Principals Ekwan Rhow and Naeun Rim, along with associate Christopher Jumin Lee, obtained the release on bail of a pro bono client charged in a high-profile internationally-publicized extradition case. The client, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, had been detained pending extradition to Spain based on allegations relating to an incident at the North Korean embassy in Madrid.
The Bird Marella team faced a number of challenges due to the extremely strong presumption against bail in extradition cases. Yet, they successfully argued that “special circumstances” existed based on the fact that most of the evidence against the client consisted of uncorroborated accounts from representatives of North Korea, a country with which the United States has explicitly chosen not to enter into an extradition treaty due to the inherent untrustworthiness of their justice system. As a result, the Court acknowledged a unique “special circumstance” with no precedent in previous extradition case law, ultimately granting bail for Bird Marella’s client. Click below for more information.
CNN: https://cnn.it/2XOBHMm
Reuters UK: https://reut.rs/2Z6RG4I
The Washington Post: https://wapo.st/2YVcUm1
Bird Marella thanks the following community organizations for submitting letters to the Court in support of this successful bail motion: Korean Community Lawyers Association, Korean America Federation of Los Angeles, Korean American Bar Associations of Orange County and San Diego, and Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area.
