for the extradition of such person before the conclusion of such proceedings or his or her term of sentence in such other state, upon condition that such person be returned to such other state at the expense of this State as soon as the prosecution in this State is terminated.

  (b) The Governor of this State may also surrender on demand of the executive authority of any other state any person in this State who is charged in the manner provided in section 4963 of this title, with having violated the laws of the state whose executive authority is making the demand, even though such person left the demanding state involuntarily.

• § 4946. Extradition of person not in demanding state at time crime committed

  The Governor of this State may also surrender, on demand of the executive authority of any other state, any person in this State who is charged in such other state in the manner provided in section 4943 of this title with committing an act in this State, or in a third state, intentionally resulting in a crime in the state whose executive authority makes the demand; and the provisions of this subchapter not otherwise inconsistent shall apply to such cases, notwithstanding that the accused was not in that state at the time of the commission of the crime, and has not fled therefrom.

• § 4947. Governor to issue warrant

  If the Governor shall decide that the demand should be complied with, he or she shall issue a warrant of arrest, that shall be sealed with the State Seal, and be directed to any sheriff, constable, or other person whom he or she may think fit to entrust with the execution thereof. Such warrant must substantially recite the facts necessary to the validity of its issue.

• § 4948. Manner and place of executing warrant

  Such warrant shall authorize the officer or other person to whom directed to arrest the accused at any place where he or she may be found within the State and to command the aid of all sheriffs and other peace officers in the execution of such warrant, and to deliver the accused, subject to the provisions of this subchapter, to the duly authorized agent of the demanding state.

• § 4949. Authority of arresting officer

  Such officer or other person empowered to make the arrest shall have the same authority in arresting the accused to command assistance therein, as sheriffs and other officers have by law in the execution of any criminal process directed to them, with the like penalties against those who refuse their assistance.

• § 4950. Rights of accused person; application for writ of habeas corpus

  A person arrested upon such warrant shall not be delivered over to the agent whom the executive authority demanding him or her shall have appointed to receive him or her unless he or she shall first be taken forthwith before a judge of a court of record in this State, who shall inform him or her of the demand made for his or her surrender and of the crime with which he or she is charged, and that he or she has the right to demand and procure legal counsel. If the prisoner or his or her counsel shall state that he or she or they desire to test the legality of the arrest, the judge of such court of record shall fix a reasonable time to be allowed him or her within which to apply for a writ of habeas corpus. When such writ is applied for, notice thereof, and of the time and place of hearing thereon, shall be given to the State’s Attorney of the county in which the arrest is made and in which the accused is in custody, and to the agent of the demanding state.

• § 4951. Penalty for noncompliance

  An officer who shall deliver a person in his or her custody under the Governor’s warrant to the agent for extradition of the demanding state in disobedience of section 4950 of this title shall be imprisoned not more than six months or fined not more than $1,000.00, or both.

• § 4952. Confinement in jail when necessary

  (a) The officer or person executing the Governor’s warrant of arrest, or the agent of the demanding state to whom the prisoner may have been delivered, may, when necessary, confine the prisoner in the jail of any county or city through which he or she or she may pass; and the keeper of such jail shall receive and safely keep the prisoner until the person having charge of him or her is ready to proceed on his or her route, such person being chargeable with the expense of keeping.

  (b) The officer or agent of a demanding state to whom a prisoner may have been delivered following extradition proceedings in another state, or to whom a prisoner may have been delivered after waiving extradition in such other state, and who is passing through this State with such a prisoner for the purpose of immediately returning such prisoner to the demanding state may, when necessary, confine the prisoner in the jail of any county or city through which he or she may pass; and the keeper of such jail shall receive and safely keep the prisoner until the officer or agent having charge of him or her is ready to proceed on his or her route, such officer or agent, however, being chargeable with the expense of keeping. However, such officer or agent shall produce and show to the keeper of such jail satisfactory written evidence of the fact that he or she is actually transporting such prisoner to the demanding state after a requisition by the executive authority of such demanding state. Such prisoner shall not be entitled to demand a new requisition while in this State.

