Whose jurisdiction is it, anyways?
Off-shore, international, across borders, in the skies--criminals seek to take advantage of murky jurisdictional laws governing global crimes. International (and national) laws have not kept pace with transportation, communication, and electronic technologies that makes international crimes easy...and extremely profitable.
Prosecutors cannot win cases against criminals if the prosecuting country doesn't have jurisdictional authority to try such cases. On which side of the border did the crime originate? On which side did it take place? The citizens of which country were the victims of the crime? The laws of which country were broken...by whom, and where?
It's actually a wonder that we are able to successfully prosecute international crimes. That we often do, says a lot of good things about the cooperation between law enforcement agencies from different countries...and the intricate knowledge they all must have about each others' laws and jurisdictional boundaries.
Canada's laws regarding the prosecution of international crime plays an important role in SHADOW RIDERS. The drug-smuggling gangsters are held accountable in their native land rather than in South Korea, where they were attempting to get a foothold in the illicit drug market.
I did a lot of research to see how such international police operations pan out before the courts. I believe Allison, my hapless heroine, was very lucky indeed to be allowed to face her criminal charges in Canada. Under the rarely-used general extraterritorial jurisdiction section of Canada's Criminal Code, jurisdictional privilege can be claimed if fraudulent Canadian Passports were used to facilitate the crime and/or if the crime/s took place across several borders.
Tudor, Allie's kindly lawyer notes, however, that Canada has a history of willingly letting the country with the heftiest penalties take over the prosecution of international cases.
All the legalese aside, the real drama in SHADOW RIDERS is exploring why women such as Allison Montgomery choose to stay in violent domestic relationships. Exactly what mental and emotional processes convince her to risk her soul, her freedom, her life in order to remain loyal to her abuser?
“A riveting plot & dynamic characters will leave you craving more."
"...a horrifying, suspenseful trip.”
"Shadow Riders is a thriller with depth and weight and fully explored characters...."
Eileen Schuh, Author
SHADOW RIDERS
DISPASSIONATE LIES
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ
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