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Seawell got a break from Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin who believed that it was not in his best interest to throw the matter out, given that it was not his fault that it had been meandering around the court system for months.

So, today was set down for the hearing to happen, but, the Chief Justice was unable to hear the matter because there was one more problem getting in the way: The court could not find the original extradition documents which were tendered before the Chief Magistrate.

CJ Benjamin was therefore forced to adjourn the matter, and 7News spoke to Seawell's attorney outside about the further delay, and the effects:

Arthur Saldivar - Attorney for Mark Seawell
"Basically what happened is that a bundle from the AJ's Ministry that details the documents being relied upon by the United States to substantiate the request for extradition, could not be found within the precincts of the court so the Chief Justice indicated that he would have to have the bundle reconstructed and as a result - time was given for that to occur. In terms of the habeas corpus, this is one of my second appearance for this particular matter. My client has now been remanded for 7 years - he has never been convicted of any offence, either in Belize or in the United States. He is a citizen who has been accused of committing an offence and like any other citizen in such situations, is presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, that presumption of innocence which obtains in our jurisdiction allows him the protection of our constitution, even though the process of extradition has commenced for an offence alleged in another jurisdiction. So that's basically what we're here to do - to ensure that his constitutional right is of Belize and he is given every opportunity to operate on his behalf."

Reporter
"In terms of a timeline for an extradition - 7 years seems unduly excessive."

Arthur Saldivar
"There's legal precedent for it - the time, like I said, is not a main factor - certainly it's a long time but for it to be a factor, once would have to factor into it that the applicant did not have anything to do with the delay. We cannot, in all honesty say that he hasn't - he has made his applications and has been working the process to ensure that he gets his day to have whatever discrepancies he wants to have addressed by the court - be addressed; we cannot utilize that as a basis for our contention of abuse of process. The process of time will not be the ground upon which we seek to push this forward."

Chief Justice Benjamin has adjourned the matter for next week Thursday, where he intends to have the matter heard.