Probable Cause

The other day, I was sitting in a courtroom waiting for a case to be called.  I was stuck.  Having received a call from another attorney, a very good friend who could not make it to the courtroom, I agreed to make a courtesy appearance for her to ask for a continuance.

When I arrived, another case was in progress: an extradition hearing.  I’d never observed or been involved in an extradition hearing.  The person they were trying to extradite, through his lawyer, was making numerous objections to the evidence being admitted.  And, in particular, he was repeatedly objecting that the California Evidence Code — which he believed the court was ignoring — should apply in this extradition hearing.

That’s how it happened that I got myself into a little pickle.

(more…)