In Ortega-Rodriguez v. United States (1993) 507 U.S. 234, the United States Supreme Court considered the equities of mandating the dismissal of an appeal of a defendant who fled the jurisdiction of a district court but was recaptured before appealing. The court ruled that the fugitive disentitlement doctrine could not be applied under these circumstances because the balance of the equitable concerns did not support it: "the justifications we have advanced for allowing appellate courts to dismiss pending fugitive appeals all assume some connection between a defendant's fugitive status and the appellate process, sufficient to make an appellate sanction a reasonable response. These justifications are necessarily attenuated when applied to a case in which both flight and recapture occur while the case is pending before the district court, so that a defendant's fugitive status at no time coincides with his appeal." (Id. at p. 244.) Enforceability would not be a concern, because the recaptured defendant would be within the control of the appellate court throughout the appeal and issuance of judgment. (Ibid.) The efficient operation of the appellate process would not be advanced by dismissing appeals filed after former fugitives are recaptured, because legal matters relating to the escape most likely would have been litigated at the time of recapture. (Id. at p. 245.) The dismissal of a former fugitive's appeal would not protect or advance the dignity of the appellate court, and trial courts may defend their own dignity. (Id. at pp. 245-246.) Moreover, a rule "allowing an appellate court to sanction by dismissal any conduct that exhibited disrespect for any aspect of the judicial system, even where such conduct has no connection to the course of appellate proceedings ... would sweep far too broadly, permitting, for instance, this Court to dismiss a petition solely because the petitioner absconded for a day during district court proceedings, or even because the petitioner once violated a condition of parole or probation." (Id. at p. 246.) Finally, such a broad disentitlement rule would not advance the principle of deterrence any more effectively than would a more limited rule: "Once jurisdiction has vested in the appellate court, ... then any deterrent to escape must flow from appellate consequences, and dismissal may be an appropriate sanction by which to deter. Until that time, however, the district court is quite capable of defending its own jurisdiction. While a case is pending before the district court, flight can be deterred with the threat of a wide range of penalties available to the district court judge." (Id. at p. 247.) "Accordingly," ruled the Supreme Court, "we conclude that while dismissal of an appeal pending while the defendant is a fugitive may serve substantial interests, the same interests do not support a rule of dismissal for all appeals filed by former fugitives, returned to custody before invocation of the appellate system. Absent some connection between a defendant's fugitive status and his appeal, as provided when a defendant is at large during 'the ongoing appellate process,' the justifications advanced for dismissal of fugitives' pending appeals generally will not apply." (Ortega-Rodriguez, supra, 507 U.S. at p. 249.)