The Perfect Crime (2005)
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The Perfect Crime (2005)
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Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#2This "loophole" was even a plot device in a recent book, "Free Fire" by CJ Box. http://www.cjbox.net/books/free-fire
Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#3Summary:
The 6th amendment requires a jury pool to be selected from the state/district where a crime is committed. The part of Yellowstone National Park which is in the state of Idaho has no residents, and therefore no potential jury candidates. This creates a loophole which could possibly allow someone to commit a serious crime that could not be prosecuted.
There are potential strategies to close the loophole: residents moving into the area after a crime is committed, interpreting the clause broadly enough to allow residents from neighboring "similar areas" to qualify, prosecuting lesser crimes that don't require jury trials, prosecuting related crimes (such as "conspiracy to X") that took place outside of the area, or even vigilante justice.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicinage_Clause#The_perfect_cri...
Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#4Alternate source of explanation- http://loststates.blogspot.com/2011/08/loophole-landwhere-cr...
Key point is that it's a district with zero population, so there's no jury pool.
Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#5Summary: The 6th amendment requires a jury pool to be selected from the state/district where a crime is committed. The part of Yellowstone National Park which is in the state of Idaho has no residents, and therefore no potential jury candidates. This creates a loophole which could possibly allow someone to commit a serious crime that could not be prosecuted. There are potential strategies to close the loophole: resid…
The vicinage clause would itself allow vigilante justice. I've heard biker gangs like going to national parks.
Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#6Alternate source of explanation- http://loststates.blogspot.com/2011/08/loophole-landwhere-cr... Key point is that it's a district with zero population, so there's no jury pool.
The district itself has a non-zero population. The problem is that it is split between three states, and the portion of the district that is in the state of Idaho has zero population.
Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#7The article is pretty old. Has anyone tried to exploit this loophole since then?
Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#8Summary: The 6th amendment requires a jury pool to be selected from the state/district where a crime is committed. The part of Yellowstone National Park which is in the state of Idaho has no residents, and therefore no potential jury candidates. This creates a loophole which could possibly allow someone to commit a serious crime that could not be prosecuted. There are potential strategies to close the loophole: resid…
I have heard of trials being moved to a nearby jurisdiction, usually when there is some conflict of interest in the original district (like if the defendant is a public official in the district). I would guess that moving a trial doesn't require a jury, so perhaps the prosecutor could just move the trial to the nearest district with residents.
Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#9The article is pretty old. Has anyone tried to exploit this loophole since then?
Actually, yes. Here's a recent article overviewing the subject: http://www.vox.com/2014/5/22/5738756/you-can-kill-someone-in...
Scroll down to "an actual case". Mind you, AFAICT, they didn't travel to the 'zone of death' intentionally to commit a crime; but, having committed a crime there, they did attempt to use this defense.
Re: The Perfect Crime (2005)
#10The actual paper: