Kercher Killer Sollecito Held Near Border

Knox 'Will Be Extradited To Italy By US'

Updated: 11:30am UK, Friday 31 January 2014

America will have little choice but to extradite Amanda Knox if Italy requests it, according to legal experts.

Knox says she will only go back to Italy "kicking and screaming" after an Italian court ruled she should not have been cleared.

But expectations that America will not extradite Knox to serve a 28-year sentence are unfounded, according to lawyers.

Gemma Lindfield, a UK barrister, specialising in extradition, told Sky News: "There's a valid extradition treaty between the US and Italy.

"The countries made that agreement in good faith and there's no reason why the Italians would not submit a request.

"The US would be obliged to arrest her on the extradition request and there would then be proceedings in the US."

Ms Lindfield said it was likely that Knox would vigorously fight the request in the US courts, most likely on the grounds of double jeopardy, passage of time or fairness.

"It would, however, be very difficult for a US court to sit in judgement of the Italian legal system and its fairness," Ms Lindfield, based at 7 Bedford Row chambers, said.

"I would also find it hard to conceive that they could refuse the request on the grounds of double jeopardy.

"In fact, I cannot see any reason why she would not be extradited."

Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz agreed that American judges will have little choice but to grant Italy's request.

"The United States seeks extradition of more people than any country in the world," Mr Dershowitz

"We're trying to get NSA leaker Edward Snowden back and we're not going to extradite someone convicted of murder?" he told NBC News.

The professor said he doubted that even double jeopardy - where someone cannot be tried twice for the same offence - will protect Knox.

This is because she was initially found guilty and her acquittal was heard at an intermediate appeals level.

"If that happened in the US, it wouldn't be double jeopardy," he said.

Knox, risks immediate arrest if she leaves America, and could be seized if she sets foot in the EU.

Experts have said it is unlikely that Italy would request Knox's extradition before the verdict is made "final" by the Supreme Court of Cassation.

It is unclear when that will be.

If extradition does occur it is likely to take several years. The judge in the latest hearing made no requests for limits on Knox's movements.

Any extradition request would be routed to the US Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs (OIA) for consideration.

Justice Department lawyers would then evaluate the petition for "legal sufficiency" before deciding whether to seek an extradition certificate.

If they did, Knox's extradition would be heard before a federal judge, probably in Seattle.

But Mary Fan, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at the University of Washington Law School in Seattle, said any decision was "a matter of both law and politics".

"It's not a retrial of the case, and it's not a retrial of another country's justice system," she told the Seattle Times.

Ms Fan said federal lawyers may find it difficult to refuse an extradition request because of "reciprocity" concerns.

"Someday, the US might seek extradition of someone convicted of a serious crime, such as murder, from Italy," she said.

"So, it's reciprocity that's the major consideration. Not just in this case, but in future cases. That's something that the State Department has to consider."

While it could be years before any extradition hearing is completed in Knox's case, Sollecito could find himself behind bars much sooner.

However, under Italian law, he will not be locked up until his appeal avenues are exhausted.

In the meantime he has had his travel documents confiscated.

:: Watch Sky News live on television on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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