18 U.S.C. § 3187
Section 3187 · Provisional arrest and detention within extraterritorial jurisdiction
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case Loper v. Dees, Sheriff (1951)
Most recently applied in Kapoor v. DeMarco (March 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The provisional arrest and detention of a fugitive, under sections 3042 and 3183 of this title, in advance of the presentation of formal proofs, may be obtained by telegraph upon the request of the authority competent to request the surrender of such fugitive addressed to the authority competent to grant such surrender. Such request shall be accompanied by an express statement that a warrant for the fugitive's arrest has been issued within the jurisdiction of the authority making such request charging the fugitive with the commission of the crime for which his extradition is sought to be obtained.
No person shall be held in custody under telegraphic request by virtue of this section for more than ninety days.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §662d (Mar. 22, 1934, ch. 73, §3, 48 Stat. 455).
Provision for expense to be borne by the demanding authority is incorporated in section 3195 of this title.
Changes were made in phraseology and arrangement.
Canal Zone
Applicability of section to Canal Zone, see section 14 of this title.