Malcolm Hawkes in Double-Jeopardy US Extradition win
As reported by WireNews, on 23 June 2013, Malcolm Hawkes, a Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, argued against the US request for the extradition of an American citizen, Bill White, who lives in the United Kingdom.
The hearing took place on Tuesday, 18 June 2013.
The US Government has today notified the solicitor representing the requested person that it will not appeal the court's ruling.
On 18 June 2013 Judge Howard Riddle, Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) at Westminster Magistrates' Court in the City of London discharged a US extradition request on the grounds of double-jeopardy and immediately released the requested person from custody.
In his order, Judge Riddle gave the US Government until 1 July 2013 to decide whether or not it would appeal his decision, a decision which is now final.
Hawkes was instructed by Ms Jenny Winters, a solicitor with Birds Solicitors in London. The requested person, an American citizen, who has lived in the UK since 1989, had already been prosecuted in the United Kingdom in April 2010 for his possession and use of a fraudulent US passport, which formed the basis of the US charges.
Despite a number of other grounds upon which Judge Riddle could have relied upon in order to deny the extradition request, the Chief Magistrate chose to reject the request on grounds of double jeopardy.
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Malcolm Hawkes is a renowned and highly-experienced extradition specialist, with Doughty Street Chambers, who acts in complex and grave matters such as terrorism, murder and serious sexual offences. He has advised and acted in extradition cases from over 40 countries. Malcolm has particular experience with US and Russian extradition requests; he defended in the first US case involving a suspected member of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Jenny Winter is a solicitor with the firm of Birds Solicitors who qualified in 2004. She was previously at Bindman & Partners and Moss & Co. She was a police station accredited representative before qualifying as a solicitor. She is a duty solicitor and regularly attends the police station. She also appears almost daily in the Magistrates Court and runs a caseload involving cases at all levels of seriousness in both the Magistrates and the Crown Court.