5 ms·
Summary: 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
by lotharbot 12y ago
Summary:
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_crime.3F http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicinage_Clause#The_perfect_cri...
- stcredzero 12y agoThe vicinage clause would itself allow vigilante justice. I've heard biker gangs like going to national parks.
- cafard 12y agoSomeone who had been a ranger told me that I lot of drugs used to pass through national parks: but I think that was because of a lower density of police.
- baddox 12y agoI 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.
- Tuna-Fish 12y agoPulling a jury from a district where the crime wasn't committed can only happen with consent of the accused. Quite a lot of legal work has been done to expand the definition of where the crime was committed to allow for venue shopping.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]