Karen Slater v. Harold Clarke

This case requires that we consider whether state officials are absolutely immune from civil liability for the decision not to extradite or to request only limited extradition. Because the decision whether or not to extradite a criminal defendant is intimately associated with the criminal phase of the judicial process, government officials are absolutely immune from suits arising out of their performance of this function.

I. FACTS

Daniel Tavares was released from prison by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections in June 2007 after serving over fifteen years in prison for murdering his mother. While in prison in Massachusetts, Tavares joined a white supremacist gang, assaulted and threatened staff and inmates, and made threats against the life of then-Governor Mitt Romney and then-Attorney General Thomas Reilly. Just prior to Tavares’s release date, he was arraigned for two incidents involving violent assaults on prison staff. Tavares was subsequently released on his own recognizance. He did not appear for a hearing on the new charges and two warrants for his arrest were issued.

Tavares had traveled to Washington state. Officials from Massachusetts contacted their…