disentitlement

Furthermore, there are at least two legal contexts in which fugitive disentitlement claims should be scrutinized closely.

These issues are not reasons to abolish the fugitive disentitlement doctrine altogether.

For hundreds of years, Anglo-American courts have applied something called the “fugitive disentitlement doctrine,” which basically says that if a defendant flees a jurisdiction, then a court is not obligated to rule on that fleeing defendant’s petitions for relief.

If Assange isn’t extradited and also not allowed to contest the Espionage Act charges because of the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, it could have damaging affects for the free speech of everyone.

First, as in Hijazi’s case, we should be wary of fugitive disentitlement for prosecutions arising out of foreign acts and against foreign residents.