Born to run:: The Supreme Court of Washington's misapplication of the doctrine of specialty in State v. Pang

The Supreme Court of Washington's decision in State v. Pang that Martin Pang could not be tried for murder involved an erroneous application of the doctrine of specialty. This Note contends that this decision was based upon the court's overly broad reading of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Rauscher. The Supreme Court of Washington implied terms into the extradition treaty because of the court's incorrect interpretation of Rauscher, which prevented Washington from prosecuting Pang for murder. In addition, the court failed to take into account the policy rationales behind the doctrine of specialty, which favors allowing the State to prosecute Pang for murder. This Note concludes that the Supreme Court of Washington misread the terms of the U.S.-Brazil extradition treaty, and Washington had the right to prosecute Pang for murder.