United States v. Pleau
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
680 F.3d 1 (2012)
Jason Pleau (defendant) was indicted federally for a robbery-murder while serving a state sentence in Rhode Island; the federal prosecutor sought the death penalty. To secure Pleau, the federal government filed a detainer invoking the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (IAD), but Rhode Island's governor refused the request, citing his opposition to the death penalty. The federal government then sought a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum in federal district court, which ordered Pleau delivered into federal custody; after a panel stayed the writ and allowed the governor to intervene and then denied it, the full court of appeals granted rehearing en banc.
Whether the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act prevent the Governor of a State from refusing to deliver a person in state custody to federal authorities after a detainer has been filed against the inmate.