• § 4953. Arrest prior to requisition

  Whenever any person within this State shall be charged on the oath of any credible person before any judge or magistrate of this State with the commission of any crime in any other state, and, except in cases arising under section 4946 of this title, with having fled from justice, or with having been convicted of a crime in that state and having escaped from confinement, or having broken the terms of his or her bail, probation, or parole, or whenever complaint shall have been before a Superior Court judge within this State, setting forth on the affidavit of a credible person in another state that a crime has been committed in such other state and that the accused has been charged in that state with the commission of a crime, and, except in cases arising under section 4946, has fled from justice, or with having been convicted of a crime in that state and having escaped from confinement, or having broken the terms of his or her bail, probation, or parole and is believed to have been found in this State, such judge shall issue a warrant to any sheriff or constable directing him or her to apprehend the person charged, wherever he or she may be found in this State, and bring him or her before the same or any other Superior Court judge who may be available in or convenient of access to the place where the arrest may be made, to answer the charge or complaint and affidavit; and a certified copy of the sworn charge or complaint and affidavit upon which the warrant is issued shall be attached to the warrant. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative February 1, 1967; 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 106.)

• § 4954. Arrest without a warrant

  The arrest of a person may be lawfully made by an officer or a private citizen without a warrant upon reasonable information that the accused stands charged in the courts of another state with a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. When so arrested, the accused shall be taken before a Superior Court judge as soon as may be, and complaint shall be made against him or her under oath, setting forth the ground for the arrest as in section 4953 of this title; and thereafter his or her answer shall be heard as if he or she had been arrested on a warrant. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative February 1, 1967; 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 107.)

• § 4955. Commitment to await extradition; bail

  If upon examination it appears that the person held is the person charged with having committed the crime alleged and that the person probably committed the crime, and, except in cases arising under section 4946 of this title, that the person has fled from justice, the judge or magistrate shall commit the person to jail by a warrant, reciting the accusation, for such a time, not exceeding 30 days, to be specified in the warrant as will enable the arrest of the accused to be made under a warrant of the Governor on a requisition of the executive authority of the state having jurisdiction of the offense, unless the accused give bail as provided in section 4956 of this title, or until the person shall be legally discharged. On request of the state, the hearing may be continued for up to three working days, only for the purpose of determining whether the person probably committed the crime. Findings under this section may be based upon hearsay evidence or upon copies of affidavits, whether certified or not, made outside this State. It shall be sufficient for a finding that a person probably committed the crime that there is a current grand jury indictment from another state. (Amended 1989, No. 289 (Adj. Sess.).)

• § 4956. Bail when ordered

  Unless the offense with which the prisoner is charged is shown to be an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment under the laws of the state in which it was committed, the judge or magistrate shall admit the person arrested to bail by bond or undertaking, with sufficient sureties, and in such sum as he or she deems proper, for his or her appearance before him at a time specified in such bond or undertaking, and for his or her surrender, to be arrested upon the warrant of the governor of this state.

• § 4957. Extending time of commitment

  If the accused is not arrested under warrant of the Governor by the expiration of the time specified in the warrant, bond or undertaking, such judge may discharge him or her or may recommit him or her for a further period not to exceed 60 days, or may again take bail for his or her appearance and surrender as provided in section 4956 of this title, but within a period not to exceed 60 days after the date of such new bond.

• § 4958. Forfeiture of bail

  If the prisoner is admitted to bail, and fails to appear and surrender himself or herself according to the condition of his or her bond, the court, by proper order, shall declare the bond forfeited and order his or her immediate arrest without warrant if he or she be within this State. Recovery may be had thereon in the name of the State as in the case of other bonds or undertakings given by the accused in criminal proceedings within this State.

• § 4959. Persons under prosecution in this State at time of requisition

  If a criminal prosecution has been instituted against such person under the laws of this state and is still pending, the governor in his or her discretion either may surrender him or her on the demand of the executive authority of another state, or may hold him or her until he or she has been tried and discharged, or convicted and punished in this State.

• § 4960. Guilt or innocence of accused not in issue

  The guilt or innocence of the accused as to the crime of which he or she is charged may not be inquired into by the Governor or in any proceeding after the demand for extradition accompanied by a charge of crime in legal form as provided in this chapter shall have been presented to the Governor, except as it may be involved in identifying the person held as the person charged with the crime.

