Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Bill Hodge: Former Auckland University Law Professor on the extradition of Kim Dotcom and his likely trial in the US

Transcript

Bill Hodge: Former Auckland University Law Professor on the extradition of Kim Dotcom and his likely trial in the US · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Ti dot Com is back in the news and it
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: looks like this time he may be on his way
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: to the United States extradited. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: signed the order for him to leave. Does that mean
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: he'll actually go? Dot Com made his fortune from file
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: sharing website mega Upload, which was often used to share
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: pirated movies and movies and music. He moved to New
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Zealand in twenty ten and was pursued by the US government.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Bill Hodgs, former Auckland University law professor Bill good Morning.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Is this actually going to happen? Because we've been told
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: for twelve years now that it is.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: There has always been until now another appeal. He's gone
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: through the District Court, he's gone through the High Court,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: he's gone through the Court of Appeal, he's gone through
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: the Supreme Court. He can't go to the Privy Council.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: That's one option that he doesn't have. But yes, there
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: is one more step. I'll call it an ultimate step,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: but it's not an appeal. You use the word appeal
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: to go from one court to the higher court. But
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: this has been an executive decision. This is a decision
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: of the Minister final ticking of the box. And when
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: you challenge an appeal, challenge a decision of an executive
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: the minister, that's called a review. So he will be
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: going to the High Court for judicial review of the
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: minister's decision. And it has to be not outrageously irrational
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: and unreasonable. And the Minister is going to be looking
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: at the terms in the statute, and well the court
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: will be looking at his looking at it. They'll be
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: looking over his shoulder. And is dot Com going to
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: be subject to the death penalty over there? No? Is
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: he going to be tortured over there? No? Is he
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: being persecuted because of his religion, because of his nationality,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: because of his gender. No. Ultimately it comes down to
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: this question for the minister, are there compelling or extraordinary circumstances,
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: including age and health age or health, that would make
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: it unjust or oppressive to surrender Kim dot Com to
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: the Americans? That is the test that Goldsmith, Minister Goldsmith
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: applied and a court will look over his shoulder and
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: say was that a reasonable decision?
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: So, in other words, Kim dot Com has one life lift,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: but it's not looking good for him. How long could
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: that take? And you know when could we actually see
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: him extradited.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: As long as a piece of strength, I have been
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: surprised repeatedly about how long it took. Ideally, if it
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: was a typical judicial review, it could be done within
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: six months. I'm wondering if the court will expedite it.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I'd like to be precise, but I
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: just can't. But can I say that this matter of
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: I don't know what a state of health is and
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: I don't know how they're going to look at his family.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: But if I were him, I'd be saying, look, I've
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: got this enormous family. I've got four children by Mona,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: I've got another new child with Elizabeth. You don't want
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: those children to be thrown onto the mercies of the
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Department of Social Welfare and be a burden on the
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: people of New Zealand. I have to stay here because
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: of my family. I think that would be the biggest
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: argument that he's put down not only roots, but he's
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: put down children here.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: M Bill, thank you so much for that analysis. Bill Hodge,
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: former Orcan University law professor, talking about Kim dot Com,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: who Paul Goldsmith has signed his extradition order to get
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: him to the United States to face trial over those
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: file sharing website claims.
• 3:45
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• 3:48
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• 3:50
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