This is a map of Yellowstone National Park.
For the most part the park is in
Wyoming, but it extends a bit into
Montana and Idaho. This little 50 square
miles section in Idaho is what concerns us.
It's called the zone of death, because of
a loophole that exists in the
Constitution of the United States. If
someone were to exploit that loophole
they might be able to get away with
murder.
Yellowstone was established in 1872
before Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana joined
the Union.
It's federal land and always has been,
but federal land across the U.S. is
split up and divided into its
corresponding state district courts.
Except for Yellowstone. And this is where
the loophole begins. Law professor Brian
C. Kalt points out in his 2005 paper,
"The Perfect Crime", that Yellowstone
National Park was assigned fully to
Wyoming's district court, even though
small portions fall into Montana and
Idaho. "Unlike every other district, the
district of Wyoming includes land in
other states." So Kalt asks the question:
what happens if you're caught for a
crime you committed in that 50 square
mile Idaho region of the park?
The first thing law enforcement would do
is bring you to Cheyenne, the hub of the
district court of Wyoming, because the
crime technically happened within
Wyoming's jurisdiction. But Article 3
Section 2 of the United States
Constitution says that the trial should
happen in the state where you committed
the crime. If you're a savvy murderer you'll
invoke your right to a trial in Idaho.
So they bring you back to Idaho no big
deal. "In the sixth amendment they said
that they would require local juries and
the language they use is that the jury
has to be from the state and district
where the crime was committed." This is
called the Vicinage Clause. That leaves
you with a sort of venn diagram. You have
the right to demand jury from that
middle area, where the state in which you
committed the crime,
that's Idaho, overlaps with the judicial
jurisdiction where you committed the
crime: the Wyoming district that has
jurisdiction over Yellowstone National Park.
And here's the problem: "nobody lives there.
There's there's no way for them to give
you a trial and so I argue they should
have to let you go."
This could also happen in the Montana
portion of the park, except a few dozen
people do live there, so a jury could
theoretically be called. Kalt has
proposed numerous solutions to Congress
to fix the loophole, but they have yet to
act. "All they have to do is redraw the
district line so that the district of
Wyoming is Wyoming, the district of
Idaho is Idaho, and the district of
Montana is Montana and if they do that
this all goes away."
So if you're planning a gathering of
your adversaries, exes, and debtors, maybe
try Yosemite.