• § 4961. Governor may recall or reissue warrant

  The Governor may recall his or her warrant of arrest, or may issue another warrant when he or she deems proper.

• § 4962. Fugitives from this State; duty of governors

  Whenever the Governor of this State shall demand a person charged with crime or with escaping from confinement or breaking the terms of his or her bail, probation or parole in this State from the chief executive of any other state, or from the chief judge or another judge of the United States district court for the District of Columbia authorized to receive such demand under laws of the United States, he or she shall issue a warrant under the seal of this State, to some agent, commanding his or her to receive the person so charged if delivered to his or her and convey his or her to the sheriff of the county in this State in which the offense was committed.

• § 4963. Manner of applying for requisition

  (a) When the return to this State of a person charged with a crime in this State is required, the State’s Attorney of the county in which the offense is committed, or the Attorney General shall present to the Governor his or her written application for a requisition for the return of the person so charged, in which application shall be stated the name of the person so charged, the crime charged against him or her, and the approximate time, place and circumstances of its commission, the state in which he or she is believed to be, including the location of the accused therein at the time the application is made, and certifying that in the opinion of the State’s Attorney or the Attorney General the ends of justice require the arrest and return of the accused to this state for trial, and that the proceeding is not instituted to enforce a private claim.

  (b) When the return to this State is required of a person who has been convicted of a crime in this State and has escaped from confinement or broken the terms of his or her bail, probation, or parole, the Attorney General or the State’s Attorney of the county in which the offense was committed, the State probation officer or the warden of the institution or sheriff of the county, from which escape was made, shall present to the Governor a written application for a requisition for the return of such person, in which application shall be stated the name of the person, the crime of which he or she was convicted, the circumstances of his or her escape from confinement or of the breach of the terms of his or her bail, probation or parole, the state in which he or she is believed to be, including the location of the person therein at the time application is made.

  (c) The application shall be verified by affidavit, shall be executed in duplicate and shall be accompanied by two certified copies of the indictment returned, or information and affidavit filed, or of the complaint, stating the offense with which the accused is charged or of the judgment of conviction or of the sentence. The State’s Attorney, the Attorney General, the State probation officer, warden, or sheriff may also attach such further affidavits and other documents in duplicate as he or she shall deem proper to be submitted with such application. One copy of the application with the action of the Governor indicated by endorsement thereon, and one of the certified copies of the indictment or complaint or information and affidavit, or of the judgment of conviction or of the sentence shall be filed in the office of the Governor to remain of record in that office. The other copies of all papers shall be forwarded with the Governor’s requisition.

• § 4964. Immunity from civil process

  A person brought into this State on, or after waiver of, extradition based on a criminal charge shall not be subject to service of personal process in civil actions arising out of the same facts as the criminal proceeding to answer that he or she is returned, until he or she has been convicted in the criminal proceeding, or if acquitted, until he or she has had ample opportunity to return to the state from which he or she was extradited.

• § 4965. No immunity from other criminal prosecutions

  After a person has been brought back to this State upon, or after waiver of, extradition proceedings, he or she may be tried in this State for other crimes that he or she may be charged with having committed in this State, as well as that specified in the requisition for his or her extradition.

• § 4966. Payment of expenses

  In proceedings under the preceding sections of this subchapter, the complainant shall pay the actual costs and charges and for the support in jail of a person committed thereunder at the rate of $4.00 a week and shall advance the money therefor from time to time or give to the jailer satisfactory security therefor. When complainant neglects for 24 hours to advance such money or give such security after he or she has been required by the jailer so to do, the jailer may discharge the person so committed and shall forthwith notify the authority issuing the warrant.

• § 4967. Written waiver of extradition proceedings

  (a) Any person arrested in this State charged with having committed any crime in another state or alleged to have escaped from confinement, or broken the terms of his or her bail, probation, or parole may waive the issuance and service of the warrant provided for in sections 4947 and 4948 of this title and all other procedure incidental to extradition proceedings, by executing or subscribing in the presence of a judge of any court of record within this State a writing that states that he or she consents to return to the demanding state; provided however, before such waiver shall be executed or subscribed by such person it shall be the duty of such judge to inform such person of his or her rights to the issuance and service of a warrant of extradition and to obtain a writ of habeas corpus as provided for in section 4950 of this title.

