52
Blackmun, J., dissenting
basis for that; surely the "causing" which petitioner considers central occurs upon the giving or sending.
Petitioner makes the policy argument that "[f]airness requires the burden of compliance with the requirements of the IAD to be placed entirely on the law enforcement officials involved, since the prisoner has little ability to enforce compliance," Brief for Petitioner 8, and that any other approach would "frustrate the higher purpose" of the IAD, leaving "neither a legal nor a practical limit on the length of time prison authorities could delay forwarding a [request]," id., at 20. These arguments, however, assume the availability of a reading that would give effect to a request that is never delivered at all. (Otherwise, it remains within the power of the warden to frustrate the IAD by simply not forwarding.) As we have observed, the textual requirement "shall have caused to be delivered" is simply not susceptible of such a reading. Petitioner's "fairness" and "higher purpose" arguments are, in other words, more appropriately addressed to the legislatures of the contracting States, which adopted the IAD's text.
Our discussion has addressed only the second question presented in the petition for writ of certiorari; we have concluded that our grant as to the first question was improvi-dent, and do not reach the issue it presents. We hold that the 180-day time period in Article III(a) of the IAD does not commence until the prisoner's request for final disposition of the charges against him has actually been delivered to the court and prosecuting officer of the jurisdiction that lodged the detainer against him. The judgment of the Supreme Court of Michigan is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
Justice Blackmun, with whom Justice Stevens joins, dissenting.
I am not persuaded that the language of Article III is ambiguous. The majority suggests that a search for the literal
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