ICE and US policy in transit

I am writing the story of a young man from the UK who is married to a New Zealand woman - he was on his way to NZ for Christmas 2006 when his plane transited in LAX - he was put through immigration and a warrant for his arrest showed up - he was detained treated with dis respect - because the origin of the warrant was in NY he was put in several federal prisons, with mentally insane, lifers, and once in a box - after 8 months the charge was dismissed - it had originated from an incident of trespass back in 1999 a charge he was fined for and paid, dismissing it from his mind - until all this happened - I am a kiwi from New Zealand I don't know your laws, I do know that since 9/11 things have gone insane over there and foreigners are being swept up in bogus charges resulting in long prison stays like this man - his is not an isolated story

what are the laws pertaining to apprehending people from other countries, what are the protocols at air ports - do ICE officers have to have some sort of protocol to follow, do they have to follow human rights laws -

I would appreciate any help with this, as I don't have any understanding of your laws

after the judge dismissed the case he told the prosecuter to ensure this man had left the country in 10 days, this did not happen - it was another month before this man could leave, due to incompetence, loosing passport and other documents needed - it seemed to the man that it was a clear case of sour grapes because he had WON the case, when he was advised by his counsel to plead guilty and get 3 years instead of 6 - for doing nothing wrong

Well that is a little odd unless a serious warrant existed within the USA.

Was there a lawyer involved during this process?

Paid or public defender if so?

You should obtain all of those records as a first step.

hello

No there was NO serious warrant - the charge/case, once seen by a judge was dismissed - the charge was bogus

Yes there was a public defender - who couldn't care less and wanted the man to plea bargain - he refused because he hadn't done anything wrong - which was validated by the dismissal of his case

the man is looking for a lawyer either in the UK or US to help - i've suggested going to amnesty as they would be better able to advise him where to go for a good one

meanwhile I"m writing up his story and need some help with the Law over there

1) how long do charges like this stay open - especially if the charge has been paid and dealt with

2) are there set protocols in place for citizens of other nations to be processed or are they all chucked in federal prison with lifers and insane people and treated as criminals before they even get a trail

Its getting to the point that the US is getting a huge reputation as being a country one does NOT want to visit or even transit because of the gestapo like way people are treated - and this case is one that is increasingly being experienced by more and more people

I need some real advice regarding the law over there and the protocols - I know its all changed since the introduction of the Patriot act where by just about everyone is a terrorist until proven not to be

Its been suggested that there is some sort of 'quota' system in place for ICE to forfil re funding or something - its not clear if this is just an urban type myth or fact

after being there a few days he meet with a lawyer who told him what the charge was - I have his name but no way of contacting him - since the charge came from NY he was taken there, - it took 5 days as the plane was to pick up prisoners from other places, once in NY I he was seen by a public defender who tried to get him to plead guilty and get 3 yrs instead of 6 - of course he refused

the man who truly deserves an honor is another prisoner, a young Jamaican man who spent every day he could in the law library and had had similar case to the man in this story - it was his research and help that got the judge to dismiss the case - we only have a nick name as most men in prison go by a nick - I have the name of the public defender or whatever his title is but don't know how to contact him either