Q: Is it legal for an Arkansas judge to have you arrested and extradited from another state for a misdemeanor?
My son has been off parole over a year and has been in no additional trouble since his 2011 felony burglary convictions. He got behind on his fines and was served papers for an Aug 16th court date. He contacted them to try to make arrangements because he could not make the 850 mile trip to Arkansas from Ohio and he sent $500 of the $1397 owed. They called Ohio and had him arrested the next day and are having him extradited. He paid off the delinquent amount Aug 21st and is still incarcerated awaiting extradition. Isn't this a bit extreme? His public defender advised him to sign the waiver but a private attorney said there was no way Ohio would extradite on a misdemeanor. They have cost him a lot in lost wages as well as taking him away from his 6 year old son. They wrote up his warrant with his previous charges listed and the officers thought they were arresting him for felonies. His public defender said it was bogus the way they wrote it up. I am so frustrated! Please advise.
A: It is certainly legal for the judge to issue a warrant, legal for the officers to arrest him in Ohio based upon that warrant, and legal for them to extradite him. Not many jurisdictions would be willing to pay for extradition over this, but that's really up to the judge in Arkansas. What is the misdemeanor charge? Burglary is almost certainly a felony in Arkansas just as it is here in Ohio. Does Arkansas have a new charge on him for no payment?
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