  (b) If and when such consent has been duly executed, it shall forthwith be forwarded to the office of the Governor of this State and filed therein. The judge shall direct the officer having such person in custody to deliver forthwith such person to the duly accredited agent or agents of the demanding state, and shall deliver or cause to be delivered to such agent or agents a copy of such consent; provided however, that nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the rights of the accused person to return voluntarily and without formality to the demanding state, nor shall this waiver procedure be deemed to be an exclusive procedure or to limit the powers, rights or duties of the officers of the demanding state or of this State.

• § 4968. Nonwaiver by this State

  Nothing contained in this subchapter shall be deemed to constitute a waiver by this state of its right, power or privilege to try such demanded person for crime committed within this State, or of its right, power or privilege to regain custody of such person by extradition proceedings or otherwise for the purpose of trial, sentence or punishment for any crime committed within this State, nor shall any proceedings had under this subchapter that result in, or fail to result in, extradition be deemed a waiver by this State of any of its rights, privileges or jurisdiction in any way whatsoever.

• § 4969. Uniform interpretation

  This subchapter shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states that enact it.

• § 4970. Legally protected health care activity exception

  Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter to the contrary, except as required by federal law, the Governor shall not surrender a person charged in another state as a result of engaging in legally protected health care activity as defined in 1 V.S.A. § 150 unless the executive authority of the demanding state alleges in writing that the accused was physically present in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the alleged offense and that thereafter the accused fled from the demanding state. (Added 2023, No. 14, § 6, eff. May 10, 2023.)

• Subchapter 003: UNIFORM ACT ON FRESH PURSUIT

• § 5041. Definition

  The term “fresh pursuit” as used in this subchapter shall include fresh pursuit as defined by the common law, and also the pursuit of a person who has committed a felony or who is reasonably suspected of having committed a felony or who is reasonably suspected of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. It shall also include the pursuit of a person suspected of having committed a supposed felony, though no felony has actually been committed, if there is reasonable ground for believing that a felony has been committed. Fresh pursuit as used herein shall not necessarily imply instant pursuit, but pursuit without unreasonable delay. (Amended 1985, No. 228 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2017, No. 83, § 161(3).)

• § 5042. Powers of law enforcement officers

  Any member of a duly organized state, county, or municipal law enforcement unit of another state of the United States who enters this State in fresh pursuit, and continues within this State in such fresh pursuit, of a person in order to arrest him or her on the ground that he or she is believed to have committed a felony or operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in such other state, shall have the same authority to arrest and hold in custody such person as a sheriff of this State has to arrest and hold in custody a person on the ground that he or she is believed to have committed a felony or operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in this State. (Amended 1985, No. 228 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2017, No. 83, § 161(3).)

• § 5043. Hearing, commitment, discharge

  If an arrest is made in this State by an officer of another state in accordance with the provisions of section 5042 of this title, he or she shall without unnecessary delay take the person arrested before a Superior judge of the unit in which the arrest was made, who shall conduct a hearing for the purpose of determining the lawfulness of the arrest. If the judge determines that the arrest was lawful, he or she shall commit the person arrested to await for a reasonable time the issuance of an extradition warrant by the Governor of this State or admit such person to bail pending the issuance of such warrant. If the judge determines that the arrest was unlawful, he or she shall discharge the person arrested. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative February 1, 1967; 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 108.)

• § 5044. Construction and separability

  Section 5042 of this title shall not be construed so as to make unlawful any arrest in this State that would otherwise be lawful. For the purpose of this subchapter the word “state” shall include the District of Columbia. If any part of this subchapter is for any reason declared void, it is declared to be the intent of this subchapter that such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this subchapter.

• § 5045. Short title; interpretation

  This subchapter may be cited as the Uniform Act on Fresh Pursuit and shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of the states that enact it.