Expert: Robin Sexton - 6/5/2008

Question
I have a friend being held on a felony charge in texas, we are trying to figure out how long our home state has to come get him upon release. I guess my question is, How long can Texas hold him for extradition?

Answer
Nick,

Depends on his exact status and none of this is written in stone. Let me try and explain.  He is in custody in Texas if he has charges there then the requesting state waits until he is done there.  If he receives a prison sentence in Texas then the requesting state files a detainer, basically legally letting them know when Texas is done they want him.  If a detainer is filed he can then request to be taken to the requesting state.  Requesting state then has 180 days to bring him to trial ( with some extensions).  If there are no charges in  Texas then the question is does he waive extradition. If he does normally within  30-60 days depending on many factors.  If he doesn't then there is an hearing and an exchange of documents between the two states and he probably goes anyway. One last option is the requesting state can drop the extradition request at any moment and he is released from custody. The requesting state still keeps the warrant active until the next time.

Hope this helped, at least a little

Robin