Law: Putnam County vs. Canada

Two U.S. bounty hunters stir an international legal battle

In the Old West, when a sheriff could afford to ride only so far from town in pursuit of a criminal, bounty hunters acted as de facto freelance deputies, collecting rewards for bringing back fugitives. Times have changed, but the bounty hunter survives, working now for bail-bond companies eager to capture bail jumpers. True to tradition, local authorities still ask few questions about the methods used in returning a suspect to their jurisdiction.

Foreign governments, however, can prove more sensitive. For months now, Canada and the state of Florida have been locked...