Could Ross Ulbricht be charged by non-US court after pardon?

Question

After President Trump's pardon, could Ross Ulbricht still be charged by non-US courts for crimes related to Silk Road, e.g., for crimes it facilitated outside the US? If so, would he be extradited?

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Related

• Could Ross Ulbricht from Silk Road not get life sentence?

• Why was Ross Ulbricht guilty of anything?

Answer 1

Yes

Indeed, any one or more of the 50 US states could prosecute him for violations of state law. Federal pardons only apply to Federal crimes.

Extradition is unlikely as the ultimate decision rests with a politician - the Attorney General. In recent years, the US has a strong track record of not agreeing to the extradition of its citizens.

Answer 2

Other countries and the states of the United States are separate sovereigns.

Yes.

The rule of res judicata and double jeopardy only attach to a single sovereign, and not to separate ones. Because a single act could violate a dozen different sovereigns' laws, all of those could prosecute - unless they agreed not to. The same principle also means that the pardon from the US president has no power outside of the federal US court. For example, Montana could prosecute, and so could Afghanistan.

Answer 3

Could Ross Ulbricht still be charged by non-US courts for crimes related to Silk road (e.g. for crimes it facilitated outside the US) after Trump's pardon?

"Yes". (Pedantic note: charges are brought by the prosecution; the court issues a warrant or takes other coercitive measures.) Non-US courts do not care about US law (from a legal point of view).

If so would he be extradited?

Almost certainly no.

Most (all?) extradition treaties have a clause similar to article 8.1 of the USA-France extradition treaty:

Extradition shall not be granted when the person sought has been finally convicted or acquitted in the Requested State for the offense for which extradition is requested.

Maybe French prosecutors can cook up an offense that the US prosecution of Ross Ulbricht did not take into consideration, but that seems unlikely (given that he is American and operated Silk Road from US territory). Courts would therefore bar extradition, even if the US government wished to comply.

My understanding from the justice manual, section 9-15.100 is that the US government may not legally extradite an American to countries with which it does not have such a treaty. Even if that understanding is incorrect, I find it unlikely that the US government would willingly extradite in violation of the double prosecution principle.