thedrifter
12-19-06, 09:35 AM
December 19, 2006
Court rejects Marine’s call for immediate U.S. custody
The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — A Marine convicted of raping a Filipino woman will remain in a Manila jail over the Christmas holidays after his petition to be transferred immediately to the custody of the U.S. Embassy was rejected Tuesday.
Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith sought a temporary restraining order of the decision by Judge Benjamin Pozon to detain him at the suburban Makati city jail while his conviction is under appeal.
Smith, 21, of St. Louis, was convicted Dec. 4 of raping a Filipino woman and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The Philippines Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that it could not grant Smith’s petition for a temporary restraining order before it reviewed Pozon’s directive that the Marine be held in a Philippine jail. The court said that granting a restraining order immediately would amount to reversing Pozon’s order “without the benefit of a full-blown deliberation on the main issue.”
The court also disagreed with Smith that “a grave and irreparable injury would befall him pending determination of his petition.”
It ordered Pozon to respond to the petition within 10 days, after which it would make a final ruling. The order means the Marine will remain in the Manila jail over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Smith’s lawyers, the U.S. Embassy and the Philippine departments of justice and foreign affairs have all said Smith’s current detention violates the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement, which covers the presence of U.S. troops in the Philippines.
A provision in the agreement says any accused U.S. serviceman shall remain in U.S. custody until all judicial proceedings are exhausted.
Pozon said the provision applies only during “the judicial proceedings in the trial court” and expires upon a defendant’s conviction, regardless of a pending appeal.
Ellie
Court rejects Marine’s call for immediate U.S. custody
The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — A Marine convicted of raping a Filipino woman will remain in a Manila jail over the Christmas holidays after his petition to be transferred immediately to the custody of the U.S. Embassy was rejected Tuesday.
Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith sought a temporary restraining order of the decision by Judge Benjamin Pozon to detain him at the suburban Makati city jail while his conviction is under appeal.
Smith, 21, of St. Louis, was convicted Dec. 4 of raping a Filipino woman and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The Philippines Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that it could not grant Smith’s petition for a temporary restraining order before it reviewed Pozon’s directive that the Marine be held in a Philippine jail. The court said that granting a restraining order immediately would amount to reversing Pozon’s order “without the benefit of a full-blown deliberation on the main issue.”
The court also disagreed with Smith that “a grave and irreparable injury would befall him pending determination of his petition.”
It ordered Pozon to respond to the petition within 10 days, after which it would make a final ruling. The order means the Marine will remain in the Manila jail over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Smith’s lawyers, the U.S. Embassy and the Philippine departments of justice and foreign affairs have all said Smith’s current detention violates the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement, which covers the presence of U.S. troops in the Philippines.
A provision in the agreement says any accused U.S. serviceman shall remain in U.S. custody until all judicial proceedings are exhausted.
Pozon said the provision applies only during “the judicial proceedings in the trial court” and expires upon a defendant’s conviction, regardless of a pending appeal.
Ellie